Page 28 of Sear
The sensation was surprisingly distracting.
He continued, “I grew up in Boise. When I was a kid, every time I went outdoors, my parents warned me not to shift where anyone could see me. And I have to give my girls the same warnings now. It would be nice for them to grow up not feeling so, well, ‘othered.’”
Malia nodded in sympathy.
“So, you’re married?” She hoped her tone didn’t betray her disappointment at the thought. Hastily, she continued, “How many kids do you have?”
Lucas’s hot gaze met hers. “I’m divorced,” he said. “And unmated.”
Now it was his turn to look uncomfortable, as if he hadn’t meant to tell her that much.
Malia’s wolf began frolicking like a puppy again.He’s unmated! And available!
She had to fight hard not to beam at the news. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.
Wanting him isn’t a ‘wrong idea.’ Her wolf sounded offended. It watched in fascination as Lucas sucked the meat off a sparerib.I bet he knows what to do with his mouth. Not like those other men you dated.
Stop it!Malia ordered, her face suddenly warm.I don’t need those kinds of thoughts running through my head. He’s already turned me down once. I don’t want him to think I’m desperately flinging myself at him.
“And I have two little girls,” Lucas continued, appearing mercifully oblivious to Malia’s silent conversation with her wolf. “Savannah is six and already a bossy big sister. Taylor is four, and she loves all things purple and sparkly. They both began shifting almost as soon as they could walk. We’ve had a few, um,interestingmoments because of that.”
Lucas pulled out his phone. He tapped and swiped rapidly for a few seconds, then handed it across the small table to her. “Here. This was taken a couple of days ago.”
Malia giggled at the sight of Lucas’s crazy hair in the photo, decorated with at least a dozen different barrettes. He sat on a hardwood floor, an overstuffed sofa looming at his back, and grinned at the camera with unabashed delight. The two little girls leaning against him on either side had his golden hair and mischievous smiles.
“You’re going to kill me with cuteness,” she told him.
You’re already melting my panties, she added silently as she handed his phone back.
Lucas Winter mightlooklike a bad boy and hang around with sketchy characters like Travis Bickham, but she was one hundred percent certain that she’d just seen therealLucas. The one secure enough in his masculinity, and loving enough with his children, to share a silly photo with a near-stranger.
She liked that about him. Alot.
This time he didn’t give her a sexy smirk or lazy grin. Instead, she received the same smile she’d just seen in the photo. The happy one that stretched his generous mouth and lit up his clear brown eyes.
Yup. My panties are definitely melting. I just hope he doesn’t smell my reaction.
Then Lucas glanced at his phone again. “Well, this has been great, but I really need to call it a night,” he said, rising to his feet. “Early start again tomorrow.”
An invisible force drew Malia to her feet as well. “Thanks for dinner, Lucas. It was nice getting to know you.”
His lazy grin returned. “Wish me luck for tomorrow’s hunt. I don’t want to return empty-handed again. My folks back home will never let me live it down if I fail as an apex predator.”
She laughed at this, then tilted her head and looked up at him. She adored tall men, and Lucas fit the bill nicely. She extended her hand, intending to shake his goodbye.
He took it. Once again, his touch sparked bright sensations that ran up her arm like white-hot lightning. Her heart skipped a beat and heat kindled between her legs.
She saw him inhale deeply.Oh, crap. Busted!
His eyes widened. “Malia.” His voice was suddenly thick. “I know I shouldn’t, but—”
His grip tightened with inexorable strength. Then he yanked her toward him.
In the next instant, she found herself pressed up against his lean, muscular body.
Oh my. She barely had time to appreciate being surrounded by his appealing scent when he was cradling her face between his callused, long-fingered hands.
Her breath caught at the hunger in his expression. It echoed her own need for him.
