Page 12 of Bandit's Bounty

“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” she muses as we step into the heated shower.

“It could’ve been worse,” I agree as I position her under the warm water so I can shampoo her hair. Taking care of her in such a basic way is another way for me to show her how much she means to me.

She moans as my hands work through her tresses and massage her scalp with the shampoo, bringing it to a full lather before I carefully rinse it out, making sure I don’t allow any of the soap suds to get into her eyes. “If you keep that up, we’re gonna be getting dirty again before we get clean,” I warn her.

“Like that would be such a bad thing, Bandit?” she asks, her eyes wide so she looks innocent.

“No, it really wouldn’t,” I declare. “How about you lean against the tile and let me take care of that needy pussy?”

“It’s as though you read my mind,” she replies, grinning at me. Before I can blink, she spins around, leans over with her ass sticking out and with a glance over her shoulder, antagonizing me she asks, “Whatcha waiting for, big boy?”

Over and over throughout the night, I either reach for Sloane or she grabs for me. By the time daylight is peeking through the blinds, she’s completely worn out, her soft snores soothing my wolf who is prancing inside me, proud at how well we loved our mate. I know her pussy has to be sore because my dick feels raw but still, it’s a night where a lot of memories were made.

I’ll heal quickly and I’ve already noticed that while Sloane hasn’t shifted yet, she’s quick to recover as well thanks to the healing properties injected into her DNA through my saliva, which is a good thing, since I anticipate many nights of the same kind of voracious loving. As I join my mate in much-needed slumber, I briefly consider sending Dane a thank-you card.

Because if the fucker hadn’t scorned her, I might have met her too late to claim her as mine. And that’s something to be thankful about in my book. I also wonder if possibly we added to our family of two tonight, but I know if it happened, it’ll be something I’ll be able to tell before she’s aware. My smile as I drift into dreamland is one of complete and utter satisfaction.

Chapter Seven

Sloane

I’m puttering around my store, refilling and replenishing the stock on my shelves while I make note of what I’m going to need to order when the chime over the door rings.

“Hey, Sloane,” Raine says, walking inside.

“Hey, Raine,” I reply, walking over to her so I can give her a hug. She’s Bandit’s sister and we’ve become such good friends once we were formally introduced. While he’s older than her, she still has stories for days about what he was like when he was younger. “What’s going on?”

“Thought I’d see if I could pry you away from my brother long enough to maybe go to lunch?” she asks.

“Sure, why not? I think he’s got something for the club going on right now anyhow,” I tell her. “I was just getting some things together for Harmony and Electra to take back to the clubhouse when I was done working. It’s nothing that won’t keep until I get back from our lunch date.”

“Go grab your purse then, woman,” she instructs while giggling. “We’ve got food to nosh on and maybe some window shopping afterward, who knows? The sky's the limit.”

Shaking my head at her antics, I walk through to the back storeroom and pull my purse from its hidey-hole. Looking around, I make sure the back door is locked up nice and tight then go back out to the front. “I’m ready,” I state. Once she walks out the front door, I turn over the small sign to ‘closed’, shut off the lights, set the alarm, then follow her out. I lock the front door then double check to make sure it’s actually secure before I loop my arm through hers and say, “Lead the way, girlfriend.”

We opt for the diner since the food is plentiful and tastes fantastic. I’ve noticed an increase in my appetite, even though I haven’t gained any weight. I guess I could ask Bandit if it has anything to do with the fact I’m going to be a shifter, since I know they have ridiculously high metabolisms. Shrugging, I push it to the back of my mind as I pick up the menu and start to look it over.

“Everything looks good,” I murmur. “It makes it hard to pick and choose.”

“Right? I think I could eat one of everything,” Raine concurs. “Still, I’ll try to contain myself, although I’m leaning toward a hot and hearty breakfast.”

The thought of bacon and sausage sends curls of nausea to roll through me and I shake my head. “Doesn’t sound appealingto me today for some reason,” I admit. “But that double cheeseburger with fries sounds right up my alley.”

“Don’t forget a milkshake,” she teases, knowing my penchant for the diner’s handmade shakes. The ice cream itself is phenomenal on its own, but then they put the rest together in one of those old-fashioned stirrers which whips it all together into frosty, frothy goodness. My mouth starts watering as I nod.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be adding one of those onto my order too. Oh, and some additional pickles spears on the side.”

“Are you pregnant or something?” Raine suddenly questions, all teasing set to the side. “Because that’s a really wild variation of food.”

Shrugging, I tell her, “No clue, but since it all sounds good to me, that’s what I’ll get. Oh, and a root beer.”

She starts giggling and can’t stop as the waitress approaches to take our orders. Finally, taking pity on her, I place both of our orders as Raine has tears pouring down her face from laughing so hard. “Stop being so ridiculous,” I hiss at her, not wanting to draw further attention to our table. Except, the fact that she’s laughing makes me happy because she’s been a bit withdrawn for quite some time now.

I think that could be another thing that connects us beside Bandit. She had a bad breakup and has taken time to lick her wounds, as anyone should. Since I went through the same damn thing with Dane several years ago, I completely understand.

As the waitress brings our food to us, I briefly wonder… could I be pregnant? And if I am, would that be a bad thing? I’ve always wanted a family.

“So, what’s been going on with you?” I ask Raine once I’ve started eating.

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