Free Spark by Jessica Coulter Smith, Smith Page B

He’d never been so aware of anyone before, and it was both a blessing and a curse.
    Once they were checked in, he handed her one of the room keys, grabbed her
    bags and led the way to their room. He’d packed a few changes of clothes in his saddle bags, but now he wasn’t so sure he’d need them. Once he screwed up and tried to claim her, he’d be yanked off babysitting duty and exiled to scrubbing toilets. Hell, Blitz might even boot his ass completely out of the Steel Riders.
    “Home sweet home,” he said, pushing the door open.
    Mina preceded him into the room and looked around. There was a bathroom and
    two closed doors. She went to the one on the right, pushed it open, and walked inside.
    Spark followed with her bags and set them on her bed. Hell. Being in a room with a bed wasn’t the best idea. She wasn’t in heat yet, but her scent pulled him in, making him want to rip her clothes off and bury himself inside of her.
    Beating a hasty retreat to the other room, he tossed his bag on the bed. He almost called Blitz and demanded that one of the mated males come sit with Mina, but at the same time, he didn’t want anyone else around her. The beast inside was already laying claim to her. Spark knew her father would never approve of him as a mate, not
    considering he changed into a maned wolf. Regular wolves, the shifter kind, looked down on his species. Not a wolf. Not a fox. Stuck somewhere in between.
    He heard her rustling around in her room and wanted to go to her, but he held
    himself back. Now that she knew he wasn’t mated, the flirting Mina was gone. She’d smiled at him as he’d held the hotel door open, but she hadn’t spoken much to him since the restaurant. Spark wasn’t sure if she was worrying about their situation, or if she’d decided to back out of the deal all together and take her chances at home.
    Spark stared out the window at the wooded park nearby. His beast wanted out
    to run, but he didn’t trust the wily creature, not with Mina so close and so tempting.
    Even if she remained in human form, the damn maned wolf would probably try to
    mark her as theirs. The beast wanted her every bit as much as Spark did, and it wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Chapter Two

    Mina gripped her phone in her hand, torn between calling her father and
    admitting the Steel Riders had left her with an unmated male, and wanting to throw caution to the wind and see where things went between Spark and her. She’d playfully flirted at first, thinking he was taken, but at the same time she’d been drawn to him.
    Her inner wolf had perked up when she caught his scent and the beast had wanted out to investigate. She’d wrestled for control, but it hadn’t stopped her panties from growing moist as she’d sat across from him, filling her with guilt. Until he’d confessed he wasn’t mated.
    If anything, that had only made matters worse because her wolf rejoiced in the
    fact the male they wanted was available. And now he was in the other bedroom. It looked like they were sharing a bathroom and living space and she hoped she’d catch a glimpse of him wearing nothing but a towel—or nothing at all. She had a feeling, even if her cycle wasn’t so near, she’d still want him. Spark was a rather intriguing male.
    And for at least a few days, he was all hers.
    After she finished putting her things away, she went in search of her roommate.
    His door stood ajar and she peeked inside. The sunlight streamed through the window, silhouetting him. He didn’t turn, but she had a feeling he knew she was there. If his nose was half as sensitive as hers, he’d have smelled her the moment she exited her bedroom. She waited, wondering if he would acknowledge her.
    Several minutes ticked by and he still didn’t move.
    “You can’t ignore me forever,” she said.
    He snorted. “As if I could ignore you.”
    “You aren’t speaking to me.”
    “I’m trying not to give in to my instincts, which would have you bent over