My Genius Mate

Chapter Four

The stairs leading up to the business building were monumental and made it all real. I took a deep breath and went inside. Ronan stood outside the classroom leaning against the wall, Christa at his side while people talked to him. I nodded hello, not to interrupt him but also not wanting to be rude. In reality, all I wanted to do was to jump on him right then and there and get heated enough that he marked me. My wolf was whining and whimpering, giving me a headache. I ignored it and headed into the classroom, seeing a half-awake Gabe with an open seat next to him. I nudged him, causing him to jump awake. "Sorry, Ronan had me up all night training."

"Why?" I sat next to him. Ronan entered the room and sat in front of us.

Gabe leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. "I think it was punishment for being your friend."

I nodded and smirked. Ronan looked between us while entering the room, sitting in the seat directly in front of me. Gabe and I were excellent friends, but to him, it looked like we might be more. I had no plans to tell him what was not happening until he explained his situation first.

My phone buzzed. It was a message from Ronan. 'Are you flirting in front of your mate?'

My lips pressed into each other as I stared daggers into the back of his head. 'Are you still dating someone who isn't your mate and holding hands with them in front of your actual mate?'

I watched Ronan look at his phone and slowly put it back down. I won. I did feel a little bad, but he also had it coming. As I reviewed Ronan's black hair and how he takes care of it, styling it as his mom always told him to, Gabe leaned against my shoulder. I pushed him up and handed him a cup of coffee. "Here, stop drooling on me."

Gabe took it and knitted his brows. "What about you?"

I pulled out another cup of coffee from the other side pocket of my bag. "Ta-da!"

Gabe smiled and smelled the coffee. His eyes widened. "Is this your fancy foo-foo coffee I helped unpack?"

"It is."

"Oh Goddess, I love you so much. You could marry me if you wanted to. I'd take good care of you." Gabe rested his head on my shoulder before taking a long sip from the cup. As soon as he said that, I could tell Ronan's diameter changed because he was tense. His ears were red hot from anger.

I just smiled. I was only enjoying this torture on him slightly.

When class was over, I walked to my following lecture. Ronan cleared his throat to get my attention. "Can I come over later? I wanna talk to you."

I smiled sweetly, continuing the torture. "Of course, you're always welcome at my house, Alpha."

Ronan's entire body softened. He was relaxed as I watched his shoulders drop with ease. His blue eyes moved from my eyes to my lips and back to eyes. This man had no idea what he was doing to me. Gabe and I knew we had the next class together as he pointed his elbow to me, "Do you want to stop at the coffee shop in the lobby and get more caffeinated?"

"What an amazing idea." I locked my arm around him, and we headed off. I couldn't help but smirk at the low growl we walked away from.

*********

Class ended, so I headed back to the house alone while Gabe had a couple more to do. The house felt empty without anyone else inside. I sent a message to Ronan. 'I'm home whenever you're ready to chat.'

I had enough time to make a chicken pasta salad for lunch. He knocked on the backdoor before opening it and stepping in. I felt my wolf howl with excitement. He overtook the room with his presence. Ronan was tall, handsome, and a future Alpha, so he had this feeling around him that everyone felt, not just me as his mate. Everyone wanted him as a mate or friend or felt compelled to say hello. My knees nearly gave out when he walked right up to me and peeked at what I had made. "Smells good."