Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
I blinked. Then again. “Um… what?” I was his? Okay, now I was freaked.
“What you saw with Tyler was real,” he continued. He stood, feet spread, loose-limbed. But he gave off a commanding air. Strong. God, what drug did he give me because I wanted to lick my lips at how… virile he was.
“The wolf,” I said, after a hard swallow.
He nodded.
“Tyler’s a werewolf,” I clarified.
He shook his head. “Not a werewolf. It’s not a disease where you can give it to someone–it’s a different species. Tyler’s a shifter.”
“That means–” I eyed him from head to toe. Took in the jeans that molded to his body in ways that shouldn’t be legal. A snap shirt that just asked to be yanked open. Forearms that were pretty much porn. Hair that was a little long and curly, and I couldn’t forget the beard. I wanted to touch it, feel how soft it was. Feel it… everywhere. I was totally into the beard.
Was it because guys my age couldn’t even grow a mustache?
“I’m a shifter, too,” he admitted.
Maybe I hit my head on the hike with Tyler. Maybe I was delirious. Seeing things. Hearing things. Maybe I wasn’t even awake. Maybe this was a drug-induced dream. Through Tyler, I’d known Cody–even tangentially–for a few years. We’d never really talked before because he was a friend’s dad. A friend I’d kissed earlier and found it very lacking.
For some reason, the feelings I should have for Tyler I was feeling now for Cody. Attraction. Interest. A craving. A longing to be kissed and not solely on my mouth. Why? I had no idea because this was Tyler’s dad!
Tyler never said anything bad about him, never accused him of being a crazy helicopter parent. Hell, mine was. As deputy sheriff, Dad was a control freak in all aspects of his life, especially when it came to me and my life. Cody was… cool. Always had been.
Except I hadn’t known he’d always been a freaking shifter or found him H.O.T.
That meant he was going to turn into a wolf. He was going to fight a mountain lion. But there were no mountain lions here, wherever here was. There was only me. Was he going to tear me to pieces? Rip out my throat? Claw me?
No, no, and fuck no.
With a flick of my gaze to the bedroom door, I sprang from the bed and ran for it. I had to get the hell out of here, away from Cody. Away from any McIntire. Just… away.
Dad had always told me to be vigilant about my safety. To walk in groups, to hold my keys in between my fingers. To be watchful. Cautious.
And yet I’d left my front door unlocked, and a man came in, drugged me, and kidnapped me to a cabin in the woods. It was literally the plot of every crime show on TV. If that wasn’t enough, which it was, he just admitted to being a shifter wolf.
If I hadn’t seen Tyler in action earlier, I wouldn’t believe it. I’d laugh in Cody’s face. But I had. Too much. That meant I shouldn’t stick around and do anything with Cody’s face or the rest of his body.
The cabin was pretty small, thankfully. I cut through the main room and threw open the front door.
“Riley!” Cody yelled, his voice practically echoing off the log walls.
I heard the heavy footsteps, which meant Cody was coming after me as I ran across the front porch and jumped down the three steps onto a field of wild grass and wildflowers. I didn’t see another house. A narrow dirt drive was the only guide I had to civilization. I was alone with Cody, the shifter. A wolf. If he was anything like his son, he’d have fangs sharp enough to rip out a mountain lion’s throat. Enough strength to break the animal’s neck.
Which meant he could easily do both to me.
“Fuck, sugar! Stop. Fuck.”
I saw his Jeep, turned, and ran for it, prayed the keys were inside. If not, I could lock the doors and… I had no idea, but it was a metal and glass barrier between me and a… wolf person.
My breath came out in pants, and the adrenaline pumping through my veins fueled my sprint. Except I wasn’t a runner. I’d done cheerleading in high school. It wasn’t an endurance sport. I could bend and flip, but that sure as hell wasn’t going to save me now.
Before I made it to the car, an arm banded around me. I shrieked. My feet lifted off the ground as I was pulled back against Cody’s hard body. His head came down to my neck, and I swore he sniffed.
“No! Don’t rip my throat out!” I struggled in his snug hold, and I threw my head back, whacking his face.