N. Walters - Alexandra's Legacy

Thankfully, the service was quick. Alex paid for her order and was heading back out the door within five minutes of entering. Raising the cup to her mouth, she took a sip, sighing in pleasure as the dark, rich brew slid down her throat. It was heaven. It was normal and everyday, which was exactly what she needed.

A heavy hand descended on her shoulder. She didn’t stop to think. She dropped the brown paper bag she was holding. Pivoting on one heel, she tossed her paper cup at her attacker, letting the hot liquid fly over him.

“Fuck!”

Too late she realized it was Joshua and right now he looked none too happy. Coffee stained his shirt and dripped down his jaw. Well, too bad for him. She wasn’t happy either. Her fresh cup of coffee was all over the sidewalk. Thankfully, his fast reflexes had kept him from being hit too badly by the hot spray. Unfortunately, his foot had landed on her breakfast.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Wrapping his hands over her shoulders, he tugged her to him. She thought he might shake her, but his fingers dug into the heavy leather jacket as he stared down at her, dark eyes snapping with anger. “You were supposed to stay right behind me, not stop for coffee. Of all the asinine things to do. This isn’t a game you know.” The last was said with a mixture of anger and exasperation, but beneath it she could hear the tinge of fear. For that reason alone, she held onto her own temper, which was hanging by a very thin thread.

She shrugged away from him and propped her hands on her hips. “First of all, the bike died. It was in the shop because it had an oil leak. I was supposed to fix it this morning. I didn’t have any other choice but to stop, and you were too far ahead for me to signal you. I dumped the bike and started walking. Second, it’s your fault I never got my coffee this morning. I didn’t think it would hurt if I ducked into a shop long enough to get one. How the hell can I fight the bad guys if I don’t have my coffee?”

“I’m beginning to think you can fight them better if you don’t have coffee,” he muttered.

She took immediate offense at the insinuation that she was being bitchy. He probably hadn’t had to do without his morning coffee. She opened her mouth to blast him, but stopped. Joshua was glancing around and Alex realized they were starting to attract a crowd.

“Come on.” He slung his arm over her shoulders and all but forced her to walk down the street. She stopped long enough to scoop up the now flattened paper bag. As they passed a garbage can she dropped her smashed breakfast into it.

“What was that?”

“My bagel,” she replied. Her voice sounded forlorn, but damn it, she’d wanted her breakfast.

“Let me guess.” He grinned as he continued and she curled her fingers into her palm to keep from smacking him. “You didn’t get a chance to eat your bagel this morning either.”

She didn’t bother to answer and tell him it was a blueberry muffin she’d missed earlier. The place she’d stopped at hadn’t had any. Her stomach growled and suddenly she was overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Her coffee and bagel were the last straw. Pushing away, she glared up at him. “You might find this funny, but this is my life that’s spiraled out of control. All I wanted was a damn cup of coffee and something to eat. Is that too much to ask?”

Casting him a glance that had been known to wither lesser men, she stalked down the sidewalk. He could follow her or not. She didn’t care. She could take care of herself. She certainly didn’t need some muscle-bound idiot male to take care of her. Okay, so he wasn’t muscle-bound. He was actually sleek and sexy. But he was still an idiot.

His arms wrapped around her from behind and he lifted her right off her feet. “I didn’t mean to make light of what you’ve gone though, Alex. I think you’ve handled everything amazingly well.”

She absorbed his words and waited. After a minute passed, she realized that that was about as much of an apology as she was likely ever going to get from Joshua. She had a feeling he was the kind of man who didn’t apologize for anything and probably didn’t need to. She doubted he ever made many mistakes. There was an air of self-containment and control surrounding him that was rather intimidating. That is if one could be intimidated by such things. Which, she assured herself, she couldn’t. She didn’t like the fact that pleasure suffused her when he’d praised the way she’d handled everything. Who cared what he thought?

He lowered her back to her feet and took her hand, threading his fingers though hers so that their palms were touching. Heat radiated from his hand into hers. “Come on. We can’t stay here.”

She followed him, quickening her pace until she was walking beside him. It was either that or be dragged behind him.

“Where’s your bike?” she asked him.

“Ran out of gas.” He shook his head, a black scowl on his face. “That’s why it took me as long as it did to backtrack and find you.”

Alex couldn’t believe their bad luck. They were stranded without a vehicle with a group of nasty men—werewolves, she corrected herself—on their tail.

They walked for almost an hour and Alex did her best to ignore the hunger in her belly and the headache forming behind her eyes due to the lack of caffeine. She tried to focus on the city and her surroundings.

Chicago was a study of contrasts. Large, expensive homes were blocks from slums. Busy business districts existed alongside vibrant ethnic neighborhoods. Chicago was alive and ever changing. To Alex, it was home.

People scurried past them, hurrying to whatever their destinations were. Buses chugged down the roads, vying with city garage trucks and cars for space, some of them honking their horns even though it didn’t force the traffic to move one second faster. The “L”—the elevated, rapid transit system—rumbled off to their right, carrying people to work or school or wherever they were headed. Businesses were open, all trying to entice shoppers inside.

Unfortunately for Alex, the only thing that held her attention was the man beside her. She was very conscious of the fact that their palms were touching, their fingers entwined. She’d never walked hand in hand with a man before. It was surprisingly intimate.

He seemed so large alongside her. She’d never thought about herself as small before, but somehow next to him she felt that way. He was probably six inches taller than her, and he was much more muscular. He exuded a sense of strength and confidence that was far too alluring.

Which didn’t make sense at all. She’d worked in a garage her entire life and seen all kinds of men come and go, including handsome, well-built ones. Not once had she ever been attracted to one of them.

His black T-shirt clung to his shoulders like a second skin. The jeans he was wearing were old and soft, molding to the thick muscles in his thighs. She’d watched him walk up the stairs back at the garage and knew he filled them out from behind. He had a first-class ass. And the bulge in the front, well, that was impressive too.

His shaggy black hair fell to his shoulders, tempting a woman to brush it back, to try to tame it. She could sense the wildness lurking just beneath the controlled surface. This was a complex man with many layers. His face wasn’t handsome, but strong and compelling. He exuded a sex appeal that no doubt had women falling at his feet. Alex scowled, not liking that last thought at all.

Why should she care if women threw themselves at him? She barely knew him. Yet the thought of him and any other woman naked, their bodies rubbing against one other, made her sick to her stomach. She placed a hand over her belly to settle it, blaming its upset on the fact it was far past her normal breakfast time and she still hadn’t had anything to eat.