Free Fanged Fury (The Adventures of Sydney Sedrick Book 3) by Mandi Casey Page A

rejected.
    “Sounds like fun to me. Give me a call tomorrow so we can figure it out.”
    Kat let out of sigh of relief. “Okay, Sydney. I’ll call you tomorrow to set up a time.” She hung up.
    I stared at my phone. I had just made plans to hang out with a vampire princess, at the royal palace to boot. My life had certainly taken turn after turn in directions I’d never dreamed of or thought possible.
    I checked my text messages to see if Blake had sent anything, but he hadn’t. My heart sank for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day.
    I missed him terribly.

Chapter 5
    Hot prickly heat stung as it burned along my arms, running up my neck as I handed the customer’s bag over the counter. The door chimes sounded, announcing Blake’s arrival. Once the customer left, we were alone.
    Our eyes locked, neither knowing what to say.
    I hadn’t responded to his text the other night, making it unclear quite where we stood.
    “Sydney, I’ve missed you.” Blake ruffled his hands through his hair and the temperature rose inside of the store. As we stared into each other’s eyes, Blake’s began to turn that amber-bronzed color that reflected anger or desire. I wasn’t sure which one was the case.
    “Blake, I’m sorry I didn’t text you back, I just didn’t know what to say. I figured we both needed a break.” The anguish in his expression told me he didn’t feel the same.
    Circling the counter, he enfolded me in an embrace. His strong arms felt wonderful around me. The stress of not seeing or speaking to him melted away with the physical sensation of his heat and nearness.
    I hadn’t realized how much I missed him until he was right there in the store with me.
    Blake took a step back to gaze into my eyes. “Sydney, it wasn’t I that needed a break. You don’t know how difficult it was to stay away from you even for just one day. It felt like a lifetime. There were pack issues I needed to attend to, making my time not my own.”
    I took his hand, leading him to the couch next to the fireplace. I didn’t need to feel the warmth from the flames. Blake provided plenty heat, but my legs felt heavy. Blake was like a heating blanket covered in sun-kissed flesh that made my fingers itch with need to caress every bulge of muscle underneath.
    We sat on the cushions, his nearness electrifying my body with need. “What do you mean by pack issues? What’s going on?”
    “That’s partially why I came to see you. My father is holding a pack meeting. He’s requesting your attendance tomorrow night.”
    Great. Morris didn’t hold pack meetings unless something big was going down.
    “What’s going on, Blake?” I was sick of hearing about the vampire and werewolf war, but I assumed it had something to do with that.
    “The Mobile, Alabama, pack is on their way up to Kenosha. That means trouble for our pack. My father is furious they think they can interfere with our business, but he needs to hold a meeting to direct everyone on how their visit is going to be handled.” Blake’s brow cinched in the center while his jaw tightened. His body language made it more than clear he didn’t care much for the idea of having other wolves in his territory.
    Blake put his warm palm on my thigh. My entire leg tingled from his touch. I stood from the couch to put some distance between us. When he reached for my hand, I stepped away just in time. “Blake, I’ll go to the meeting. Do you want to pick me up after work tomorrow? I’ll be at Aunt Judith’s.”
    He stood, hooking his thumbs through the belt loops in the front of his jeans. “Sydney, what is the matter with you?”
    Anger started to grow despite my body wanting nothing more than to have him have his way with me in the back storeroom. Visions of our naked bodies moving in rhythm with each other flashed across my mind causing a heated flush to race through my entire body. He was pissing me off. Heck, I was pissing myself off. Blake stood right in front me. I was well