Page 31 of Off-Limits to the Grizzly

“I mean, I want to get a job, and all.”

He shrugs. “If that’s important to you, once the snow melts, we can go into town and find you one.”

“Once the snow melts? That could take all winter.”

“I know,” he says happily. “And in the meantime, I’ll have you all to myself.”

“You won’t get bored of, you know, just hanging out with me?”

“Are you kidding? That’s… that’s the best thing ever.”

My heart gives a little jump. He loves justbeingwith me.

“That sounds wonderful, Zach,” I say.

A flicker of surprise passes across the features I love. “Zach,” he says in an undertone.

“No more Mr Johnson.” I raise my head and look into his eyes. I can’t believe I used to think they were cold. Now, they’re always soft with love.

His chest rises and falls in a massive sigh.

“That makes me real happy, Blair.”

“I’m still gonna call your johnson johnson, though,” I say.

His lips curl up into a smile. “Guess I’d be kinda disappointed if you didn’t.”

I spenda whole lot of time with his johnson inside me. He’s insatiable. He says he’s making up for lost time, and so am I. It’s my johnson. Only for me. All of him is for me. I can hardly believe it. Still think I’ll pinch myself and wake up on the couch in Oakdale and discover this has all been a beautiful dream.

* * *

“What is it?”I say.

Zach and I are in bed, as usual, buried under his cozy comforter. He’s been planting butterfly kisses all over my face, but suddenly he goes still, his sweet breath warming my cheek.

“Someone’s driving down here.”

I listen hard, hear nothing. “That’s not possible?”

“It shouldn’t be. But—”

With a groan of regret, he slides out of bed. “Stay here, I’ll be back.”

Regret sweeps over me, too, as I watch him hauling clothes over his sexy body. “Come back soon,” I call.

I try to tune my ears in, just like a shifter. The snow stopped a day ago and it’s virtually silent now, the only sounds the chirps of birds and occasional thumps as snow slides off the roof. I hear Zach stride across the cabin, then the front door opens and bangs again. He’s going outside.

And I want to know what’s going on. I slither out of bed and open the closet. Zach already cleared out a bunch of shelves for me. I pull on jeans, T-shirt, a sweater and socks and follow after him.

Bright sunlight fills the cabin. Somehow, the blizzard has been followed by unusually sunny weather, and the snow is already starting to melt. I open the front door and squint as light reflects off the pure white snow, dazzling me. The air feels fresh and crisp. I can see the marks Zach made in the snow as he walked along the pathway and turned toward his truck. They’re not just footprints; each tread looks to be a couple of feet deep.

For a long, long time, the snowy scene is perfectly still. Then there’s a crunch of boots, and I can just make out Zach’s broad-shouldered figure coming back toward the cabin. My heart leaps.

But he’s not alone. There’s a much smaller figure behind him. Female? It’s wearing a hooded black coat, so it’s hard to tell.

Something stirs in me, something hot and possessive.

If I was wearing boots, I’d run out right now, but instead, I wait, tingling with apprehension.

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