Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
I like this smile on her and that she’s easily gifting it to me.
She steps forward, her lovely pine scent enveloping me, and gently eases the pup into my waiting hands. Silky, delicate fingers brush over mine, sending heat prickling over my flesh. A warm blush creeps over my cheeks. I force my gaze from her onto the pup, stroking its messy fur in what I hope is a comforting manner.
“You’re safe now…” I frown at the pup, lifting him up briefly so I can check his sex. “You need a name, little fella.”
“Mage,” Raegan says. “The white one is Spirit. I already named them after characters in the book I’m reading.”
Mage and Spirit.
I grin at her. “That’s perfect.”
Dad grunts, pointing north. “I’m going to continue to hunt. The two of you need to take the pups back home. Bathe them. Figure out a way to feed them. Make sure they stay warm. They’ll probably die, though, without their mother.”
“They won’t die,” I say with a fierceness I feel in my bones. “Will you, Mage?”
Mage gnaws at my jacket, mistaking the button for a nipple. He doesn’t appear to be frail or weak. This wolf pup is just hungry.
Rae picks up the other pup, Spirit, and comes to stand beside me. She radiates happiness. The rays of her smile warm my flesh. I want to close my eyes and lean toward her, feeling her pleasure tickle over my skin.
I pick up my gun and then start trekking toward home. Rae settles into step beside me, whispering to Spirit in a sweet voice that I don’t hear often. It feels right being with her, doing something together. On the same side for once.
“One of the kids will probably try to steal Spirit,” Rae grumbles. “She’s quiet and sweet.” She cuts her eyes over to me. “Then I’ll have to steal Mage back.”
The pups are brother and sister.
It’s fitting a pair of siblings are their saviors.
I smirk at her. “You don’t have your own cabin. But you can come over to visit me and Mage anytime you want.”
Her smile widens. “Really? Do I have to knock?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her she has to because the last thing I need is for her to catch me jerking off while moaning her name. Fuck no.
I can’t exactly tell her no, though, without ruining this rare time of peace between us.
“Knock five times so I know it’s you,” I instruct, “and then count to twenty.”
“A secret knock to enter your cabin?”
“Yeah. Our little secret.”
She nods, pleased with that answer. At least twenty seconds will buy me enough time to put my dick away.
Three days later…
It wasn’t one of the kids who stole Spirit, but Rowdy instead. Spirit took to our older brother much like Mage has taken to me.
To say Raegan is pissed is an understatement. And, in the past, I took great pleasure in teasing her, but things are changing when it comes to her. It’s growing more and more difficult to ignore my feelings.
A light rapping on my door indicates a visitor. Ronan. My older brother respects my privacy and doesn’t spend all hours of every day trying to rile me up like Rae does. He’s quiet and a good listener. Probably why, in a family full of big mouths, he’s the favorite. Now more than ever, I wish I could confess to him this shit I’m dealing with. Of all people, Ronan would never divulge my secrets.
But I’m having a hard time admitting them to myself, though.
Telling Ronan sounds like an impossibility.
“Come in,” I call out, making Mage jolt.
The little wolf pup is sweet and cuddly, though Dad says he won’t be that way for long. He’s a predator and one day I might have to put him down if he seems like he might be a threat. I understand where Dad is coming from, and I’d do anything to protect my family, but I hope to God that day never comes.
Raegan adores Mage and would murder me in my sleep if I hurt him.
My cabin door opens and Ronan steps inside. He’s a little taller than me by maybe an inch, but I’m by far bulkier. If Ronan can avoid it, he stays out of the woods and locked up in his own cabin, nose lost in one of his sci-fi novels. I never understood how he could read about adventures when so many lie just outside our doorstep.
“Come to see the pup?” I ask, grinning at him. “He’s lazy like you.”
Ronan smirks as he saunters over to where I’m sprawled out on the sofa, Mage snuggled against my chest. “Ha. Says the guy practically asleep in the middle of the day. I’m surprised you’re not out hunting.”
“Same reason you aren’t,” I grumble, not bothering to flip him off as he sits beside me. “Dad’s trying to knock some sense into Rowdy.”