Free The Alpha's Temporary Mate (Fated Match) by Victoria Davies Page B

you think I insisted on coming with you tonight?” She glanced at Niall and shrugged. “I’m not a huge art fan.”
    “Well, I for one am grateful you showed up,” Niall said, taking her hand and threading it through the curve of his arm. “Come, let me show you some of the sights, and we will see if we can inspire an interest in these paintings.”
    “Niall,” Kieran warned with a rumble.
    “I’ll take excellent care of your lady. Never fear.”
    With one last look at the thunderous alpha she was leaving behind, Chloe allowed Niall to whisk her away.
    On her own, she prayed she’d made the right decision. Without her partner by her side, she stood a great risk of revealing the limited knowledge she actually had of him. Pasting a smile on her lips, she followed Niall across the gallery to a wall of paintings.
    “You’ve truly never heard my name before?” she murmured as they stopped before a watercolor.
    “No,” Niall replied.
    She nodded, lifting her chin as if the truth hurt. “He warned me we had to keep things quiet. I guess I always hoped I meant enough to him that he’d tell his friends.”
    “How did the two of you cross paths?”
    A sardonic smile twisted her lips. “You mean, what’s he doing with a girl like me?”
    The large wolf offered her a guilty smile. “His tastes have never been subtle.”
    “True,” she said. “But everyone grows up eventually.”
    A rough chuckle escaped her escort. “So after hundreds of years you think he’s finally ready to settle down?”
    Hundreds of years? She lost her step before ensuring none of her shock showed on her face. Kieran was a strong were, and age and power tended to go hand in hand, after all. It shouldn’t be a shock that he was far older than her.
    Except they were already on such uneven footing. Every time she turned a corner she discovered something else that moved him further and further from her reach.
    “I’d like to believe that, yes,” she replied.
    “You said you’ve been dating for months?”
    “Yes, for a while now. Why?”
    “Kieran never stays with a woman that long. Not since…well, you know.”
    Chloe inclined her head, pretending she understood what he was talking about.
    “But if you’ve managed to heal him, then few of our pack will object to you.”
    “Even though I’m a witch?”
    Niall shrugged. “At this point, I think our people would accept a gorgon if we thought it would bring Kieran back to life. The pack needs stability.”
    She snorted. “Even before we met, I’d heard about his exploits. I don’t think enjoying life is Kieran’s weakness.”
    “Then you need to look harder.”
    She glanced up sharply. There was no humor in Niall’s eyes. This was dangerous territory. The situation needed to be diffused before she revealed how little she actually knew of Kieran’s life.
    “You obviously care for him.” She leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, “Since you’ve known him longer than I, how do you figure I should atone for letting the cat out of the bag tonight?”
    He snorted. “How do you usually diffuse his anger?”
    Chloe blinked, unsure of what to say.
    Luckily, Niall took her startled silence as embarrassment and released a rough laugh. “Yes, that’s what I thought. Kieran’s always been, shall we say, a passionate man. You might be in for a long night, darling, but he’ll forgive you long before the dawn.”
    Chloe swallowed her horror as Niall pulled her toward another painting. If Kieran’s anger was usually soothed by sex, what the hell was she supposed to do about it? Glancing at her wolf out of the corner of her eye, she realized he still watched her with a stormy expression. Somehow she doubted coolly argued logic would sway him once he got her alone in the car.
    “Of course if that doesn’t work,” Niall continued, “Kieran’s always had a soft spot for peanut butter cups.”
    “Really?” she exclaimed.
    Her surprise was met with a questioning frown.