Chapter Three

April

Oh my God. Sarah gaped at the sight of Gabriel Anderson standing in the Philadelphia Airport. He looked so tired it broke her heart. She took a step towards him, her heart hammering in joy and disbelief.

He’s home.

“Gabe!” A flash of red streaked past her. Gabe looked startled for a moment but smiled and held out his arms. Chloe jumped into them, wrapping her legs around the sheriff’s waist.

Gabe’s face was slowly turning red, but the affection pouring off him for the woman in his arms twisted through Sarah’s gut. “Um. Hello, vixen.”

Next to her Jim cleared his throat. “Sorry, kiddo. Looks like lover-boy has a girlfriend.”

Sarah opened up just enough to feel the hurt Jim was trying to hide, then slammed her shields back into place. She’d gotten good at building those shields in the last few months. She was tired of other people’s pity hammering into her recently. Even with Jim pity flavored his pain. “This is all your fault.”

“My fault? How is this my fault?”

She turned to him with a grin. “Because you never asked her out, Dr. Jurassic.”

He made a face. “Sure, blame everything on me.” He took hold of her arm and led her towards the gate.

“We’re sitting together, right?”

She heard Gabe calling her name but ignored him. “Sure are.”

“Because neither one of us wants to watch the two of them together.”

She grimaced. “Right. Hey, maybe they’ll be so busy saying hello they’ll forget to get on the plane!”

They headed down the ramp, arms entwined. “You always see the bright side. That’s what I love about you.”

She giggled. At the very least, Jim would keep her entertained, despite her heartbreak. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Gabe.

He’d made his choice clear. And it wasn’t her.

“Is everything okay?”

Gabe looked down at Chloe. She was normally good company, but today Gabe just couldn’t get into a conversation with her. “Everything’s fine, little vixen.”

Liar, his Puma purred.

He had to admit his Puma was right. Things were far from fine. Some guy named Jim, Sarah’s fucking date for the wedding, had her giggling like a schoolgirl as he told her some outrageous tale of his travels.

Jim had been at the airport with her, smiling and obviously happy to be with her. He’d held her hand, kissing the back of it and smiling down at her seductively. He was delighted with her, commandeering her to sit next to him on the plane, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, even carrying her luggage. And when Sarah had tripped, Jim had caught her, saving her from a nasty fall. He’d even planted a soft kiss on Sarah’s forehead.

Gabe had wanted to break Jim’s pretty-boy face at the sight of the other man’s hands around her waist, his lips on her skin. His Puma was growling so loudly Gabe was surprised his chest wasn’t vibrating.

And Jim was pretty. Even as a guy Gabe could see that. He had that smarmy charm women seemed to fall all over themselves for.

Sarah certainly didn’t seem immune to it. Jim reached up and brushed some of that golden hair off his forehead and half the females on the plane sighed, including Sarah.

He stared at Sarah, torn. Why was she acting like this? He’d gotten straight off the plane, exhausted from making sure he was back in Philadelphia in time to go to the wedding of his Alpha and Curana, only to find his mate hanging all over another man. He couldn’t have imagined the shocked joy on her face when she’d first caught sight of him, but he’d been distracted by Chloe’s overenthusiastic greeting. Once he’d gotten himself disentangled from his friend, Sarah had latched onto Jimbo. She’d barely acknowledged he was there. A growl escaped his control when Jim stroked Sarah’s soft cheek. Oh, fucker. Get your hands off her or I’m gonna eat ‘em. He saw Jim’s gaze travel down to where Sarah’s little flowered sundress revealed the sweet swell of her breasts and wanted to rip the bastard’s eyes out of his head.

Gabe forcibly kept the snarl off his face but was helpless to stop his eyes from changing. She’d touched him. She’d dragged those delicate fingers of hers down Jim’s arm, her expression full of mischief and admiration.

Gabe didn’t like that. Not one damn bit. Jealousy churned in his gut. He wanted to pounce on the other man and rip his goddamn throat out for putting that soft look on his mate’s face.

But what startled him was the sound Chloe made as she watched the couple down the aisle having a wonderful time together. The moment Jim’s hand touched Sarah, an odd, high-pitched yip left her lips.

She clamped her mouth shut immediately, turning her face away from the couple to stare at the seat in front of her. Her cheeks turned bright red and she refused to look at anyone. She blew her bangs out of her face, a gesture that reminded him of Sarah. He glanced over at his mate to see her leaning her head against Jim’s shoulder.

“You shouldn’t have left.”

Gabe’s hands clenched in his lap. He would not get up and throw the fucker off the plane. He. Would.

Not. “You know why I had to. Hell, she knows why I had to.”

“Then why don’t you go over there and do something about it?”

Gabe gritted his teeth. He’d like nothing better than to get his hands on Sarah right now. He hadn’t spoken to her since March, and Chloe’s updates on his mate’s whereabouts had been less than encouraging. She seemed to spend an awful lot of time with the handsome veterinarian. Hell, he’d gotten so upset he’d cut his training short by a week just to be with her.

What the hell is she thinking? She had to know how he’d feel about her touching someone else, especially after being apart for so long. He’d meant to see to it that they were mated this week. Now that his training was finally over he was home to stay. But instead of being thrilled to see him she’d frowned and turned her fucking back on him.

He couldn’t remember anything that had hurt him more. Or pissed him off more. Her ass was going to be very sore by the time the week was over.

“While you sit there with your thumb up your stubborn kitty ass my mate is making goo-goo eyes at your mate.”

His head whipped around to study Chloe. “So why don’t you go over there and do something?”

She flushed. “He thinks I’m a kid. I overheard him telling someone at the office.”