Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 102: Chapter 102

“Something wrong?” he asked, sniffing the air after her.
Shoot. She’d been caught. Gwen’s face really started to burn just then, and she bit her lip. How embarrassing!
“Um, no. Sorry, it’s just I have allergies to most air fresheners and perfumes, but it smells good in here and it’s not bothering my sinuses. I was just trying to identify the brand.”
“Oh,” he said, sounding surprised.
“Um, what is it? The fragrance, I mean,” she murmured, wishing a hole would open up and swallow her.
“I dunno. I don’t like strong scents, so I stay away from them myself. Could be my deodorant, I guess.”
Weylin lifted his arm and Gwendolyn barked out a laugh, was he smelling his own armpit? Sure enough, he did. Even offered her a go, but she just laughed it off and shook her head. It wasn’t too long before he joined her in a deep, throaty chuckle.
“Guess that’s silly of me,” he said, and seemed embarrassed.
For some reason, that made her like him even more. Maybe there was more to Weylin Scott than met the eye. She hadn’t known many men, but Gwendolyn liked to think she had a good intuition.
Danger. Danger.
The man is dangerous, Gwenny. He’s a bartender and likely has a million phone numbers saved in his contact list.
She felt a stab of jealousy at the thought, but she shook it off. Gwen had no reason or right to be jealous of the man. They weren’t dating or anything. She had no time for that nonsense at all. With all her hangups, it would take a man with the patience of a saint to break through her barriers—figuratively and literally.
Weylin Scott didn’t strike her as a saint. Too bad really. She wouldn’t mind getting to know him better. Not at all.
Why would he need to be a saint, Gwen, when a man is all anyone could ever want?
“What are you thinking about so quiet over there?” he probed.
“Oh, nothing. My mind just wanders,” she said, offering him more trail mix. “You know, I never shared snacks in a U-drive with a boy before,” she blurted, and her cheeks heated with embarrassment.
Weylin’s grin got bigger, and he held out his hand for more of the stuff. Gwen obliged, wondering why she told him that little tidbit. She watched him pour the handful of salty sweet goodies into his mouth without spilling a thing.
He chewed and swallowed, winking at her when he caught her staring. She was making an idiot of herself, but she couldn’t seem to stop. He was intriguing, and Gwendolyn was curious by nature.
“So, the bar must not be doing well if you’re moonlighting with U-drive, huh?” she asked, worried now that she thought about it.
“What? No! The bar is doing great. I just do this sometimes when I am feeling bored,” he said, smiling tightly.
“Oh, okay.”
Hmm. Was he lying? He had no reason to, but she had a feeling he was holding something back from her. Odd. Very odd.
“We’re here,” Weylin announced, pulling into a parking spot.
“Okay, well, thank you very much,” she began, but he was already out of the truck and opening her door.
“You are fast,” she murmured.
That brought another pink blush to his cheeks, and she watched mesmerized as Weylin lifted his arm and rubbed the back of his neck. His biceps looked likely to shred the t-shirt he wore, they were so dang big. Holy cow. He must work out like a madman to be so fit.
Looking down at herself, Gwen could only shake her head. No one would ever accuse her of being a gym rat. But she was who she was, and she liked her body just fine. She just wasn’t made to be one of those slender females. Gwendolyn had curves on her curves, even with the lousy diet she’d been on, but you could blame the FDA for that.
The United States of America allowed way too much garbage in their food, and that alone accounted for the increase in obesity and disease among the poorest of its citizens. Other countries did not have that problem, something Gwen had become aware of after she’d gone to England with her high school with her honors history class.
Whatever.
She and Weylin were not an item. It didn’t matter if she was chubby and poor, and he was a veritable demigod. Not that she cared about money or looks. What the heck was going on with her? She had more important things to attend to than worry over a nonexistent relationship with her new coworker.
Wake up, Gwenny.
“We going in?” Weylin asked, waiting for her to speak.
“Well, I am. I mean, I’m sure you have another person to pick up or⁠—”
“Nope. I logged out. Figured you could use a ride back anyway, and besides, who else is gonna feed me trail mix on the way back?” he asked playfully.
Gwendolyn bit her lip and nodded. He was kind, sweet, and really freaking hot. But why was he so interested in her? She frowned.
“Look Weylin, I appreciate the ride and the fact you turned off the tipping option, but if you are here with any ulterior motives, you should know a few things about me from the start. I am not in the market for a one-night stand. I do not put out. I am not interested in playing games or being a notch on your bedpost. My Pop raised me to have a strong moral compass. I promised myself when I was sixteen that I was going to save my virginity for marriage, and I meant it.”
She waited, but Weylin stood stock still, no expression on his movie star handsome face. Gwendolyn sucked in a breath before she continued.
“I am not playing hard to get or throwing down a gauntlet. Understand? I truly believe intimacy is meant to be intimate and I am not judging anyone else for their lifestyle, but this is my body, and it is my choice to be celibate until I find my him.”
“Your him?”
“Yes. My him. My person. Someone I love, who loves me, who respects me and doesn’t want to change me or ridicule me. So, if you are hanging out here cause you wanna bang the new girl, you are better off leaving. Got it?”
Weylin’s green gaze seemed to glow in the crisp autumn morning, and Gwen sucked in a sharp breath. He took a step toward her, then another, and another, until Gwendolyn was backed up against the SUV.
“I can’t say I’ve lived a celibate life, because frankly, I’ve been living the opposite. But I don’t play with people or hearts, and I never ever stepped over the line unless someone asked me to. You don’t know me yet, and you don’t trust me, and that is fine. You’ll learn I mean what I say. And I do respect you, Gwendolyn Hoffer. I’m just asking you to be open-minded about me. Can you do that?”
“Can I do what?” she asked, trying hard to catch her breath, but it was a little difficult with him being so close to her.
“Just don’t rush to any conclusions about me you aren’t sure of yet. Neither of us can tell the future, Gwen. But I can tell you this, and it is the truth, I wanna get to know you. We can go slow or fast as you like.”
“Weylin—”
“Gwendolyn, I just wanna spend some time with you. Just some time, okay?”
“Why? I just told you it’s not going to end in the bedroom like your other conquests. There’s no point in pursuing me,” she stated bluntly.
It took a sledgehammer to knock down walls. But Gwendolyn imagined she’d need a battering ram to fell this particular rampart. Of course, Weylin smiled just then, and her heart thudded even louder.
He was just too handsome. Red hair in a thousand different shades from the deepest auburn to the lightest golden flames danced in the morning breeze. Copper-colored eyelashes, so long they were positively sinful, brushed his skin with every blink of his hypnotic green eyes. Then there were his muscles—so many muscles—all fighting against the ridiculously tight cotton t-shirt he wore.
Whoa. Down girl!
Butterflies turned into fighter jets inside her stomach. She just could not catch her breath. The man was hot. Smokin’ hot. Much too much for a chubby little homebody, goody-goody like Gwenny.
“Oh, baby, you are so worth it.”
“Weylin, I mean it. I won’t sleep with you,” she said, but she didn’t sound so certain.
“I won’t push you into anything you don’t want, Gwendolyn. I promise and I am a man of my word,” he said, looking more serious than she had ever seen him.
“Ha! You’ll get bored in a week,” she snarked.
It was only the truth. Guys had come on to her before, thinking she was playing hard to get with them. But with Weylin, Gwen felt conflicted. Sad even.
What the heck?
Why should the truth make her feel so miserable? Yes, she’d made her vow very young, after a terrible teen romance that had ended the only way it could have—utter heartbreak. But Gwendolyn had never questioned or regretted her decision to abstain from smexy times.
Until now, her inner voice whispered. Gwen gasped, gaze flicking to Weylin’s own questioning stare, and she shook her head. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, pretending not to notice the charged atmosphere between them. The wind whistled through the trees, the fall sun was still shining, but Gwen couldn’t tell which way was up or down or sideways.
“Think what you like, baby. I’m not going anywhere either.”
Just like that, her anxiety abided. She frowned hard, angry at herself that he should affect her so. It just wasn’t her way. Despite his handsome face and pleasant demeanor, the fact remained Weylin Scott was a scoundrel. Relying on a man for her own inner peace was a foreign concept to Gwendolyn. That he should settle her upset with some words was decidedly uncool.
Heck no. That was not gonna fly.
“Well, it’s your time to waste,” she mumbled, giving him her back as she hoofed it through the parking lot.
His woodsy fragrance was like a drug, she thought as he caught up to her easily. Damn the man for reading her so well. It was like he knew he was getting beneath her skin.
Gwen had to actively stop herself from taking that one tiny step that would close the space between them. Her heart pounded, and her body heated. She never felt anything like it. Like she was dying for him to kiss her, but somewhere in her mind, she knew better than that.
Warning bells sounded inside her head. This man was dangerous on several levels. For one thing, he was the first guy to make her regret her promise in, well, ever. For another, just being near him made her think of all those dirty little things that happened in those naughty little romance books she liked to read in private. Only, in her version, she and Weylin were the main characters.
Sizzle.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and she realized she had stopped walking.
“What? Of course,” she retorted and continued on her path.
Weylin Scott was too sexy for his own good, never mind hers. She closed her eyes and held her breath, seeming to sense the minute he backed off.
“Come on. Let’s get you to Pop’s appointment.”
Gwen nodded and allowed him to lead her inside. She was not sure what had just happened. But it was big. Really big.
Weylin spent the morning with her at the center. He listened when she needed him to, stayed with her after the doctor left, held her when her emotions got the best of her, and even joined her when she read passages from the Bible out loud to Pop.
If she didn’t know any better, she would think Weylin Scott was trying to make her fall for him. But that couldn’t be. He was drop dead gorgeous, and she was, well, her. Men who looked like him wanted a sure thing, and she just was not that. She had told him so in no uncertain terms.
Looking at his profile now, Gwen suddenly wished she was different. Her heart squeezed. She swallowed back her regret and tried to focus on the hurt that was inevitable. They were just too different, and she was not in the market for any heartache. Gwen was not sophisticated enough for a man like Weylin.
He’ll get bored and move on. Just wait it out.
Sound advice, but for some reason, it did not make her feel any better.