back as he chuckled. “Can everyone put clothes back on. Please.”
“Naked bodies are completely natural,” Ryder explained.
She looked up to argue, but he was flapping his long pecker from side to side against his legs with a big grin on his face.
“Ryder, cut it out,” Aaron muttered, but his shoulders were shaking with laughter, and this was not funny!
She would simply close her eyes. That worked until Aaron got off the bike and escaped the range of her searching hand. With a growl of utter mortification, Alana eased her eyes open, angled them at the ground only , and stumbled off the bike. Her legs felt like noodles after the ride in, so she bounced this way and that, hands cupped above her eyebrows so she didn’t have to see all the swinging dicks. She followed Aaron’s boots up the creaking porch stairs and into the open doorway.
Inside, the warm glow of the lights urged Alana’s shoulders to relax. Harper was pulling on a pair of jeans near the kitchen table, and thankfully the beefy nudists outside didn’t seem inclined to follow them in.
“You’ll stay here tonight,” Harper said.
“What?” Aaron asked. “No, I need her with me.”
“Then you can stay here, too.”
“I don’t understand, Harper. I have a cabin right up the hill.”
Harper let off a long, terrifying growl that was so loud it filled every inch of the room. “Weston asked Wyatt and I to move out of here for a reason.”
Aaron drew back like he’d been slapped. “Where are you living?”
Wyatt handed Harper a sweater and told him, “We moved to the cabin at the top of the hill. The one against the cliffs.”
Aaron settled his confused frown on Alana and pulled her tightly against his side. Then he murmured to Harper, “But you love ten-ten.”
“And I always will, but Weston thinks there is good mojo in here.”
“Harper—”
“If Alana is to find sanctuary here, it’ll be in ten-ten,” Weston said from behind them. He was buttoning up a pair of jeans, and when he looked up, his eyes were black as pitch instead of the bright green she’d seen in them earlier. “Aaron, you didn’t grow up in Damon’s Mountains, and you didn’t see what that old trailer did for the mates. You think the original ten-ten gained fame because of ghost stories, but there was something about it. Something beyond this world that kept people safe. I knew these mountains were special the second I saw those numbers on the door. Your mate’s neck has the bite of a vampire, and from what I’m guessing, things could’ve gone very differently tonight. If there’s any chance of putting any good vibes on Alana, ten-ten is my vote.”
Aaron’s voice softened as he murmured, “I thought you were against me pairing up.”
Weston huffed a hollow sound. “I wasn’t scared of you pairing up, Aaron. You’ve picked someone fragile, though, and I don’t want you losing her.”
Weston turned to leave, but that last comment pissed Alana off. “I’m not fragile,” she said, steel in her voice.
Weston shook his head, but didn’t turn around as he said, “Not for long.”
“What does that mean?” Alana asked.
Aaron’s eyes were a frosty blue as he watched Weston disappear into the night. “Nothing.”
But it wasn’t nothing. Suddenly none of the shifters in 1010 would meet her gaze anymore, and there was something big and unspoken hanging in the air between them. Something that festered and grew heavier with every moment she waited for an explanation they refused to share.
After all she’d been through tonight, she deserved the whole story, and once again, she was being shut down. Fine. She wasn’t going to stand in here like a bump on a log waiting for answers that wouldn’t come. “Where’s the bathroom,” she gritted out. Damn her voice as it shook, but she was angry.
“Through there,” Harper said, gesturing to a bedroom. “There’s a first aid kit under the sink.”
“Thank you.” Alana yanked the strap of
“Naked bodies are completely natural,” Ryder explained.
She looked up to argue, but he was flapping his long pecker from side to side against his legs with a big grin on his face.
“Ryder, cut it out,” Aaron muttered, but his shoulders were shaking with laughter, and this was not funny!
She would simply close her eyes. That worked until Aaron got off the bike and escaped the range of her searching hand. With a growl of utter mortification, Alana eased her eyes open, angled them at the ground only , and stumbled off the bike. Her legs felt like noodles after the ride in, so she bounced this way and that, hands cupped above her eyebrows so she didn’t have to see all the swinging dicks. She followed Aaron’s boots up the creaking porch stairs and into the open doorway.
Inside, the warm glow of the lights urged Alana’s shoulders to relax. Harper was pulling on a pair of jeans near the kitchen table, and thankfully the beefy nudists outside didn’t seem inclined to follow them in.
“You’ll stay here tonight,” Harper said.
“What?” Aaron asked. “No, I need her with me.”
“Then you can stay here, too.”
“I don’t understand, Harper. I have a cabin right up the hill.”
Harper let off a long, terrifying growl that was so loud it filled every inch of the room. “Weston asked Wyatt and I to move out of here for a reason.”
Aaron drew back like he’d been slapped. “Where are you living?”
Wyatt handed Harper a sweater and told him, “We moved to the cabin at the top of the hill. The one against the cliffs.”
Aaron settled his confused frown on Alana and pulled her tightly against his side. Then he murmured to Harper, “But you love ten-ten.”
“And I always will, but Weston thinks there is good mojo in here.”
“Harper—”
“If Alana is to find sanctuary here, it’ll be in ten-ten,” Weston said from behind them. He was buttoning up a pair of jeans, and when he looked up, his eyes were black as pitch instead of the bright green she’d seen in them earlier. “Aaron, you didn’t grow up in Damon’s Mountains, and you didn’t see what that old trailer did for the mates. You think the original ten-ten gained fame because of ghost stories, but there was something about it. Something beyond this world that kept people safe. I knew these mountains were special the second I saw those numbers on the door. Your mate’s neck has the bite of a vampire, and from what I’m guessing, things could’ve gone very differently tonight. If there’s any chance of putting any good vibes on Alana, ten-ten is my vote.”
Aaron’s voice softened as he murmured, “I thought you were against me pairing up.”
Weston huffed a hollow sound. “I wasn’t scared of you pairing up, Aaron. You’ve picked someone fragile, though, and I don’t want you losing her.”
Weston turned to leave, but that last comment pissed Alana off. “I’m not fragile,” she said, steel in her voice.
Weston shook his head, but didn’t turn around as he said, “Not for long.”
“What does that mean?” Alana asked.
Aaron’s eyes were a frosty blue as he watched Weston disappear into the night. “Nothing.”
But it wasn’t nothing. Suddenly none of the shifters in 1010 would meet her gaze anymore, and there was something big and unspoken hanging in the air between them. Something that festered and grew heavier with every moment she waited for an explanation they refused to share.
After all she’d been through tonight, she deserved the whole story, and once again, she was being shut down. Fine. She wasn’t going to stand in here like a bump on a log waiting for answers that wouldn’t come. “Where’s the bathroom,” she gritted out. Damn her voice as it shook, but she was angry.
“Through there,” Harper said, gesturing to a bedroom. “There’s a first aid kit under the sink.”
“Thank you.” Alana yanked the strap of
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