Page 9 of A Merry Misfit Christmas

“You pick the spot, but I need to get you warm and out of this storm.”

“And my car?”

“I’ll pay for the repairs. No worries.”

That’s enough to satisfy me. “My place. I want to change clothes.”

“You’ll have to give me the address, and I’ll need to stow the blanket, so it doesn’t cause an accident during the ride. I don’t like that you’ll be at the mercy of the weather, but we have no choice. I do have a helmet for you. That should help.”

I reluctantly give up the blanket as he stores it, pulling out a helmet. He straps it on me and shrugs out of his leather vest, draping it around my body and zipping it up around me. It’s warm from his body heat, and I fight the urge to lower my head and sniff the material.

How odd.

“You’re going to be cold,” I point out, gesturing to his white tee shirt and the thin red flannel over it.

“I’m good.”

Okay. I’m glad I have my gloves and a jacket since my arms aren’t covered nearly as well as the rest of my body. His leather vest covers me almost as well as the blanket, nearly reaching my knees. With the helmet, I won’t get slapped in the face with snow and ice.

Him? He’s going to freeze and turn into a human popsicle.

“Get on my bike, Beautiful.” He ticks his chin at the sky. “It’s about to get worse. We need to move.”

I don’t hesitate to settle on his seat as he takes his place in front of me. Once I give him my address, he plugs it into his phone and uses the GPS for directions.

Kodiak’s touch is gentle as he reaches for my hands, wrapping them around his torso. “Hold tight. Whatever you do, don’t let go.”

Right.

“You’re safe, Sweetheart. You’re with me.”

It’s the last thing he says, alleviating my worry and fear before he starts the motorcycle, the bike rumbling to life beneath us, and we ride from the parking lot.

Chapter Four

Kodiak

Ifollow the directions to Callie’s address, hoping the overprotective, possessive temperament of my bear won’t scare her. He’s fucking obsessed, which is a bit worrisome. I don’t know if he’s acting like this because of the fact she’s our mate or because we haven’t claimed her yet. Unfortunately, noneof my brothers will know either since she’s the first one to come along for any of us.

As I follow the directions, I realize she lives in one of the club’s rental houses. We have an LLC, which we use for our businesses, and since other shifters are also in Yukon Bluff, we bought quite a few vacant properties, fixed them up, and rented them out.

But Callie’s not a shifter, I think,so how did she manage to get one?

We rent them somewhat ‘under the table’ since some of those moving here want to stay as off the grid as possible. While our businesses are legit, and we pay our taxes, the cash from the rental houses isn’t.

Our mate is in trouble, my bear grumbles, pacing inside of me.

Stupid fucker better not try to take over. Not only would it scare the ever-loving hell out of Callie, but it would definitely cause an uproar with the townspeople. Not that there haven’t been rumors over the years, but one of the reasons we bought so much property was so we could shift without fear of being caught. Our feathered brothers have it much easier since birds are everywhere, and not a lot of people can distinguish between one breed and another. The rest of us? Not so much, especially Spike since he’s a fucking dragon.

I manage to pull into her driveway without him showing his fuzzy ass and shut down my bike. “Let’s get you inside and warmed up,” I say once we’re both off the bike and heading to the front door.

“Oh, um, you don’t have to stick around,” Callie says as she pulls her keys from her pocket and unlocks the door.

“Wanted to get a fire going for you. This weather’s getting worse,” I reply, looking up at the sleet that’s now mixed with heavy, wet snow.

She shivers; whether it’s because she’s cold or because the storm is growing worse is anybody’s guess. Maybe it’s a combination of the two. “Come on in, then,” she says.

I barely manage to hide my grin. My mate has some fire in her, and I can’t wait to find out how hot she’ll burn for me.

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