Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“It would’ve changed things,” he said matter-of-factly. “She should’ve told him. A wolf takes care of his own.”
Curiosity flickered, curling in her chest. She wanted to know how a wolf took care of his own, not in the hypothetical sense, but specifically, how a playboy wolf like Cody, who seemed terminally single, would take care of a female if he accidentally got her pregnant. She shook her head to clear that errant thought from her mind. Where were these thoughts coming from?
Cody went on, “He would’ve protected his female and that pup with his life, provided for both of them. Whose father was he? Your mother’s or your father’s?”
“My father’s.”
She swallowed another bite of savory meat. Cody had seasoned it and just seared the outside, so the rare meat melted in her mouth. She found herself vaguely surprised that he knew how to cook a gourmet steak, expecting him to be more of the type to drown it in barbecue sauce—or God forbid—ketchup. Instead, he’d produced better steak than she’d find at the best Colorado steakhouse.
“Your dad never shifted?”
“No, and he doesn’t know. Ashley and I didn’t find out until Ben marked her.”
Cody watched her lips again, that look of hunger flickering on his face before he dragged his eyes to meet hers. “What happened?”
Part of her didn’t want to tell him, it was Ashley and Ben’s story, after all. But some part she didn’t want to examine too closely thought he should know—that he needed to know, in case it became relevant for… them.
“It happened accidentally. Ben lost control and bit her here.” She indicated the place where neck met shoulder, remembering the horrific marks on her sister right after he’d done it. “She recovered much faster than they expected, which led one of his pack mates to question whether she had wolf blood. We realized we’re never sick or hurt and our father used to brag he’d never been sick a day in his life. Also, that the father line is blank on his birth certificate. So Ashley and I drove up to Wyoming to ask our Grandma Jane, and she told us her story.”
“Wyoming, huh? What’s his name?”
She shook her head. “She didn’t tell us. Why, do you know wolves in Wyoming?”
Cody nodded. “Yeah. The wolf community is small.” He’d finished his steak and salad and now he wiped his mouth again and set his fork and knife on the plate, like he was at a restaurant. “The Wyoming pack is coming to Estes Park next month for the annual games. Maybe you should go.”
She gaped in surprise. “Are you going?”
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “No. It’s my father’s gig, and we don’t get along.”
She filed that information away to chew on later. Somehow it didn’t surprise her that he didn’t get along with his dad. Even though he must be nearing thirty years old, he carried that ‘rebel’ vibe like a badge.
It was in her nature to serve, even a male who didn’t deserve it, so she stood, picking up both their plates from the coffee table and carrying them to the kitchen. Without checking, she knew Cody’s heated gaze followed her and she had to admit she loved it. She’d never been with a guy who made her feel so desirable. The fact that Cody seemed unable to control his desire—despite his obvious dislike for her—gave her a sense of pleasure and power.
5
Cody put the gun in the waistband of his jeans again. “Come on, princess.”
Melissa had just finished hand-washing all the dishes, a sight that nearly undid him. Her acts of domesticity made him harder than stone. Hell, everything about her made him hard. But her willingness to pitch in pleased him, and not because he cared about those things.
It went against his initial impression that she was just a spoiled stuck-up human. But also something more primitive approved—his inner wolf found it proof she was mate-worthy.
Too bad his inner wolf was wrong.
A quarter wolf still meant three-quarters human. He’d grown up in Estes Park, Colorado, where the entire mountain town was made up of shifters. He hadn’t had to deal with humans. Even after being kicked out at age sixteen, he’d stuck with his own kind. Apart from random gratuitous sex with human females, he didn’t find them good for much. And his father’s parting taunt had made him certain he’d rather die single than mate a human and prove his father right.
Melissa turned from where she was wiping down the countertops for the second time—who double-wiped down countertops? He wondered if she did that after every meal.
“Where are we going?”
“To the mall to buy you some clothes.”
Surprise flickered over her face. “Oh.” Then her expression clouded. “Listen, I don’t have my purse, so I don’t have my credit cards or anything.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He didn’t put it off on her brother-in-law this time. He was starting to get the idea she didn’t ask for money from him, which he could understand.