Page 16 of The Billionaire Alpha Surrogate

“Casual. Most of the time Micah comes to dinner in sweats and a T-shirt,” Michelle said. “Come as you are dressed now.”

Lucy looked down at her Wicked T-shirt and jeans and shrugged. She trusted Michelle not to steer her wrong. After washing her face and hands, she managed to find the dining room. Lucy was happy to see Micah in a Toby Keith T-shirt and jeans. She somehow figured him to be the kind of person who thought that dress slacks and a collared shirt were dressing down.

“Michelle said that she introduced you to her favorite spot on the grounds,” Micah said.

“Yep. It’s my new favorite spot in the world,” Lucy told him.

“I’m rather fond of it, myself. I go there when I need to think,” Micah said.

Michelle, Ronnie, Vera, Micah, and Lucy sat down together to eat.

“Vera, there is enough food here to feed an army,” Lucy said.

“You haven’t seen Micah and Ronnie eat,” she said, wryly. “The two of them can put away more food than a dozen men.”

They talked about music during dinner. Lucy was shocked when Micah told her that he liked to listen to John Williams’ compositions while he was working. John Williams composed the music for many movies, including Harry Potter, Superman, E.T., Star Wars, and many others.

“I like country when I’m working. I’ll sing right along with them,” Micah said.

Lucy giggled because she just couldn’t picture him doing that.

Ronnie proposed a couple games of Spades after dinner. Vera excused herself because she had a new book she wanted to read. Lucy and Michelle paired up against the two men. They teased each other while they played. They called it quits after each team won one game.

Lucy hugged Ronnie and Michelle. Micah walked her to her room, brushing a kiss across her cheek. She looked at him, surprised. A sexy grin spread across his face, and Lucy’s heart nearly stopped. She bit her bottom lip, and she felt a heated flush in her cheeks. Lucy quickly stepped into her room.

A million thoughts exploded in her brain. He was hot. Micah was very nice and charming. His casual touch caused butterflies to explode in her stomach.

You’re only going to be here for six to eight months. Don’t even think about falling in love with the man. Plus, you might be on the rebound.

Lucy brought out a small journal and her favorite pen and wrote about her day, including her thoughts and emotions. She wanted to capture her journey as a surrogate. It might be a fascinating book someday – published under a pen name, of course.

“I’m going to gain a hundred pounds just from your cooking,” Lucy told Vera the next morning over breakfast. “I’ll look like I’m carrying ten babies at once.”

“I’m glad you like it,” she said, smiling at the compliment.

The treatments went quickly, and the doctor said that she was fine to shift and get some exercise.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since I got to the human world. I just didn’t know where it was safe. I don’t want to shock the folks around here by suddenly stripping naked and turning into a bear.” She laughed. “Plus, I couldn’t drive my car through the portal, and I’m not so sure about telling an Uber driver to take me to the local shifting spot.”

“I doubt that Sean would appreciate a car appearing in his basement.” Micah laughed. “As for the Uber driver, there are a lot of shifters in the area. He might not even blink.”

Lucy had seen a lot of men naked since clothes were optional in the shifter world. She was not prepared for the jolt in her heart when Micah got undressed. His body was perfectly sculpted as though he had been created by a master artist.

“Do you like what you see?” he asked, with an ear-to-ear grin.

“What? Oh.” Lucy was sure that she was blushing from head to foot.

She quickly undressed, folded her clothes, put them in the plastic bag, and stashed the bag in the crook of the tree with Micah’s. For the first time in her life, she felt very self-conscious and it was an effort not to cross her arms over her breasts and put a hand to cover the area between her legs.

Taking a deep breath she quickly shifted. Micah seemed to be taking his time to shift, knowing he had her full attention.

They trotted up the forested mountain. Lucy was at ease, as though she had known Micah forever. There was so much about him that she liked. He didn’t act like a stuck-up billionaire. He was down-to-earth and incredibly nice. Who would have thought that a man with enough money to buy the state would be happy hanging out with his so-called hired help and the woman who was going to be his surrogate and play Spades all night long?

“Do you want to race?” Micah asked, telepathically.

“You know that a wolf can outrun a bear,” Lucy said. “Not a fair race unless we tied your back legs together.”

“I don’t see that happening.” He laughed.

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