Page 13 of Stealing His Human

Pulling away was damn difficult, especially noticing the way his mate’s arms goose bumped, but Nedrick did it. He headed toward the open space between Deke and Paolo. Settling Indian-style between them, he grabbed a plastic fork from the red solo cup in the middle of the blankets.

Nedrick ignored Karissa’s hate-filled glare—which she quickly hid when Brett returned his attention to his plate—as well as Paolo’s amused smirk, and he used the fork to point at the aforementioned salmon dip and crackers. “Can you pass that my way, man?” Then he scooped up a forkful of theJello, pleased to see it contained slices of banana, chunks of pineapple, and grape halves.

“Sure.” Paolo slid the requested items his way.

“What do you want to drink, Ned?” Preall asked, indicating a soft-sided cooler. “Beer, wine, soda, water?”

“I’ll take a beer,” Nedrick answered after swallowing the strawberry-flavored goodness.

Nedrick placed the fork on his plate and the plate on his knee. After taking the bottle, he popped the cap. While taking a drink, Nedrick cut a side-eye look toward his mate, pleased to see that Brett hadn’t allowed Karissa to grab his hands again. Instead, his mate had picked up his plate with one hand and a fork with his other while he was eating potato salad.

Mmmm... that sounds good, too.

“I’m gonna go for a swim, Michel,” Jason declared, drawing everyone’s attention. He hopped off his big lover’s lap before bending and pecking a kiss to Michel’s lips. “Wanna come?”

“Always wanna come,” Michel countered with a smirk as he lifted a hand and squeezed Jason’s shorts-covered ass, making several people laugh, including Jason. “But I’ll pass on the swimming for now. Go have fun.”

Jason grinned broadly as he whipped his shirt over his head, and Michel stared avidly at his lean torso. When he toed off his shoes—a hiking variety that had five toes—he revealed toenails painted in pink and green. With another wink in Michel’s direction, Jason sashayed toward the lake.

Over his shoulder, Jason called, “Coming, Deke?”

“Most definitely later,” Deke replied as he bounced to his feet, leering at Luther. “But I’d enjoy a swim.”

A round of good-natured groans mixed with chuckles filled the air. A couple of people threw napkins at Deke, who just laughed while removing his own shirt. Then he bent to peck a kiss to Luther’s lips, but the blond wolf shifter cupped Deke’s head and held him still so he could ravish him for a good ten seconds before releasing him.

With flushed cheeks, Deke purred, “Promises, promises.”

Luther grinned. “And I always deliver on my promises.”

“Can’t wait,” Deke responded breathily before bouncing his way across the field after his friend.

Taking a bite of a turkey croissant—oh, gods, so good—Nedrick kept a discreet eye on Brett, wondering how he’d take the interaction. To his pleasure, he didn’t seem to be fazed at all by his friends’ antics. In fact, with the way Brett’s lips were curved up just a little and the amusement dancing in his gorgeous green eyes, Nedrick would bet that he was fighting back a laugh.

Karissa, however, appeared to be fuming, considering the way her cheeks were flushed, and disgust filled her green eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something so badly, but she kept her lips pinched shut.

“You have a pond at home, Mich, and I know you enjoy the water often,” Preall stated, drawing attention. “It’s a beautiful day. How come you aren’t swimming with Jason?”

“Because I swim in the nude,” Michel stated bluntly while grabbing another beer and popping the cap. “Didn’t think you’d appreciate Trina seeing the bone I’d end up with for Jason.”

Even as many of them chuckled, including Nedrick, he heard Karissa’s outraged gasp.

“Oh my god!” Karissa snapped. “How can you all laugh at something so perverted?”

“Well, while I sure don’t want to see it,” Trina stated crisply, scowling at Karissa. “There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to the one you love.”

Karissa’s face turned even darker, but she snapped her mouth shut.

Yep. Deliciously scandalized.

Gods, I love my pack.

Chapter Six

For the most part, Brett enjoyed the hike and picnic at the lake. The guys were rowdy and a little bawdy, but they were friendly and welcoming, too. Most of them did their best to include Brett and draw him into conversation.

Brett noticed they even tried to engage Karissa, too, not that it worked very well. She responded with clipped, often one-word answers. Her distaste for the men was on clear display. Any real conversation from Karissa was reserved for Tabatha and Tyler. Even Trina and Preall were beginning to be given the cold shoulder.

On the hike back, Brett did his best to keep her from clutching his arm or holding his hand, but she was damn persistent. He enjoyed talking with Luther about possible houses to drive by, and while he wasn’t much for cooking, he found Deke’s enthusiasm engaging. Jason and Trina’s sibling teasing was also entertaining as hell as they tried to embarrass each other in front of their significant others.

---