Page 18 of Sunshine for the Grumpy Grizzly

Reluctance burns through me as I turn away from him and pick my way through the forest. I can hear that darn IT guy’s voice blaring through the quiet, and Preston’s curt replies.

Baby. He called me baby.

I don’t know what would’ve happened if we hadn’t gotten disturbed.

All I know is that my body is tingling all over, my panties are wet, and I was just about ready for Preston to throw me over his shoulder and carry me off to his lair.

5

Preston

Lucy is still asleep.

She’s been sleeping like an angel all night long. I know this because I go check on her every half hour. I keep replaying that beautiful moment when her lips met mine for the first time. I wish like hell I was in there with her, cradling her ripe young body in my arms.

But this is the next best thing.

I press my ear to the window of her room, and listen to the slow, deep sound of her breathing. It’s a blissful sound, sweeter than any birdsong. Because it means she feels safe here, in my lair.

And this is where she’s gonna stay,my beast growls.

I shush it up and peer through the glass. The room is dark, but there’s a tiny gap between the curtains and I can just make her out. She’s curled on her side, blonde hair fanning across the pillow. One of her shoulders is bare. Does she sleep naked? I’m desperate to find out. I want to slide in beside her, pull the sheet down and expose her beautiful body to my hungry gaze. My beast snuffles at the glass, its nostrils full of her virgin perfume. The scent of her is driving it insane. Last night, I could hardly keep it from dragging her into the forest and claiming her. It’s out of control. It’s spent its whole life waiting for its mate and here she is at long last. Even more beautiful and sexy than I could’ve dreamed.

Lucy gives a sleepy sigh and turns over.

Reluctantly, I tear myself away and head back to the lobby. I’ve still got work to do.

I’ve been doing some research and it turns out humans like to play a game calledcapture the flag. It sounds like hunting dinner, but way less exciting. The humans get into two teams and each one hides a flag in their own territory, and the other team has to find it. But if someone gets caught in the other team’s territory, they can also get captured. That part’s kinda cool.

I’ve been up all night plotting the territory, drawing some maps and picking the best place to hide each flag. I’m sure as hell not going to leave it to those bozos to decide. I’d trust Lucy, though. I’d trust her with anything.

I need to make sure the flags are somewhere hard to get to, but not so hard that someone’s gonna end up dying in the process. And they’ve got to be visible, so they can be spotted easily.

I’ve done the first one already. Now I just need to put the second one up on a small peak. All that’s left is to tell Lucy about my plan. I sure hope she likes it.

By the timeI get back to the lodge, it’s already dawn, and my beast is tearing up the ground, desperate to get to its mate. I rush to her room. Maybe I can catch her waking up. Maybe I’ll see that sheet slipping down, all by itself.

Fifty feet away, I slam to a stop. Because there he is again—that loser who was staring at her ass like he owned it—fucking sauntering along the path to her room with a towel slung over his shoulder.

I’ll fucking kill him!my beast roars.

I hold it back with all my strength, and I force myself to stand and watch.

He knocks on her door, calling her name in that whiny voice of his.Looo-ceee!

He has no right to say her name. I want to tear it out of his filthy mouth.

“You awake, honey?” he continues.

“Huh?” comes her voice from the other side of the door. Adorably soft with sleep.

“A little bird told me you’ve got the only hot tub in the place. Kinda mean not to share it with the rest of us, don’t you think?”

“Uh. I don’t know. It’srealearly.”

Riled up as I am, I can’t resist a little smile at the sweetness of her voice.

“Just open up the door and let me in.”

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