He felt like an idiot.
He had never been very suave and flirty in his dealings with the opposite sex, but there was something about her that made him specifically nervous. He could only guess it was because she was his mate.
The stakes were higher.
Especially since she could choose to walk away from him as soon as the Order of Salem business was put to rest. He would have to tell her about the shifter mate sense sooner or later, and it would be better for him if he did it sooner.
It was going to be hard to keep his hands and mouth off her.
He hadn’t even done a good job of it tonight. He kept finding ways to touch her. It wasn’t conscious. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind too much. In fact, he had the distinct impression that sometimes she was actually leaning into this touch.
It made him wonder if witches could feel the mate sense.
That would surely simplify his life.
Astra was still looking at him, an elegant hand pointed toward a bottle of tequila.
“Who ordered top shelf?” Blaze looked around the bar, but he only spotted regulars. No one who would order the good stuff.
“Oh, no one. I’ve just always wanted to taste something from the top shelf.”
“You can’t drink while on the job.” He was surprised by his bossy tone.
There was another reason why he didn’t want Astra to drink any alcohol. He had a plan to seduce her tonight as soon as they got to his apartment. His conscience wouldn’t let him do that if she had a drink.
“It’s my first day,” Astra argue. She was pouting, and he had to insane urge to suck the lip into his mouth. “I get to be the worst bartender ever. That includes sampling the goods.”
She winked at him.
She actually stood in his bar, and gave him a saucy wink as she argued why she should get to sip expensive tequila. Blaze didn’t need any booze to feel dizzy and lightheaded. He had felt her wink everywhere.
It had been like downing three bottles of the good stuff.
“You know,” he said as he reached up to grab the bottle of tequila. “Bartenders aren’t supposed to drink on the job.”
“Good thing I’m only here temporarily. Besides, I’ve always wanted to try this stuff.”
Astra poured herself an ounce of the liquid into a small tumbler. She raised her glass at him before bringing it to her lips. She took a small careful taste, and as soon as the liqueur hit her mouth, her eyes became wide and large.
“Oh, wow. That has a good burn.” She licked her lips before taking another drink. “Yup. This is definitely top shelf. It’s ruined me for every other kind of tequila I could ever find.”
“Has it?” he asked, coming to stand in front of her. She nodded as she craned her head up to be able to look at him.
She had no idea, but Blaze could sense how she felt about him. He knew Astra was into him. Her desire was everywhere on the air, and every other shifter in the bar knew. She had branded herself as Blaze’s without even knowing it.
He watched as Astra took another sip of the tequila, and her tongue was there again, licking at her beautifully lush lips. Without even thinking about it, or about Astra’s reaction, Blaze leaned down and captured her lips on a kiss. She gasped into the kiss, surprised by his sudden display.
She caught on quickly to what was happening, and soon, Astra’s arms were around his neck and she was leaning completely into the kiss. Her tongue rubbed against his, and he cupped her ass. He squeezed her into him, lining up their bodies in the most perfect way.
Astra’s legs shook and he smiled against her lips. He loved knowing that he was literally making her legs weak with a kiss. His mate liked him, and her body’s reactions made that as clear as could be.
His pack, not known for their finesse and classiness, whistled and catcalled. Astra blushed and pushed away from him on her shaking legs.
If there was any doubt for any of the shifters present about Astra’s link to Blaze, that kiss had been all of the proof he needed to mark her as his.
“Wha—” Astra’s voice broke off, heavy with the lust that scented the air around them.
“I wanted a taste,” he said with a shrug.
“Of the tequila or me?” she squeaked.
Blaze lowered his head until hips lips were against her ear. “Of you, Astra.” His whisper made her shiver, and if there hadn’t still been patrons in his bar, he would have taken her in his arms and he would have held her fast and tight while he kissed her senseless.
How he was going to spend the next few days with his mate by his side without going crazy with lust for her, he didn’t know.
“That was some line,” she murmured.
“It’s not a line if it’s the truth,” he responded with a wink.
“Oh. Right. Well. I need to…” she grabbed a rag and began scrubbing at the already clean countertop. She was flustered, and it was adorable. With a chuckle, he also grabbed a rag and went out to clean and clear the empty tables.
It seemed like it took forever to get the last patrons out of the bar. It took even longer to cash out the register and clean the place. Blaze wished he could just leave it a mess, and take care of it in the morning. That was a gamble. There was no way of knowing if he would be even less inclined to do the cleaning in the morning.
Especially since he was going to have to share his apartment with Astra overnight.
He only had the one bedroom, but that was okay. He had already decided that Astra would get his bed.
We share, his wolf insisted.
There was no way that was happening, though. He wasn’t going to fall in bed with his mate on the first night they spent together. He really wanted to do this right. She was his mate, and their first time would be part of their story forever. He wanted to make it perfect and memorable.
Blaze knew it would be hard, but he would keep his hands and his kisses to himself.
That’s what cold showers were for.
Chapter Twelve
Blaze
Blaze watched as Astra sang along to the song playing on the bar’s speakers. He would have to remember the playlist he had chosen made his mate sing and dance as she worked on cleaning the bar. The sway of her hips was enough to make him weep with the knowledge that he wouldn’t know what it would be like to grip them as they made love.
Not yet, anyway.
He had to wait for that.
No. No waiting, his wolf complained. We want her now.
The animal was right, but Astra had had a long, shitty day. What with the attack and the being separated from her twin. He wanted them to connect, but there was no way he was going for it when she was vulnerable from all of the things she had been through in the last fourteen hours.
“Are we ready?” she asked, slipping all of the night’s rags into the basket Blaze was holding.
He would do a load of laundry in the industrial strength washer in the morning. For now, he wanted to get Astra to bed. She was rubbing at her eyes, clearly exhausted.
“We are,” he said as he walked toward the door. He held it open for her. “Just so you know, the security code for the door and the alarm is 12-73-96. Punch it in and then press Enter.”
Astra did as he instructed, mumbling the numbers as she went. “It’s too many numbers to remember. I feel like if my house depended on a code, the cops would always rush over because I would always forget.”