Free The Cougar's Timid Little Lynx (Sweet Water) by Jenika Snow

animal, when it came to being in Alice’s presence he felt more animal than man. Every other time before when he felt the itch of animalistic aggression he had been able to come down to the gym and work it off, or even run in the woods, but neither of those helped him since he met his mate, and he knew it was because he hadn’t claimed her yet. It also wouldn’t dim until he had her, every part of her, but Luke also knew that Alice was scarred in more ways than one, and that would take time for her to come to understand that he wouldn’t give up on her.
    He wiped his face and chest once more, tossed the towel aside, and took a deep breath. After he dialed her number and put the phone to his ear and started to think she wouldn’t answer after the fourth ring.
    “Hello?” She was slightly out of breath, and Luke couldn’t help but think of how he could make her out of breath. They were filthy thoughts, ones he couldn’t help because they slammed into his head as if they had a life of their own, and ones that also made him feel like a dirty bastard.
    “Alice, hi.” He heard her swallow, and swore he could feel her smile right through the receiver. “I’m sorry I missed your call.” Luke wasn’t about to admit that he had been surprised as hell that she called.
    “I know it’s early.” He looked at the clock on the wall even though he knew it was already eight in the morning, late in terms for him. He had been up since four, working out and trying to get every ounce of testosterone and need to hurt something out of his system. “And also, I’m sorry that it took me so long to call.”
    He leaned forward, rested his forearms on his thighs, and looked at the ground. It felt good hearing her say that, because that meant she had been thinking about him, and had possibly wanted to speak with him sooner.
    “How about we stop apologizing to each other?” He smiled broadly, and thankfully heard her soft laugh.
    “Okay, that sounds like a good idea.” They were quiet for a suspended moment, but Luke didn’t talk, just waited for her to finish what he knew she wanted to say. “Joey has been talking about you all week. I swear there isn’t an hour that goes by that she isn’t brin ging up your name and how you are the most awesomest doctor in the world, her words not mine.” She chuckled again, and his smile widened, but his stomach also twisted. Was that the only reason she called, because Joey wouldn’t stop talking about him? He had hoped it had been because Alice had wanted to speak to him, but maybe he had been very wrong.
    “So, you called because Joey was a little too persistent?” Luke tried to sound light, but there was also a disappointed quality in his voice he couldn’t mask. She sighed heavily , and he straightened. “Are you okay?”
    “That isn’t the real reason I called.” Adrenalin surged in his veins. “I actually have been thinking about you all week, too.”
    “Yeah?” He cleared his throat to push away the husky tenor that had taken over.
    “Yes. I did a lot of thinking, and would like to see you again. Maybe we can talk about things that aren’t so depressing?”
    “I’m supposed to take my niece to the park later today. Would you and Joey like to come?”
    “I think I’d really like that, and I know Joey would. She keeps asking when you’re coming over again. She really misses you.”
    Luke chuckled, feeling a surge of warmth fill him. “I miss you guys, too.” He clenched his jaw when he realized what he said. The silence that came through the phone was deafening, and he realized how it must sound on her end to hear him say he missed her. They had just met a couple of weeks ago, and she had taken that first step in going to dinner with him, telling him about her painful past, and now calling him. He was going to fuck it up with a few words that wouldn’t have seemed like a big deal to anyone else, but were huge when it came to his mate.
    “How about you meet me there