“I think she loved you from afar for a long time. Even before I came to Cedar Valley. I think she recognized you in Daddy’s stories. But now… me and the animal are one being. In harmony.”
He pulled her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “What are you saying?”
Her eyes were glistening with tears, but she grinned. “I’m saying my love for you would win in a race against your love for me.”
“No way in hell.”
A laugh burst forth, vibrating Ella’s chest. Drake wanted to hear that sound everyday for the rest of forever.
“You know what I think?” she asked, her eyes dancing.
He kissed her lips quickly, while they still held the remnants of her laughter.
“What that?”
“I think we should spend the rest of our lives trying to prove the other one wrong on this point.”
“That,” he said, rising to his knees to hover over her. “Is a fucking fabulous idea.”
And then he kissed her deeply, knowing this was only the beginning of a really fantastic race.
Read on for a sneak peek at Book 1 of the Ozark Mountain Shifters series…
A Mate’s Denial (Ozark Mountain Shifters, Book 1)
Chapter One
There she was. After months of hunting, at last he had her in his sights. All he could see was the back of her honey brown head through the café window, but he was certain it was her. His wolf could sense his mate no matter how far away, but this close he could, ever so faintly, catch her scent. The fresh smell—like evergreens and cherry blossoms—made his heart thunder, his pants tighter, and everything under his skin come alive.
Damn wolf. Now was not the time to get excited. He needed to stick to the plan. If he went in there like He-man, it could mess things up. He needed to be patient. Had to keep the wolf at bay for a little while longer.
Trager sat back in the seat of his motorcycle and turned the engine off. He couldn’t get a good look at her from his vantage point, but he didn’t necessarily want to get closer. Too risky. He’d just wait her out. She’d have to leave sometime.
His shades made it possible for him to spy on her in broad daylight, but unfortunately, there was only a bobbing head to be seen. He would’ve given his left nut for a view of her profile. Waiting this long left him feeling desperate.
The amount of time he spent outside the café was measured in units of torture. By the time she left the place, he was dying for even a hint at what his mate looked like. A hint other than the color of her hair. Which was fucking awesome. In his experience, brunettes were always hotter.
Trager didn’t own a watch, and he didn’t feel like digging his phone out to check the time, but if every bob of his mate’s dark head was the equivalent of a second, he sat there for almost an hour before she finally stepped out of the café.
Anticipation made his breath catch in his throat. A truck whizzed by, obscuring his view for more seconds than he could possible tolerate. Fisting his hands, he waited, heart thundering…
Finally, he got a look at her, and the first thing he noticed was what she wore. Khakis. A pale pink polka-dotted shirt, sensible shoes, and khakis . He was appalled, but then a grin inched one side of his mouth upward. He’d like to get her out of those drab clothes. Peel every stitch off slowly, revealing her luscious body one centimeter at a time, until there was all skin and zero fabric.
Trager swallowed hard. His smile slipped and he gripped the handle of his bike to keep steady.
She was going to reject him. It had been prophesied by the Elders when he was still a pup, that his mate would deny him, that he would never find love, that he would never have young.
That single foretelling rendered him useless to the pack. A male who couldn’t secure a mate? One who couldn’t produce offspring? Even though he’d been too young to do much more than simply survive pack life, he was the weakest link and therefore expelled. Or as he liked to think of it,
He pulled her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “What are you saying?”
Her eyes were glistening with tears, but she grinned. “I’m saying my love for you would win in a race against your love for me.”
“No way in hell.”
A laugh burst forth, vibrating Ella’s chest. Drake wanted to hear that sound everyday for the rest of forever.
“You know what I think?” she asked, her eyes dancing.
He kissed her lips quickly, while they still held the remnants of her laughter.
“What that?”
“I think we should spend the rest of our lives trying to prove the other one wrong on this point.”
“That,” he said, rising to his knees to hover over her. “Is a fucking fabulous idea.”
And then he kissed her deeply, knowing this was only the beginning of a really fantastic race.
Read on for a sneak peek at Book 1 of the Ozark Mountain Shifters series…
A Mate’s Denial (Ozark Mountain Shifters, Book 1)
Chapter One
There she was. After months of hunting, at last he had her in his sights. All he could see was the back of her honey brown head through the café window, but he was certain it was her. His wolf could sense his mate no matter how far away, but this close he could, ever so faintly, catch her scent. The fresh smell—like evergreens and cherry blossoms—made his heart thunder, his pants tighter, and everything under his skin come alive.
Damn wolf. Now was not the time to get excited. He needed to stick to the plan. If he went in there like He-man, it could mess things up. He needed to be patient. Had to keep the wolf at bay for a little while longer.
Trager sat back in the seat of his motorcycle and turned the engine off. He couldn’t get a good look at her from his vantage point, but he didn’t necessarily want to get closer. Too risky. He’d just wait her out. She’d have to leave sometime.
His shades made it possible for him to spy on her in broad daylight, but unfortunately, there was only a bobbing head to be seen. He would’ve given his left nut for a view of her profile. Waiting this long left him feeling desperate.
The amount of time he spent outside the café was measured in units of torture. By the time she left the place, he was dying for even a hint at what his mate looked like. A hint other than the color of her hair. Which was fucking awesome. In his experience, brunettes were always hotter.
Trager didn’t own a watch, and he didn’t feel like digging his phone out to check the time, but if every bob of his mate’s dark head was the equivalent of a second, he sat there for almost an hour before she finally stepped out of the café.
Anticipation made his breath catch in his throat. A truck whizzed by, obscuring his view for more seconds than he could possible tolerate. Fisting his hands, he waited, heart thundering…
Finally, he got a look at her, and the first thing he noticed was what she wore. Khakis. A pale pink polka-dotted shirt, sensible shoes, and khakis . He was appalled, but then a grin inched one side of his mouth upward. He’d like to get her out of those drab clothes. Peel every stitch off slowly, revealing her luscious body one centimeter at a time, until there was all skin and zero fabric.
Trager swallowed hard. His smile slipped and he gripped the handle of his bike to keep steady.
She was going to reject him. It had been prophesied by the Elders when he was still a pup, that his mate would deny him, that he would never find love, that he would never have young.
That single foretelling rendered him useless to the pack. A male who couldn’t secure a mate? One who couldn’t produce offspring? Even though he’d been too young to do much more than simply survive pack life, he was the weakest link and therefore expelled. Or as he liked to think of it,
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