Free To Tame His Mate by Serena Pettus Page A

Stephanie then back, and Sarah knew he referenced the fact that Stephanie wouldn’t heal as they would. She could have been seriously hurt tonight.
    “You’re right, but I can assure you we didn’t go looking for a fight. It just happened, so we handled the situation the best that we could.” Sarah understood where he was coming from, and apparently, so did Abraham, who was still checking over Stephanie for injuries. “We still need to go back to the bar for the cars,” she said.
    “I’ll head there, but next time we do this, we’ll set it up for a restaurant instead of a bar,” Abraham grumbled. “Maybe, the two of you can hang out there without committing felony assault.”
    “Har har.” Stephanie’s sarcasm had Sarah chuckling. “So next time, we should just sit and take the derogatory comments and smile like a couple of twits while waiting for our big strong men to come to our rescue?”
    “Um, Stephanie?” Sarah wasn’t sure where this was going, but she had a general idea.
    Uh-oh, seemed Stephanie had a bit of a mouth that they hadn’t witnessed yet.
    “No, this should be settled up front. I won’t be sheltered and leashed like a damn pet. I’ve kept myself alive and well this long, and I’ll continue to do so without your assistance, I can assure you.” She directed her lecture toward Abraham as evidenced by the way her eyes locked with his in the rearview mirror.
    “If I was looking for a pet, I would have bought a dog. I’m looking for a partner. I fully understand you want to take care of yourself, and I admire that strength in a person, but at the same time, you need to understand when you’re in over your head,” he explained in a surprisingly gentle voice. “I really like you, and I want to give this a chance, but if you can’t accept that I’ll worry about you…”
    “I’m sorry, but I’m just tired of being treated like a helpless little female. People don’t realize the type of person that I am, so I’ll go ahead and dispel any misconceptions you may have about me. I’m a smart-assed, tough-as-nails survivor. I’ve practically raised myself, worked three jobs to put myself through college— three!— while taking fulltime classes, and I still managed to graduate with a three-point-nine-five GPA. My parents were more concerned with their precious trips and explorations, so they weren’t around. I’ve been on my own, supporting myself and doing a damn good job of it for eight years now, so I have no plans to give up control to anyone just yet.”
    Sarah grinned like a jackass in the backseat, her arms crossed over her chest, and judging by the look on Abraham’s face, he knew exactly why. She’d gone off on him in a similar fashion about a week ago.
    Stephanie would have made an amazing alpha female, in Sarah’s opinion. She was perfect for Abraham in so many ways, now he just had to let her see it…and Sarah sure hoped he figured out a way to do that before it was too late.
    * * * *
    They pulled into the bar’s parking lot and climbed out, Erik moving to Sarah’s side.
    “I think I’m actually a little scared,” Erik announced, earning curious looks from everyone.
    “Of what?” Sarah asked.
    “The two of you,” he gestured between Stephanie and Sarah. “I think you ladies are going to keep us on our toes.” The laughter in his eyes told Sarah he wouldn’t mind it a bit, though.
    “But you’ll love every minute.” With that, she went to her toes and brushed a kiss over his cheek. Before he could respond in any way, she turned, winked at Stephanie and asked, “Are you going to the town’s harvest festival?”
    “I was considering it, but isn’t it a costume thing?” Bless her heart, she’d jumped right into the topic change like a pro.
    “Yeah, but we can come up with something,” Sarah urged. “We can use that as an actual date.” Sarah glanced at Abraham, who was focused on Stephanie. “I’ll bet Abe would be able to find a