Page 47 of Warlander Grizzly

Confidence oozed from his tone, and she found herself unable to look away from the curve of that devilish smile on his lips.

“How do you know?” she whispered.

“Because maybe I have the sight about you.”

“What do you see?”

“You’re going to talk to me about the real stuff from here on, and someday, you’re going to tell me you are my Crew.”

Holy shit. She let off a shaking breath. “What would you have done if I was still pregnant?”

“Raised her like a Fuller. She would never know any different.” Truth. Truth. Motherfucking truth.

She didn’t know why, but her inner bear let off a heartbroken sound inside of her. For the side of her that was a woman in mourning, it felt so oddly good to hear that.

Shifter males didn’t raise offspring that wasn’t biologically theirs very easily, but Landon had talked so easily and so smoothy about what she’d gone through. He wasn’t scared even one percent by the seriousness of this conversation. She could tell. There was something so solid and satisfying about that.

“You’re speaking of this stuff too quickly.”

“Quickly for you. I’ve been watching you since we were kids.”

“Stalker.”

“So? I never pushed you. I waited for you to notice me, and when you didn’t, I lived my life. There was no pressure on you. Did I think you were pretty? Yeah. Did I think you were interesting, yeah. Did I hate it when you moved away from the mountains for a couple years? Yep. I’ve paid my dues. I can say whatever I want to now.”

And it made sense. He did have a right to be honest and open with her. She actually liked his directness. Lucia was beginning to learn exactly where she stood with him.

“I’ve never met anyone like you,” she admitted.

“Yeah, well, it feels fun right now in this moment, when we are away from the world and I’m not triggered by the idiots of Earth. Currently, I’m not fighting anyone or pissing you off. I’m not in an active prank-war against anyone who slights my dad. Tonight is the most normal I’ll ever feel to you. After this, you’ll be pissed off at how much you have to stop me from fighting. You’ll get mad at how much I Change, and wish I would spend more time with you. You’ll wonder why I go quiet for days and get scared it’s because of you, and I’ll forget to tell you it’s not. It’s me. I didn’t get this old without pairing up because I just slipped through the cracks, Lucia. I’m a professional at fucking things up. At the end of the day, I’m still a Fuller.”

The honesty of his admission wasn’t lost on her. “That’s why you don’t like yourself?”

He scratched his jaw, and she could hear the scritch, scritch, scritch of his beard. “I guess I dislike myself a little less around you.”

And she understood. Lucia couldn’t help the slight smile that took her lips. She felt the same around him.

“Well, I don’t mind you fighting,” she told him. “And if you go quiet, great, because I don’t like talking and also I need a lot of space to myself. Don’t talk to me all you want to. It’s my love language. You will probably get mad at my lack of compliments and disdain for people in general, and my late nights working at the bar, and my asshole Crew who apparently has an app on their phones that tracks my whereabouts. Also, I am bad at pool.”

“So bad,” he agreed. “So are you saying we aren’t a match?” There was jest in his voice.

“Oh absolutely not. We couldn’t be worse for each other if we tried.”

“Mmm. You went all limp when I kissed you though. Like this cute little wet noodle.”

“I’m not a wet noodle.”

“And you made this sexy little sound in your throat like…aaaauuuuh,” he mimicked in a heady, feminine voice.

Mortified, she fired at him. “Well, Steve kisses way better than you—”

“Is that the Steve you texted me about?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

His eyes were very serious, his expression stern in the moonlight. “Lucia, this isn’t funny. Who is he?”

“He tasted like gum and pheromones,” she joked.

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