“Whoo,” she said on a breath, squeezing his biceps as if she needed to use them to steady herself. A smile cracked his face as she tried desperately to make her hands stop squeezing his muscles. She wanted to bite his rock-hard pec, too, but something in her said Aaron wouldn’t enjoy that as much as she would. “You’re like petting an ice sculpture. You must work out a lot.”
Aaron took a step out of her reach and chuckled, ran his hand over his longer hair on top as though he was self-conscious. He’d gelled it back, but now it flopped in front of his face. Alana clasped her hands in front of her to stop from brushing it aside. If he knew how big a super-fan she had been growing up, he would run for the hills. Shifters had been the rock stars for the rebellious youth, and Aaron had been a major player in the shifters coming out. She still had his poster in a box somewhere.
“Why are you smiling like that?” he asked, his chin dipped to his chest.
As if this tatted-up bad boy was actually having a shy moment. Come on. This man had probably banged shifter groupies by the dozen. Whoa, she didn’t like that thought at all.
The smile dipped from his lips, and he canted his head, looking more animal than man with the expression he gave. “Now you smell angry.”
“Not angry.”
“Lie.”
She’d forgotten about that little gem. Shifters could hear lies, but not that it mattered. She was the worst fibber in the history of the universe. He needed no heightened senses to tell when she was being untruthful.
Pushing past him, she asked, “Do you sleep here?”
“Uuuh,” he fumbled, following behind. “Yeah. I work a few twenty-four-hour shifts a week. More if they need the help. It’s not a big firehouse, but we help all the areas around here, too, so we stay busy enough.” Aaron jogged past her and held the door open and gestured her down a gray tile hallway. There was an office on the right where Fire Chief Janson was on the phone. He came into the café sometimes and was always nice to her. She smiled and waved, and he mouthed a greeting and waved back before he frowned at Aaron and went back to his phone call.
“He’s not my biggest fan,” Aaron said low as he pressed his fingertips on the small of her back, guiding her forward.
Her body was taken with a shiver that emanated from where he touched her all the way up into her shoulders. Embarrassed, she rushed her response. “Why not?”
“I’m the new guy on the truck, and I’ve been having trouble following orders.”
“Well, why don’t you just follow orders then?”
“It’s complicated. Things are really different here than where I’m from.”
Alana looked up at him and tucked one of her wayward curls behind her ear. “Do you miss home?”
Aaron opened his mouth, but closed it again. He looked troubled, scrubbed his hand down his jaw. “This is home now. I’ll get my footing soon.”
And she’d seen it—the exact moment he closed down on her. Mysterious Aaron Keller, grown up so differently than how she’d imagined. He strode around her and sauntered off down the hall, leaving her to trail behind. His reaction hurt, but why should it? They were strangers, and he didn’t want to share. It wasn’t the end of the world, so why did him shutting down leave this sick, hollow feeling in her gut?
With a steadying sigh, she followed Aaron to a big room with cinderblock half-walls separating six beds, each made neatly. “This is where we sleep, showers are in through there.” The kitchen and dining area were next. It smelled like spaghetti sauce. “We take turns cooking.”
“You can cook?” she asked, pleasantly surprised.
Aaron huffed a laugh, and she was again stunned by his smile. “Yeah, I do all right. Maybe not as good as you, though,” he said, lifting the box with the bear pastry.
Relieved that his cold moment had thawed, she giggled and adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “I can bake, but I can’t cook a steak to save my life. My dad was always the one on the grill, and my sister and I always took care of desserts.”
Aaron leaned against the wall near the kitchen. “What did your mom do?”
“Uhhh.” Alana didn’t really want to drag the conversation into personal territory in the station, but Aaron was staring at her, waiting. Alana puffed air out of her cheeks and then explained, “She passed away when I was really young. I don’t remember her very well.” Alana shrugged and stared at Aaron’s shoes.
“What happened?”
“She was sick for a long time. It’s okay. I mean, it was so long ago, and I’ve dealt with it. My dad was an amazing single parent. He remarried a few years back. My sister and I were in the wedding and everything. I get along real well with my stepmom. It’s a little strange sharing my dad after so long having him to ourselves, but he’s really happy. He devoted his whole life to me and Lissa, and now it’s time for him to enjoy his life.”
“I’m sure he enjoyed raising you and your sister.”
“Yeah. It was hard for him on his own, though. He was lonely, and oh! My sister and I fought like cats and dogs when we were younger, and he always had to play referee. I’m glad he found his other half.”
Aaron’s eyes had darkened to that sky blue she’d first seen in her coffee shop. “Yeah. His other half. Speaking of, why are you dating some doucheface from Asheville if you’re about to move?”
“He’s not a doucheface, and I’m going out with him to see if he entices me to stay,” she said primly. Alana offered Aaron a flirty smile and turned, swished her hips, and made her way back down the hall that led to the garage.