An Alpha's Storm (Water Bear Shifters 1) by Sloane Meyers

bordered on angry, and, from the way they suddenly fell silent as she approached, she was willing to bet that they had been discussing her. She did her best to brush it off as Brett stood and walked toward her, asking if she wanted to dance. His face looked strained and upset, but Aubrey didn’t mention it. If he wanted to talk about it, he would tell her. Maybe the guys thought Brett was trying to rebound with her, and had told him it wasn’t a good idea. She wouldn’t have blamed them for saying that. She was still feeling a bit gun shy herself about going on a date with Brett so soon after his dramatic breakup.
    “What’s wrong?” Brett asked, breaking into Aubrey’s thoughts as they stepped onto the dance floor. A soft pop ballad was playing in the background.
    “Nothing, why?”
    “You’re frowning,” Brett said, giving her a suspicious look.
    Damn it. She’d been caught. “I was? Sorry, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how I hope you meant it when you said I wasn’t just some replacement for your ex.”
    Brett sighed and pulled Aubrey in closer to him. “I’m not replacing her. I’m just really into you. You’re beautiful, and fun, and you can actually hold a conversation with my buddies. What’s not to like?”
    Aubrey’s frown deepened for a moment. She wanted to ask Brett why everyone had looked so upset when she got back to the table, if everything really was great like he seemed to be saying. But she let it go. She didn’t want to ruin a fun evening.
    And the evening did turn out to be fun. The beat picked up with the next song, and Aubrey had the chance to see some of Brett’s dance moves. For such a big, muscular guy, he was surprisingly graceful on the dance floor. They danced and laughed through several songs before taking a break to grab a cocktail. Then they danced for several more songs. By the time the ball came to an end, Aubrey had all but forgotten about the strained atmosphere at the table earlier. Brett’s friends seemed to have put it behind them, too. Or, they had at least decided for the time being to forget about whatever the issue had been. They all shook Aubrey’s hand and wished her well as they left, leaving Brett and Aubrey to make the short walk back to his car alone.
    Aubrey tried to think of something to talk about with Brett as they climbed into the car and he began to drive, but the only thing she could focus on was where the night was going to go from here. Brett must have been pondering the same thing, because as soon as he pulled up in front of her driveway and put the car in park, he looked over at her with a questioning look.
    “Did you have a good time?” he asked.
    “Yes, a very good time. Thank you for inviting me.”
    “Good enough that you might consider letting me take you on a second date?”
    Aubrey paused, and started chewing on her bottom lip. She wanted more than anything to throw her arms around Brett’s neck and tell him she’d love to spend all of her free time with him from this moment forward, but something was stopping her. An insistent little voice in her head kept telling her that doing so wouldn’t be the responsible choice.
    “I just don’t think I have time for a relationship right now,” Aubrey heard herself saying. She knew she was throwing away a chance to be with the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen, but she couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t want to scale back on her career, which meant her time was limited. And she didn’t want to be hurt again by a guy who got upset that he never had a chance to see her.
    “I understand busy schedules,” Brett said, reading her mind. “I’m not going to be upset if you’re really busy with work most of the time. I am, too. I get it.”
    Aubrey frowned. “I just don’t want the pressure of a relationship. The last several guys I’ve dated have said they understood that my schedule was limited, but they got upset and left just as I was falling in love with them. I’m