Page 70 of Unwilling Wolf

“You could warn me first,” she admonished him.

“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked softly, resting his hand on her ankle.

Well, that touch settled her down fast enough.

After a few minutes of growing sleepy to the easy banter and men’s voices, Garret removed his hand from her leg, but she didn’t like it. Eliza scooted closer to him.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Put your hand back.”

“Yeah, Alpha,” Wells joked. “Do what the lady says. Put your hand back.”

“Fuck off,” Garret growled.

The disappointment in her chest was almost tangible when he refused to touch her again, and Eliza stared at the flickering flames of the fire, wishing she hadn’t said anything at all.

And then just as she was about to nod off to sleep, she felt something soft on her ankle.

She looked up at Garret. He was staring at the fire, his hand resting gently on her ankle.

The fluttering sensation in her stomach made her smile and close her eyes tightly. She scooted a little closer to him and snuggled against her bedroll, feeling all safe and warm and happy with his hand resting on her leg to tell her he was there. She wasn’t alone out here.

She wasn’t alone at all.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Garret couldn’t stop watching her sleep.

“You good, Boss?” Burke asked. The stupid smile in his voice grated on Garret’s nerves.

“You want to fight?” he growled.

“Wolf to wolf? Or man to man?”

“You pick. I’ll kick your ass either way.”

Burke held up his hands in surrender. “I don’t have a death wish today. No harm meant.”

Garret dragged his attention from Burke, to Wells, to Cookie, and then back to Eliza.

“She’s right pretty when she ain’t talkin,’” Wells said low.

Well that eased the tension. Garret allowed a small smile. “She does have a mouth on her.”

“Like a fuckin’ rattlesnake,” Burke said.

Garret liked that about her though. Eliza’s auburn curls were fanned out behind her across the width of her bedroll. She was curled up in her dress, arms wrapped around her middle. Perhaps she was cold. Garret didn’t like that.

He stood and retrieved his own bedroll, and then settled it over her.

“Aww, that’s so sweet—”

“Burke, I’ll fuckin’ kill you,” he promised. “Say one more word and see what happens.”

Burke swallowed hard and didn’t say anything else. Clever wolf.

Garret tossed him one more dirty look and then laid down beside Eliza, blocking her from being able to roll into the fire. He laid on the dirt and crossed his arms around his middle, watching the way her face relaxed when she was sleeping. God, she was pretty. Even out here in the brush, wild hair, no rouge on her face. She was just…beautiful.

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