Last Female Sypher and Her Brother's Friends novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I shove him down.

“Ronan will probably set you up somewhere comfortable,” I say. “We’ve got spare rooms.”

She nods slowly.

“But if I wanted to stay with Barric again,” I shrug. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

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Across the room, Barric overhears his name and raises his head. “What about me?”

“Nothing,” I say.

Aria smiles slightly. “I just… didn’t pack enough clothes to stay here this long.”

That makes sense.

“What did you bring?” I ask, squaring my body towards her so others get the hint that this is a private

conversation.

“Two changes. I thought I was visiting for a weekend.”

Yeah.

That plan went out the window.

“And I can’t keep sleeping in Barric’s clothes,” she adds.

I chuckle. “Why not?”

She looks down at the oversized flannel she’s wearing. “Because they swallow me whole.”

My eyes drift over her without meaning to.

The shirt does hang on her.

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But it also dips between her breasts, outlining them in a way that would pique the interest of any virile

male. The hem is long for a shirt, but short for a dress, which is what she’s currently wearing it as. It lifts

slightly with her movements, revealing bare strips of thigh.

My wolf growls low.

I clear my throat. “Then we’ll fix that. I’ll take you shopping tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” I stand up, grabbing our plates. “But I’m going to anyway.”

***

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The next afternoon, we’re driving into town.

Aria sits in the passenger seat of my truck, looking out the window as the forest slowly gives way to roads

and buildings.

“You guys live pretty far out,” she says. “I never realized just how much.”

“Safer that way.”

“For the wolf thing?”

“Exactly.”

She nods slowly.

We pull into a small outdoor shopping center about thirty minutes later.

Nothing fancy.

But it has what she needs.

Clothes. Shoes. Basic stuff.

Inside the first store, Aria heads straight for the racks.

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I lean against a nearby pillar, arms crossed, pretending I’m not watching her.

My wolf is very interested.

She pulls out a few shirts, holding them up to examine them.

The movement lifts her hair off her neck.

Her scent drifts toward me.

Soft.

Warm.

Feminine.

Then suddenly-

It changes.

Just a little.

But enough that my wolf goes completely still.

What was that?

The scent deepens.

Becomes sweeter.

Richer.

More… intoxicating.

My wolf surges forward with a desperate need to get a larger whiff of it.

My pulse spikes.

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Aria turns. Her blue eyes pin me with a soft look. “I’m going to go try a few things on.”

“Sure,” I try, but I can’t look away from her now.

She walks toward the fitting rooms, arms full of clothes. Then stops. Looks back. “You’re not coming?” she

asks.

“I’ll wait out here.”

Probably safer.

She disappears behind the curtain.

My wolf paces restlessly. Mate.

You don’t know that. I say quickly.

She smells right.

Lots of women smell good. I lie.

No one ever smelled like that. Like they were a personally curated drug.

I drag a hand through my hair.

This is bad.

Very bad.

Because if she’s my mate-

She’s human.

And humans don’t just accept that kind of thing easily. Neither does the Assembly.

The curtain rustles.

Aria steps out wearing a fitted dark green sweater and jeans.

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And my brain completely stops working.

The sweater hugs her curves perfectly.

The jeans-

My wolf nearly loses his mind. He wants to close the distance, to press her against my body and…

Aria spins once awkwardly.

“Well?”

My mouth is dry.

“You look… good.”

Smooth, Kade.

Real smooth.

She studies my face.

Then something shifts in her scent again.

Warmer.

Almost shy.

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