Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
“To us,” she replied, clinking her glass against his.
Two glasses of wine later, they had shared a good bit of their history, at least the lighter parts of who they were and where they’d been. She had learned that he had done a stint in the Army but gotten out when Walter had gotten sick. She learned the reason he wanted the ranch. It wasn’t about greed or power. He simply felt compelled to make sure his clan was well cared for and he couldn’t do that if someone with less than honorable intent was the alpha.
“In a clan, control is the only thing that matters. The alpha has to be in control and the only other choice for Walter was Johnny Taylor. Johnny is a good guy, but he is too nice. He’d let himself be run over by the wrong people and the clan would have suffered for it.”
“And you aren’t a nice guy,” she observed.
“No. I’m not. My heart is in the right place, but I can be as ruthless and violent as I need to be if our clan is threatened. Walter raised me to be that way, and the Army solidified it.”
Kay found herself wondering what had become of his parents, but it was a question for another day. They seemed to be getting into dark waters, as it was. Rather than letting the conversation spiral downward into the oblivion, she decided to do something impulsive. Standing up, she stripped completely naked and took off toward the woods, yelling behind her as she went.
“Catch me if you can!”
Then she shifted. She was well into the woods when she heard heavy paws padding playfully behind her as they scampered through the woods and came out on the other side. Kay drew up to a quick halt as she found herself looking over a steep cliff at the waterfalls that fed the opening of the waterway that led down to the massive lake in town. The view was amazing as they stood side by side, in their bear forms, looking out over it.
Kay turned and began galloping back through the woods until she came out back in the opening where they had begun. This time, he was right behind her, already shifting as he came out of the woods. She had quickly returned to human form and picked up her clothes to redress, but he reached out and took them from her, dropping them to the ground and kissing her, their bare flesh pressed against one another as the sun began to get lower in the sky above.
“I think we best get out of here before it gets dark,” she murmured.
“Probably,” he breathed against her skin, still kissing her neck.
A rustle in the woods caught their attention. Voices were coming up the path. They broke apart and quickly redressed, Bradley packing their now empty glasses and wine bottle into the backpack and tossing the blanket over his shoulder once he was clothed. They both laughed as a young couple emerged from the path to look at them forlornly.
“Damn, I forgot our blanket,” the young woman said, spotting the one on Bradley’s shoulder.
“Here you go,” Bradley said, tossing it to the guy by her side and winking. “It’s okay. It’s clean.”
The girl blushed heavily as Bradley took Kay’s hand and began making his way down the path. They could have gotten down quicker in bear form, but they had the pack and they weren’t too broken up about the long walk back together. They emerged into the parking lot just as the sun began to sink heavier on the horizon, kissing her as if saying goodbye forever, he opened her door and waited while she got in.
Well, that answered that question then.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Back at the house, they made their way inside to find a number of people sitting around the front room. A couple of them smiled knowingly at them and Kay glanced in the long mirror on the wall beside the front windows. She was completely disheveled looking, her hair all mussed up and her lipstick smeared from yet another kiss in the car before they got out.
“Bradley, I need to talk to you about some of the orders for this week,” one of the men said as they entered.
“Tomorrow,” Bradley replied, taking Kay’s hand and practically dragging her toward the staircase.
There were a few raised eyebrows and a few chuckles as they hurriedly made their way up the staircase to their room. This time, there was not a quick parting once inside the door. Instead, Bradley dropped the backpack by the inside of the door and kissed her again. His hands wound through her hair as his tongue hungrily searched her mouth.
“I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he moaned into her mouth.
“Don’t hold back,” she murmured, enjoying the heat of his tongue tangled with her own. He tasted like the mints he was so fond of popping into his mouth after meals, peppermint and lime. She had always thought it an odd pairing, but now, tasting it from his lips, she decided it was much nicer than she’d ever imagined.