Craved Mate: Cybermates Ayers, Candace (books suggested by elon musk txt) 📖

met my gaze again, her brow was furrowed. “I should probably go back to my room and get some rest. Looks like Ben won’t be needing me to vouch for him after all. He seems to be doing just fine.”

My heart sank. She’d only just arrived. I’d hardly gotten to know anything about her. I had all kinds of questions.

12

Mel

My heart hammered in my chest. I was playing with fire just sitting there with Mac. I had to get away from him. I sure as hell didn’t want to, though. I wanted to lean in closer, find out all about him, spend the rest of the night talking to him—or whatever progressed. I knew better, and instead, I stood to leave.

“Hey, Mel, hold up! Hailey wants to hear you sing!” Ben came rushing out of the station, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Just one song, cuz. Do me a solid.”

I glared at him. “You sing.”

Jay turned my way wearing a cajoling grin. “Wait a minute. We all want to hear you sing, don’t we, guys?”

I heard Mac behind me and spun to see him mean-mugging Jay with a low growl coming from his chest again. Mac had been making intermittent growly sounds since I’d arrived. After seeing the man/polar bear transformation last night, I was quickly putting puzzle pieces together. The one that didn’t fit was my reaction. An ominous, animalistic growl from a grown man should’ve been terrifying, yet the sound sent tendrils of pleasure curling through me, tickling my entire body.

Ben pleaded, “One song.”

Supplication from Wilson came next. “One song, cuz.”

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. “Fine. One song.”

After a ridiculous cheer, complete with whoops and howls, I glared at Ben. Then, awkwardly, I glanced around for the right place to stand. With his hand in the middle of my upper back, Mac led me to the rear of the fire truck.

“Here.”

I shook my head when he patted the rear step above the back bumper, indicating I should climb up.

He nodded in response. “Your stage, m’lady.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes.

The guys grumbled behind us and Mac suddenly grinned. It was a smile that took my breath away. “Give them a show and they’ll leave you alone. Maybe. I’ll help you up.”

Having that dazzlingly handsome man, with his blinding smile, focus his attention my way, I would’ve said yes to just about anything at that moment. His hands encircled my waist, and I was lifted onto the step as though I weighed nothing more than a hummingbird. The shiver of desire that wound through my body was immediate, intense, and triple X-rated. No man—and I do mean no man—had ever lifted me with such seemingly little effort. Reflexively, my hands clasped Mac’s shoulders and held tight, even after I was firmly settled on the platform. “You’re strong.”

He winked. “You’re light as a feather.”

Feeling drunk off the contact, I snorted.

His eyes darkened, and he held my gaze as his hands slowly released me, slipping from around my waist. “And incredibly beautiful.”

I straightened and looked around. Ben was staring at me with a confused expression that sent a rush of guilt to my warm cheeks. Slightly breathless from the intense moment with Mac, I cleared my throat, ran my hands down my dress to smooth it, and licked my lips.

Get it together, Mel.

How was I supposed to sing when suddenly I couldn’t remember how to breathe?

I knew what they wanted, and if I was truly getting out of here after singing only one song, that song would have to be “Alive in Your Eyes.” The guys quieted down the second I sang the first note, acapella. Matteo was recording me with his cell phone, probably to show his wife later, and Ben grinned as he leaned over and lightly elbowed the woman next to him, who was obviously Hailey.

I had only gotten through the first couple of lines when the whole group joined in, singing along with me.

“The beat of your heart… The words on your lips… Your love for me always… Alive in your eyes…”

I tried not to, but I gave in and glanced at Mac. His dark-blue eyes, laser focused on me, seemed to shimmer with a glint of molten silver. His gaze burned with the intensity of flames, never wavering from me while the same words of the same song I’d sung for audiences hundreds, no, thousands of times suddenly took on a new meaning to me. An old song transformed and was reborn. Our gazes were locked. Only a few feet separated us. He’d called me beautiful. Not just beautiful, incredibly beautiful.

As the song came to an end, an undeniable passion flowed between us. Again and again, it seemed I had to remind myself that I had a boyfriend. Why did that fact always seem to slip my mind the moment Mac’s gaze settled on me?

He extended a hand to help me down. When I hesitated, both his hands again wrapped around my waist, and he lifted me effortlessly. This time, even after my feet were firmly on the ground, Mac’s hands remained on me. We stood, gazing into each other’s eyes, frozen as though in a trance. Even in four-inch heels, my face still had to tilt up to look into his.

“Your voice is magnificent.” His had grown deeper, grittier, almost the same timbre as his growls.

My hands wanted to touch him as I searched his face. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but what I found was attraction, connection, a kindred soul. I couldn’t even sense that part of me that had for so long felt hollow, as though something was missing. Where had that emptiness gone?

I couldn’t tear my gaze away. My brain sent the signal for my mouth to work, to thank him, but all I could do was stare.

Caught in some sort of lovestruck limbo, the world around us faded. I swayed closer. His scent was warm and male and delicious. I leaned