Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
With a sigh Riley glanced over her shoulder and squinted as shards of sunlight danced off the river, framing the old witch standing over her in judgment. “You say that like you caught us having sex.”
“Look at you, lounging all over him. This wouldn’t have happened in my day. Nooooooo. People were more reserved and believed in keeping certain things in the privacy of their own home. You have no self-respect at all.”
Riley rubbed her forehead. “I’m not saying you don’t have the God-given right to be neurotic, but must you really exploit the privilege?”
“If I were you, Tao, I’d be railing at fate for letting me down so dramatically.”
Riley closed her eyes. “I’m getting that déjà poo feeling.”
“Déjà poo?” Tao echoed.
“The feeling that I’ve heard all this bullshit before.”
Greta gasped. “How dare you!”
“Look, Gretchen—”
“It’s Greta.”
“I don’t care.”
At that moment, Dominic and Trick came traipsing out of the woods. Tao ground his teeth. What the fuck happened to having alone time with his mate? He scowled. “What are you doing out here?”
Grinning, Dominic kicked a pinecone into a bush. “Searching for treasure. Can I look around your chest, Riley?”
Stifling a smile, Riley sighed and patted her growling mate. “Dominic, please find the will to live.”
Trick cast them an apologetic look. “We didn’t mean to interrupt. We were just looking for Zac—he’s out here somewhere in his wolf form.”
“We haven’t seen him,” said Riley.
Dominic gave her another grin. “You know . . . you have a really sexy voice. It would sound even better if it was muffled by my co—”
“Dominic.” Tao looked at Trick. “If you don’t kill him, I will.”
Trick shoved a laughing Dominic ahead of him. “Let’s just go before you get yourself killed. Come on, Greta.”
Once the three wolves disappeared into the trees, Riley felt Tao relax beneath her. “Peace again.”
He let out a long breath. “Yeah. Peace.” She rested her head on his chest again, so he closed his eyes. The cool breeze fluttered over his skin, easing the prickling heat of the sun and carrying the scents of pine, sun-warmed rock, and wild herbs. Branches creaked, leaves rustled . . . and someone laughed somewhere in the near distance.
Tao hissed through his teeth. All he wanted was to be alone with his mate for a while. He didn’t think it was such a big thing to ask of the universe. But mere moments later, Makenna stumbled into the clearing.
Her eyes widened. “Sorry, I didn’t know you guys would be out here. We’ll get out of your way.” Ryan stepped into the clearing with Kye on his shoulders, Lilah clinging to his chest, Dexter wrapped around his left leg, and Savannah coiled around his right leg. He grunted at Tao in what could have been a greeting or a plea for help.
Spotting Riley and Tao, Dexter jumped down and bellowed, “Incomin’!” The cub flung himself at Tao, who caught him around the waist and held him high above his body while tickling his sides.
Knowing what was coming, Riley sat up just in time to catch Savannah as she leaped. “Hey, sweetheart.”
The little viper grinned. “You kissing again?”
Riley chuckled. “Yep.”
“Ew.” Savannah playfully hissed at Tao and then scrambled up a tree.
Tao sighed. “Let’s just go inside, we’re not going to have any peace out here.” He got to his feet, grabbed Dexter by the ankle, and dangled him upside down, making the cub laugh hysterically. Lots of bits of food fell out of Dexter’s pockets, unsurprisingly.
Makenna grabbed the little boy and righted him. “You two go off and be alone. The kids are fine with us.”
Riley blew a kiss at the kids and waved. She and Tao walked into the woods, leaving Savannah hanging upside down from a tree while the other kids climbed Ryan like he was a tree. Riley skimmed her hand over a weathered oak, feeling the rough edges of the bark. The woods really were beautiful and . . . and Tao was no longer beside her. Looking over her shoulder, she lifted a brow at him. He was wearing his “I’m thinking about sex” smile. “What?”
“You know watching you walk makes me want to throw you on the nearest surface and take you hard.”
“What’s stopping you?”
Tao was about to say nothing, but then he heard a wolf padding toward them. He halted, cursing. “I can’t take any more. I just can’t.”
She clamped her lips together, battling the urge to laugh. Then he suddenly swung her around and began dragging her deeper into the woods. “Where are we going?”
“To get some damn privacy.”
The trees thickened as they walked farther and farther, and then Riley stumbled into a cave, mouth open. Dead leaves crackled beneath their feet as he guided her inside. “I never saw this before,” she told him.
“You haven’t been on our territory long enough to explore every little crevice.”