Page 36 of The Strongest Wolf

He draws me even closer. “Were you thinking you’d like to shove Nathan in the lake?” There’s a smile in his voice. “Because if that’s what you want, I can make it happen.”

“So it’s true, Gavin really did shove him in?”

Although Galen tenses when I say Gavin’s name, I squeeze him a little and his tension melts away. I’d tease him about being a jealous alpha, but after what I said about Dom the night before, I know Galen won’t see it as a joke.

I don’t know why he’s determined to believe I’m a second away from jumping into bed with the next guy who pays me any attention, but he does.

“I didn’t see Gavin do it, but ‘pissed-off cat’ would definitely sum up Nathan’s expression after he’d fished himself out,” Galen says.

We walk a little longer in silence as I think about what I want to ask him. And in that silence, I feel my wolf’s presence rise to the surface. That’s when I know she wants this. “If I were to go…”

“I would promise not to shove you in the lake… unless you did something to deserve it.”

Grinding to a halt, I pull away so I can look up at him. I search his eyes as he peers down at me in silence. He knows what I want to say, and he’s trying to make it easier for me to say it. “Where would you be during this run?”

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, hair that, because it’s so much shorter than it was before, is a million times easier to wash, dry, and style. Not that I do much in the way of styling than run a brush through it and call it good. “Tripping over your feet, most likely.”

“That close, huh?”

Relief settles like a warm blanket over my shoulder at his words.

How can he believe I would be interested in other guys when he’s like this?

“Yep. You’ll probably end up taking a bite out of me to get me to back off a little.”

I’ll be so close you don’t have to worry about anything happening to you, because I won’t let it.

That’swhat his eyes are telling me.

Looking away, I start walking again. “I’ll think about going.”

“And I’ll think about letting you win. Again,” he murmurs.

I elbow him hard in the gut, making him grunt, and then I take off sprinting toward the cabin. “You mean like now?” I holler.

“You little…” I don’t hear the rest of what Galen says, but I can tell he’s grinning as he chases after me.

The only reason he catches up to me is because I’m laughing so hard, and not because I let him. At least that’s what I tell myself.

Feet from the cabin, Galen scoops me in his arms and carries me inside, where we spend the rest of the day finding more interesting things to do than pigging out on the couch.

8

GALEN

After setting the water to boil on the stove alongside the pot of simmering meat sauce, I drag Sierra away from the sink before she’s put one hand on the soaking dishes, ignoring her yelp.

“I said I’d do it,” I growl.

“But you’re doing the—”

My kiss cuts off her complaint. Lifting her by her hips, I set her down on the kitchen counter, nudge her thighs aside and step between them before breaking the kiss.

She walked away from Gavin without another glance in his direction. But that didn’t stop my wolf from growling at me to tear into the shifter who was sitting far too close to her. Hours later, I’m still feeling so possessive of her that I’m growling when she goes to the bathroom.

What a fucking joke. Dom would die laughing if he were here.

In the second before Sierra opens her eyes, I take in her relaxed face and soft, parted lips. Beautiful.

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