Her otherness radiated from her body. She wasn’t human but her smile, the way one corner of her mouth tilted up like the curve of a waist, was more than reason enough to overlook it. He was inLos Angeles after all, loads of shifters in the Southland.

He ambled over and she cocked her head as she leaned back and pushed the chair opposite hers out with a prettily sandaled foot.

“Hi there.” He grinned.

The scent of the lime in her soda water tickled his nose. But it was her elemental scent that made his hormones sit up and take notice. She smelled like honey and heady flowers.

She tucked her hair behind an ear and simple gold hoops winked in the low light. “Hi yourself.”

“So the story goes like this,” he said, leaning in to take a deep whiff of her and liking it.

A lot. “Here I am, dreading seeing a bunch of relatives and I walk past and see you. The sight of those green eyes of yours just made my day a lot better.”

God he was usually way smoother than this but she made him feel sort of giddy. Stupid with wanting to touch her.

She laughed. “My goodness, I bet you say that to all the werewolves you meet in airport bars.” Her graceful hands fiddled with her napkin, shredding it into long strips and then

balling the strips up. Over and over. Silly but it mesmerized him.

He figured Layla would forgive him for being late if he stayed and chatted this lovely lady up for a bit longer. His plane would only be arriving just now anyway, he thought as he checked his watch.

That’s when she checked her watch and swore softly. “I’m sorry. I’m picking someone up. I need to get to baggage claim. If I lose him, my sister will kill me.”

He nearly lost his mind when she stood. Her waist was so close he could have leaned in and brushed his lips against her belly. He smelled her, the heat of her skin, and the full-on spice of her arousal. Licking his lips to try and get himself under control, he thought hard and realized what she’d said.

“Wait.” He stood. “This is so weird. I’m Shane Rosario. I should have recognized those eyes. You’re one ofLayla’s sisters, right?”

She took a step back and a wall slammed suddenly. “Oh.” She heaved a breath. “Yes. Of course. I’m Megan. Nice to meet you. Shall we go get your bags then? I know Layla can’t wait to see you.”

She hurried past as he tried to figure out what exactly had happened. Had Layla been angry with him and said negative to her sister? Is that why she wasn’t there to pick him up herself?

Scrambling to catch up with the younger and ever-so-fetching Warden sister, he took a moment to admire the long legs and the high, tight ass. A shocking vision nearly felled him. A vision of his fingers digging into that muscle as he f**ked deep into her body, the sheen of sweat on her bare skin making her glow like moonlight.

Of course he wasLayla’s anchor. Why not? The first hot-looking werewolf who’d come on to her when she was pretty open to random sexing to take her mind off ribbon-andtulle squares and he’s her sister’s man. Well sort of. Enough sort of to invoke the sister rule.

Funny how she’d felt this total connection with him right off too. Probably the anchor connection he had to her sister. She f**k the hell out of Jack Meyers too and he was Grace’s anchor. Maybe that was it.

She just needed to get his luggage and haul his ass back to the hotel so he could hang out with Layla while Megan avoided him the best she could until they returned toSeattle on Sunday.

My goodness, though, but he was big. Big and brawny and really masculine. Just the way she liked her men. When a woman was five-eight, it was hard to find a man who filled that secret little thrill spot. Megan was a tough person, hard in a lot of ways, she could handle just about any physical threat and it was her job to do so. But it would be so nice to have a man who could take charge, make her feel cosseted from time to time.

She sighed and his long strides ate up the ground until he’d caught up with her. “I was expecting to see Layla. Is she?”

Oh now that was just rich, wasn’t it? Megan held her annoyance in check, barely, as they rounded the corner and headed toward the baggage area for his flight.

“Sorry, you’re stuck with me for your ride. She’s been dealing with the groom’s family today, taking them places all that stuff. Everyone was short handed so I got sent to pick you up.” She knew the smile she sent his way was tight when he winced a bit.

“God, I’m really f**king this up. You’re mad and I didn’t…it wasn’t my intention to insult you. I was just curious about Lay. Believe me, it’s no chore to be picked up from the airport by a woman with legs as long as yours.”

His grin was sexy too. She saw a bit of Sid in his face, not so surprising as they were cousins after all. He had the same black hair, the olive complexion. His eyes brown, not extraordinarily so, but big and nice. The dimple she saw when he grinned, just to the side of his mouth in the bare spot his goatee surrounded, was positively delicious.

“You’ll see Lay at the hotel. She’s excited you’re coming.” She turned back to the conveyor belt and he grabbed his suitcase and turned back her way.

“Okay, ready.”

He had no idea what the hell was going on but that question about Layla had pushed her away even further. Gone was the sexy, flirty smile she’d gifted him with in the bar, replaced by a cool distance.

Damned if his ridiculous need to touch her still wasn’t there, though. He didn’t want her to be upset with him. He certainly didn’t want her thinking he was an ass**le. If for no other reason than she wasLayla’s sister, he get along with her. But he liked Megan Warden. Liked the way she prowled as she walked.