Page 18 of Cold Foot Komodo

Raynah snorted. “I’m sure Reed loved that.”

Sasha frowned at the woman as she walked away toward the front door. “He seemed fine with him.”

“Yeah, well, he texted Wreck and asked him to do some research on your neighbor. Looks can be deceiving with Reed. Ready to see my neighbor’s house? He’s also hot and mysterious,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

“Let me guess. Reed’s house?” Sasha asked.

“Yep!”

“You think he’s hot?” Sasha asked curiously.

“Uuum, yeah. Have you seen him?”

Sasha giggled and nodded. “And he knows how to fix stuff.”

“Like in a house?” Raynah asked, her eyebrows arched high.

Sasha nodded. “He drained my hot water heater today. I didn’t even know what a hot water heater was.”

“So hot,” Raynah murmured, honesty in her eyes.

Sasha followed her out of her cabin, lost in thought. Reed wasn’t just handy around a house, or fun to look at. Reed had shown her a glimpse of his depth when he was talking over the sandwich picnic on her neon-blue carpet earlier. Now that…that was even more attractive to Sasha. Looks faded over time, but emotional intelligence? That had the potential to deepen over time if a man worked hard enough at it, and she had seen a glimpse of that skill in Reed.

The prison had depended on him to keep peace between monsters, enough so that they kept him even after he was supposed to be free. She could tell he was strong from the way he wasn’t complaining about his treatment to the news, or to anyone who would listen. He admitted it and didn’t require any conversation back. He was just here under a new Alpha, picking up a job immediately, and helping her when he didn’t even know her.

There was a good man inside of that shifter, and that…that was hot.

Outside, Reed was sitting on the porch stairs of the final cabin. He offered her a crooked smile, and stood as she approached. Raynah excused herself and headed back toward the firepit. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked back at his cabin, then to her. “Mine looks the same as everyone else’s, but probably less décor.”

She grinned. “Bachelor pad?” she guessed.

“I would’ve furnished it with a futon, and that was all, if we weren’t all required to look through a décor book and pick out our personal style. It was all weird. I’ve been in a small cell for a decade with no freedom to make even the smallest decision, and then suddenly I was answering a questionnaire about what color scheme I would like for my countertops and cabinets.”

She laughed. “So you would’ve rather gone with just a mattress on the floor?”

“Well, maybe a sheet on the mattress, but maybe not,” he said through a grin.

“Are you territorial?” she guessed.

“A little.” The admission, and the honesty was nice.

“Do you want to skip the tour and go eat?” she asked him.

“Really?”

She dipped her chin once. Sure, she was very curious about his cabin, but his blue eye was damn-near glowing white, and she didn’t need to rile up his animal anymore than he already was.

He pointed to the wine glass in her hand. “Buzzed yet?”

“Chhh, no. I’ve had maybe three sips. Want to try it?” Sasha offered the glass to him.

“Not on your life. Wine is too fancy for me.”

“Grape soda is much tastier.”

He huffed a laugh, and she could tell he was slowing his stride so that she could keep up. “Are you warm enough?”

Touched that he cared, she hugged her jacket tighter around herself and nodded. “I’ll be right as rain as soon as I get near the heaters. Probably you super-shifters have no problem with the chilly weather.”

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