Goal: A Mate (Bachelor Auction #2) by Selena Illyria Page B

taste. Then it would make him work for it.
    Brandon set her down on her feet and opened the passenger side of his dark-gray Lincoln MKT for her, leaving his hand on the top of the door.
    “Don’t think just because I’m going with you that you’ve won.” She stepped up and slipped into her seat, dropped her purse to the floor and buckled up.
    He grinned, bent down, and stole a kiss. “Oh, but I have.” He reached up and took her chin between his index finger and thumb. “You are mine for the weekend.”
    “Not yet. Gotta mark me first. Make me remember this time together.” She tried to turn her head away, but he held firm.
    “No. You’ve always been mine, and I will claim you.” His voice seemed to be come from deep within his chest, coming out as a growl. “For this moment, if nothing else.”
    Before she could respond, he stepped back and shut the door, leaving her in a cocoon of warmth that blasted from the heaters. He opened the driver’s side, got in, and buckled up. Then they were away.
    Kelly peeked at the side mirror in time to see Alberto’s little red Mustang pull up. A laugh bubbled up inside of her, but she resisted letting it out. That asshole was too late. He’d just missed her.
    Maybe a little time with Reenie would make him forget about her, but she doubted it. Her best friend and Alberto were both far too stubborn to change their minds about anything. They really were a good match. She just hoped her friend didn’t end up having angry sex with her on-again-off-again ex in Kelly’s office—or worse, on her desk. “What? You’ve fallen quiet.” Brandon’s voice drew her from her thoughts.
    She peeked at him and decided it would be best to change the subject. “Where are we going?”
    “Somewhere we won’t be disturbed.” He turned onto a dirt road. The headlights flashed off tall pines bathed in silvery moonlight.
    “Bear country? Are you serious?” For a second panic kicked in. Bear shifters hated trespassers on their land. They’d been known to attack without warning. Some of Kelly’s anxiety dimmed as a memory from a few summers rose in her mind. “Wait, your cabin’s out here, right?” She grinned. Despite being bold and brave, she knew their pack members wouldn’t risk enraging the bears by tracking them all the way here. Ingenious.
    “Where else could we go? My house in town? We’d be interrupted every five minutes if we were lucky. So the cabin it is. Time to reveal some of things you may have missed about me over the years.”
    She studied his face. Only splices of light from the moon illuminated his face. The planes of his features were hard, determined. What had he been hiding from her all these years? This new side of him excited her. In the past, she’d only seen his laser focus applied to hockey, but even then it had been incredibly sexy. Turned on her, it made things all the more interesting. She shifted in her seat.
    “Things I missed?” she pressed. “Like?”
    He reached over with his free hand and laid it on her thigh. The warmth of his touch seeped through the layers of her cotton skirt and beyond, to her skin. He slid his palm up to her hip before removing the contact to shift gears. She missed it as soon as it was gone.
    “Just enjoy the ride. You’ll find out soon enough,” he murmured.
    She snorted and settled into her seat. Then she closed her eyes. Each inhale brought his rich, woodsy, spicy cologne into her, lulling her into a state of relaxation and comfort.
    Soon enough, his hand returned to her leg, rubbing it up and down the length. He took the hem of her skirt between his fingers and pulled it up just a bit, revealing the tops of her knees. She stilled, waiting for him to do more.
    “Do you want this?” His tenor was a low rumble that seemed to come from way down deep inside of him, as if he were giving voice to the animal. “If we start this—”
    She grabbed his wrist and moved his hand up. “I know what this means.” Sweat