Page 48 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

Yes, you do. You are falling head over heels in love with him.The other part of her brain argued.No. You are just in close proximity to him. He saved your life and Edward’s life. This is just a brief, enjoyable moment in time.

They finally got the water down the drain, leaving the concrete damp.

Sean looked around them. “It’ll dry soon enough.”

Xyla looked at the man. He was so incredibly handsome. His shirt did nothing to hide his broad shoulders and thick arms. She pictured what he looked like naked and felt a familiar warmth rush through her.

She dropped her squeegee and walked over to him and put her hands on his chest. Standing on her toes, she brushed a kiss across his lips. He dropped the mop, wrapped his arms around her, and intensified the kiss.

Moaning in the back of her throat, she pressed tightly against him, wanting him. When the kiss broke, she smiled into his eyes.

“You are an incredible man. Thank you for helping me.”

“I just do what needs to be done. I couldn’t very well let water keep rushing out of the pipe or let you clean this mess up by yourself.”

“Just accept the fact that both Edward and I think that you’re Superman.”

He grinned. “Drat. I was going for the whole Batman angle. Superman has powers. Batman is just a regular guy who does cool stuff.”

She gently touched his face and closed her eyes. Their lips touched.

“Xyla, while you’re down there, can you bring up another jar of the preserves? I don’t think one is enough.”

She pulled back and grinned at him. “Sure, Franny, no problem. I’ll be right up.” Xyla kissed him quickly and said, “Raincheck?”

“You’ve got it.”

Xyla grabbed the jar off the shelf and Sean picked up the squeegee and mop. She ran up the stairs with Sean right behind her.

Elliot walked by and looked at the two of them with pure disgust and continued walking.

“He hasn’t spoken to me in a while. Dad does that when he gets mad at me. I don’t know whether I should be upset or just be glad to have a little bit of piece for a while.”

Sean laughed and headed toward the closet while she walked into the kitchen.

“Thank you. You’ve been such a blessing,” Franny said.

“I’m just trying to do my part. You, Ginny, Sara, William, and Howard are the ones who have been going nonstop to keep everyone here safe, fed, and the resort running.”

“It’s what we do. Most of what we do is everyday tasks, anyway. I would still have to cook, Ginny would still have to clean, and so on and so forth.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Xyla said. “Do you need any help right now?”

“No, I’m all good. Go relax.”

“Okay. I’ll be in the library if you need me.”

She picked up the book she’d been reading and stared at the page. After a few minutes, she realized that she had reread the same chapter at least four times and still had no idea what it said.

Xyla pictured herself moving back to Angel’s Creek. She and Sean would continue seeing each other and maybe fall in love. He would propose and they would go through the mating ceremony – whatever that entailed. Edward would come to live with them, which would make him extremely happy. She and Sean would have at least three babies.

Would they be wolf shifters or humans? How does that work?

Her father walked by the door, glared at her for a long minute, and then stomped away.

“There is no way that a relationship between Sean and me would work out. We come from two completely different worlds. Besides, anything we tried to build together, my father would destroy.”

She thought about Ginny’s story and the look on her face when she said that she still loved her tiger shifter. There was a clear warning in her story. Xyla wondered if she was strong enough to defy her father and try to have a relationship with Sean.

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