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Just for a few minutes, he told himself. To enjoy the coffee, and definitely not because he hoped Delcy might walk through that door at any moment. No, he simply wanted to savor this delicious brew.
But as the minutes stretched on, his gaze kept darting toward the entrance, his senses hyper-alert for the chime of that damn bell. He alternated between checking his watch and scanning the sidewalk just beyond those smudged glass windows.
Impatience gnawing at Jaxon's composure, he rapped his fingers on the table, the rhythm echoing the restless beat of his heart. What was it about this woman that consumed his thoughts so completely? That compelled him to linger in a place well beneath his standing, straining for just a glimpse?
With a muttered curse, Jaxon shoved up from the table. The coffee sloshed over his hand, but he barely felt it. Delcy wasn't coming. He was a fool sitting here, hoping for something that wouldn't happen.
A server girl rushed over upon seeing the spill, her eyes wide. “Oh, I'm so sorry, sir! Here, let me clean that up for you.”
She quickly grabbed a rag and began sopping up the spilled coffee from the table and floor. Jaxon watched her work, annoyance flickering through him. He wanted to be left alone with his brooding thoughts, not fussed over like some clumsy child.
“It's fine,” he said, even as she continued mopping up the mess.
“Are you burned, sir?” the girl asked, glancing at his reddened hand still dripping with coffee. “I can get you some ice.”
Jaxon flexed his fingers, testing the sting. “It's nothing,” he said dismissively. A minor scald was the least of his concerns right now.
The server finished wiping down the table and floor before turning back to him. “Let me get you another coffee, on the house. It's the least I can do.”
Jaxon considered refusing, but he found himself nodding instead. “Black.” If he was staying, he might as well have a drink.
“Coming right up!” The server scurried off behind the counter again.
With a heavy sigh, Jaxon sank back into the chair. The entrance remained stubbornly empty of the one person he hoped to see. Around him, the coffee shop buzzed with chatter and movement from other patrons, but he paid them no mind, lost in his thoughts.
Delcy. The memory of her scent, her smile—it consumed him. He thought of the nameless woman with him last night, realizing now she'd only been a poor substitute for the one he truly wanted.
The server returned promptly with a fresh cup of coffee. “Here you are, sir. I double-checked the lid this time.” She smiled sheepishly as she slid it across the counter.
Jaxon picked it up without comment, but her kindness softened him a fraction. “Thank you,” he said sincerely, meeting her gaze.
She looked surprised but pleased. With a shy duck of her head, she returned to work, leaving Jaxon alone once more.
He sipped the coffee, finding its flavor bore no resemblance to Delcy's brew from the previous evening. Done, he blew out a breath and rose from the table. As much as it galled him to leave without seeing Delcy, he couldn't sit here all day pining after a woman who didn't even know he existed.
Gazing around one final time, Jaxon pivoted and moved toward the exit. Right as he was on the verge of grasping the knob, the bell overhead rang cheerily, and the doorway swung open ahead of him.
There before him stood Delcy, the sunlight casting a halo around her. Jaxon's breath hitched in his throat. She halted yet didn't raise her eyes to meet his; instead, her gaze remained fixed obstinately on his chest.
Jaxon's throat went dry. He stood frozen, unable to look away. Her scent enveloped him, sweeter than any perfume. It whispered of fertility and femininity, igniting a possessive need deep within his core.
Mine, his inner alpha growled. The intensity of that primal claim shocked Jaxon back to his senses. Delcy wasn't his... no matter how fiercely his body might yearn for her.
“Excuse me,” she said softly, gliding by him.
Jaxon was tempted to turn and seize her, drawing her into an embrace. He even felt an urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to his place where he could then...
Fuck! He had to get a grip on himself.
Clenching his jaw, he wrenched his gaze away and pushed through the door. The bell jangled violently above him as he stalked outside, shoulders rigid. He needed to get out of there before he did something reckless in the grip of this overpowering desire.
Jaxon slid behind the wheel of his car, his hands gripping the leather steering wheel tightly as he fought to control his hammering heart. Seeing Delcy again had nearly shattered his restraint. Even now, he could imagine the taste of her skin, the soft give of her body beneath his.
With a muttered curse, he reversed out of the parking spot and peeled away from the curb. But no matter how fast he drove, he couldn't outrun the truth—he was becoming obsessed with Delcy, again. And that terrified him.
And yet he just couldn't help himself. Before he knew it, he had turned the car around and was heading back to the coffee shop.
As he walked through the entrance, the server girl looked up in surprise. “Did you forget something, sir?”
