Hammer leaned against the workbench in his back room, he rubbed his hand over his chest, trying to ease the ache that had been growing the past week.

He shook his head and continued looking through his back stock inventory when he heard the door to his storeroom shut aggressively. He looked over his shoulder and was startled to see Cecilia leaning against the door, her arms folded over her chest, her eyes flashed with her irritation. As soon as he saw her the ache in his chest disappeared.

“You’ve been avoiding me Steinson.”

Hammer turned fully around trying to calm his nerves. He knew she was trying to get in contact with him, but he had been ignoring her calls and emails, hoping she would give up. Now here she was, in front of him and he was both excited and terrified to see her.

“I-I… what do you mean?” Hammer stuttered.

“Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you.”

The edges of Hammer’s mouth twitched; she had a lot of fire in her.

“Alright, maybe your right Maybe I have been avoiding you.”

“Why?” Cecilia demanded.

Hammer faltered, unsure of what to say to her. He didn’t know how to tell her that he was staying away because of his overwhelming guilt. His eyes shifted away from her. He heard her sigh and moments later he felt her hand on his check, gently turning his face towards her. His breath caught slightly as sparks flew through him from where she touched him.

“Is this because of what I told you? Because you’re a mage?” Her voice was gentle and quiet.

Hammer felt his eyes widen at her questions. He didn’t even know what to say to her. She had figured out exactly what was wrong and figured out what he was.

“How did you figure out I’m a mage?” Hammer whispered.

Cecilia smiled softly, “Oscar, he has quite the nose and as he so delicately put it, last time he was near a mage, he got quite a nose full of what mages smelled like.”

“And what do we smell like?”

“All mages have a slight scent of old-world spices, as if you stepped into a spice shop.” Cecilia’s hand wandered from his check and was mindlessly playing with Hammer’s auburn curls. Her voice going quieter as she leaned in closer, taking in his earthly smell. “You smell like spices, sawdust and wild mountain air.”

Hammer felt lightheaded, his heart hammered in his chest and his breathing shallow. The air almost sparked with the intensity and tension between them. His hands moved without him even thinking and got lost in her long thick hair. Her grey eyes locked onto his, and he could see bright silver flecks that made her eyes sparkle.

“You smell like warm vanilla and fresh sugar cookies.” Hammer’s voice was low and husky, he was quickly forgetting why he was avoiding her and what they were even talking about. He could have stood there like that forever, lost in her eyes, he leaned down closer, his lips hovering an inch away from hers.

After a breath of waiting Hammer felt Cecilia close the distance between them and her lips pressed against his. Hammer had no words to describe what the kiss was like, it felt like pure magic. Cecilia’s lips were full and soft, but she was not shy or passive with what she wanted. Her hands gripped the back of his shirt, pulling herself closer to him.

Hammer groaned and tightened his grip on her hair, tilting her head back for a deeper angle when she ran her tongue over his lips, asking for more. Her tongue moved around his exploring his mouth and he felt a subtle growl sound in her chest.

Hammer could feel himself getting lost in her and the feeling of electricity running through his veins, like when they first locked eyes, was there again. He knew then, he couldn’t stay away from her.

“OOF!” Hammer grunted, surprised at the sudden impact to his stomach. Cecilia had punched him, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to knock the wind out of him. Rubbing where she’d punched him, Hammer frowned at her smirking face, “Seriously? What was that for?”

Cecilia shrugged, trying not to laugh at his frustrated expression.

“A gentle reminder to answer your phone.” She poked him where she had punched him, “You should get back to it before your new customers start a riot.”

Hammer shook his head as she started to walk away from him, trying to get his mind around everything that just happened. She stopped when she had a hold of the door handle.

“We have a lot to talk about Steinson. Come by tonight.” She turned, her eyes literally glowing silver, “If you don’t, I won’t hesitate to hunt you down.”

Hammer couldn’t even think of a reply before she was out the door. She hadn’t bothered to close it, so he could watch her walk to Franny, whisper something as she looked back at him, smirking. Then she walked out the store. As soon as the front door closed behind her, every eye in his shop stopped watching the Alpha wolf leave in a confident swagger of pheromones and turned to look at him.

“Damn…” he whispered.