Moonlight Kin 2: Aidan's Mate (Mid-Length Novel) by Jordan Summers Page A

be gone long before the moon run , he told himself.
    Aidan stared at her bag in the back of the Rover. What kind of Alpha would he be, if he let her leave without at least trying to convince her to stay?
    The phone call could wait. If it were important, they’d call back. Aidan shut the Rover’s door and walked back into the garage. Jenna was once again under the hood of her car. “I was thinking,” he said.
    She gasped. Her head shot up and hit the hood. “Ouch! Stop sneaking up on me.”
    “Sorry.” Aidan fought the urge to walk over and examine her. Touching her was a bad idea, especially when he needed to convince her to stay. “You okay?”
    Jenna rubbed her head. “I’ll be fine. What were you saying?”
    “I was thinking about the repairs you need to do on your car,” he said, not entirely sure where he was going with this idea.
    She paled. “What about them?”
    “It’s ridiculous that you aren’t able to work on the vehicle anytime you like,” he said.
    Confusion marred her face. “I can’t. I have a job.”
    “I know.” His nose wrinkled in disgust. “That’s not what I meant. I thought it might be easier for you, if you stayed here at the estate—at least while you’re working on the car. That way you could do the repairs anytime you felt like it. You wouldn’t have to worry about driving back to your motel every night.”
    The last of the blood in her face drained away and her scent soured. It was as Bernie suspected.
    Aidan pretended not to notice her reaction. What if she turned down his offer? What would he do then? He couldn’t order her to stay. Jenna wasn’t part of his pack. He couldn’t hold her against her will. Though that thought held some appeal.
    His wolf perked up. Forget about it. Not going to happen. Aidan’s heart pounded. The need to protect thrummed in his head, as he waited for her answer.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Everything inside of Jenna screamed for her to say no, but Aidan was right. If she were here, she could spend every moment of extra time that she had working on her car. It would be a relief to not worry about driving back to the campground every night.
    Staying on the estate would also give her the opportunity to interview Aidan. Jenna liked the idea of getting to know the real man behind the success, solving the puzzle that was Aidan Fortier.
    Jenna bit her lip. “I don’t want to put you out.” Pride reared its ugly head.
    “You won’t,” Aidan said. “As you’ve seen, the house is quite large. There’s plenty of room for one more.”
    “If you’re sure?” Say yes! Her brain screamed. She’d never get a better chance than this.
    “I am.” Aidan cleared his throat. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I’ve kept whoever is on the phone waiting long enough.”
    “They’ve probably already hung up,” she said.
    Aidan smiled. “That’s highly unlikely. When you’re finished here, find Robert. He’ll have a room waiting.”
    “Thank you,” Jenna said.
    Their eyes met fleetingly, long enough for Jenna to see the heat burning behind Aidan’s amber gaze. In a blink it was gone, but there was no doubt in her mind that it had been there. Most shocking of all was her reaction to it. To him.
    With one look, Aidan made her want. Made her ache. Her body had been dormant for three months. Now suddenly it was awake, aware of what it had been missing. And Jenna wasn’t sure how to handle that.
    When in doubt—run!
    Jenna opened her mouth to tell Aidan that she’d changed her mind.
    “Please excuse me, I really must go,” he interjected, before she got the chance.
    She glanced over her shoulder. All three mechanics busied themselves, pretending that they hadn’t been listening to every word.
    Bernie looked at her.
    “What?” she asked.
    “Nothing.” He grinned, then grabbed the remote from Nic and turned up the music.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Aidan spent twenty tedious minutes on the phone, listening to all the areas that the southern Moonlight Kin