3

Larissa

I blinked up at him before turning to face the door and letting my forehead drop against the hard surface. For a little bit there, I’d thought maybe Allegra had stumbled across an awesome town full of hot guys, and I was looking forward to visiting her on the regular. And that was after being kidnapped, which just went to show how good-looking these guys were.

Zeke was attractive enough to make any woman look twice, but the guy who’d dared to snatch me out of his house was the one who called to me. He was a good nine to ten inches taller than me and had muscles on top of his muscles. His light brown hair was long enough for me to run my fingers through it, and his eyes were a rich chocolate brown. It really was too bad he was the one who caught my attention since he was completely out of touch with reality. And lucky me...I was trapped inside his house with him. “Why me?”

It was a rhetorical question, but the guy who thought he was part animal decided to answer anyway. “Because you’re my fated mate.”

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I lifted my head and banged it against the door again.

Gently gripping my shoulder, he turned me to face him. Then he cupped the back of my head so his hand was protecting me from the door. “Stop, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

Startled laughter burst from my lips. “Oh, that’s just great. The guy who kidnapped me because he thinks he can turn into an animal and I’m supposedly fated to be with him is worried that I’ll bruise my head or something during my perfectly reasonable reaction.”

“Kace.”

He stared at me as though I’d know what his random, one-word response meant. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I figured it’d be easier for you to refer to me if you knew my name.” His lips curved up in a sexy grin, and I wanted to kick my own butt for reacting to it. “Kace Lowell.”

My dad had drilled the importance of a firm handshake so deeply into my head that my response was automatic. Stretching out my arm, I replied, “Larissa Nash.”

Kace’s palm slid against mine, and I felt his touch all the way to my core. “Larissa,” he repeated in a low, raspy tone. “A unique name for a beautiful woman.”

I tried to tug my hand from his hold, but he didn’t let go. “Oh, sure. Now you pour on the charm after you already showed me your faults.”

“I can be a fuck of a lot more charming where you’re concerned,” he promised with a sexy smirk. “And being a shifter isn’t a fault. It should go in the plus column because you’ll never have to worry about how I’ll treat you. You are the center of my world. The one person I put above my pack.”

He had me falling for his line, right up until the last bit. “Is your pack part of the whole changing into an animal thing?”

Tightening his hold on my hand, he guided me over to the couch. After getting me settled, he crouched down until we were eye level. “I get that it’s di cult to believe that shifters exist, and I don’t expect you to take my word for it when we only just met.”

He was back to sounding reasonable, and I felt as though I had mental whiplash. “That’s good because I’m not going to believe you can change into an animal without seeing it with my own eyes.”

“Deal.” He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt before tugging it over his head. My gaze was glued to his six-pack abs, so it took a moment to register in my brain that he had kicked o his boots and popped open the snap on his jeans.

I slapped a hand over my eyes, but I was super tempted to peek through my fingers because he was so darn sexy. “What are you doing?”

There was a rustling sound, and then his jeans landed on top of my feet. “Showing you my wolf.”

His answer was so matter-of-fact, as though people claimed they could shift into an animal every day. “Your wolf?”

“He’s bigger than most since I’m the alpha, but you don’t need to be scared of him,” he promised. “My wolf would die to protect you.”

My eyes popped open at his vow, and I stared at my hand until I felt the brush of fur against my legs. I dropped my arm and gasped in shock at the huge wolf sitting in front of me. Its head was several inches above mine, and familiar dark brown eyes stared down his snout at me. “Holy crap! You were serious. You really can change into a wolf.”

He chu ed at me and lowered his head, his rough tongue swiping against my hand.

“Okay. Wow,” I breathed. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

Remembering what he’d said about not being afraid, I reached out to stroke my hand down his back. “Your fur is so soft.”

With his tongue hanging out, the wolf jumped up next to me on the couch. He rested his head on my lap, and I took it as an invitation to keep petting him. I dug my fingers in his thick fur and murmured, “You’re freaking huge, but I’ve never seen a more gorgeous animal in my life.”

It was impossible to miss the gleam of male satisfaction in his dark eyes. “Duh, I guess I should’ve realized you’d understand what I’m saying. But I refuse to be embarrassed. I’m sure you already know how amazing your wolf is. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. It makes sense that a superhot guy wouldn’t turn into just any wolf.”

He shifted on my lap, his tongue stroking against my cheek. I rubbed my hand against the trail of wetness the lick left behind. My vision was partially blocked, and I shrieked when my hand dropped back down to my lap, and I saw that Kace’s naked body was sprawled next to me. “You think I’m hot, huh?”

I jerked my gaze away from his impressive hard on and used all of my willpower to stop myself from looking back down at it. “Like you don’t already know how attractive you are. I’m sure you have women hitting on you all of the time.” “I don’t think so.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s possible, but I never really noticed because nobody else is you.”

It felt as though butterflies swirled in my belly. My hands twisted together, and I started to look down at them when I remembered he was still naked. My cheeks filled with heat, and I blurted, “Could you put your jeans back on? I have some questions, and it’s really di cult to talk to you while that thing is pointing straight at me.”

I couldn’t tear my gaze away when he fisted his hard on and stroked down the length. “If you’re sure that’s what you want.”

I’d never seen a dick up close and personal like this, but I wasn’t about to admit to how badly I wanted to touch it— and maybe take a lick or two. Instead, I forced myself to say, “I wouldn’t have asked if that’s not what I wanted.”

His thumb circled the tip, and I bit back a groan when he bent over to grab his jeans o the floor. I pressed my head against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling until he sat next to me and slid his arm around my shoulders. A quick glance confirmed that he hadn’t bothered with his shirt, and a shiver raced down my spine at being this close to his bare chest. “What did you want to ask me?”

A million questions barreled into my brain. “What’s an alpha? And a beta? Can everyone in Timber Ridge shift? Are they all wolves, or are there other animals? Wolves are super cool, but what about stu like bunnies or honey badgers? What’s the deal with fated mates? Does Allegra know about Zeke? Is he a wolf, too? Is that why she’s all loved up so quickly?”

I finally trailed o when I felt his shoulders shake and a deep chuckle rumbled up his chest. “Keep going if you have more questions.”

“There are plenty more I can come up with, but let’s start there.” Having him so close was wreaking havoc on my ability to concentrate. I pulled out of his embrace, shifted on the couch so my back was against the arm, and bent my knees to sit cross-legged.

Kace turned toward me and leaned his shoulder against the back of the couch. “You know how you asked if there was illegal crap going on in Timber Ridge?” I nodded and flashed him an apologetic smile. “I’m happy to answer any questions you have, but you need to be ready to keep what you learn to yourself. Being a shifter isn’t against the law, and I’d like to keep it that way, which is why we don’t go around advertising the fact we exist.”