Page 206 of Labor of Love

Even though he wasn't toned, I’d never met anyone with as much strength and stamina for the long days on the farm...and that was when he'd been human. Now that he was officially a shifter, like he’d suspected when he moved here, he was even stronger, effortlessly outworking everyone else.

But the best thing about Conrad was his southern drawl. His voice was deep, smooth, and enticing. In that way, he reminded me a little of another local alpha, Rex, which probably explained the crush I’d had on Rex, too.

Apparently, I had a thing for sexy southern drawls.

Thankfully, the thought of spending some time with Conrad was enough motivation to get my ass into the shower. Scrubbing myself free of all evidence of my wet dream, my thoughts drifted back to the bear alpha. With my hand soaped up, and my body perpetually horny, I got hard again, despite the orgasm I’d experienced less than ten minutes earlier.

Leaning back against the cold tile, I closed my eyes.

It wasn't difficult to imagine Conrad's big, thick arms wrapping around me, or his meaty fist on my dick. After working with him for months, I’d committed his body to memory. I didn’t think I had the balls to ever act on my crush, but, in the privacy of my shower, I could pretend.

And pretend I did.

I imagined his mouth pressing kisses and sucking hickeys into the skin of my neck and shoulder. His hand stroking my cock slowly to tease me and push me to the edge. The softnessof his belly and pecs pressed up against my back, contrasting deliciously with the feel of what would be his huge, hard alpha dick rubbing along the dip in my spine, teasing the top of my crack.

I imagined it all.

Slick trickled down the inside of my thighs as I widened my stance, parting my legs and bracing for my oncoming orgasm.

"C-Conrad," I begged into the running water, "Please, alpha..."

I rocked back and forth gently, bumping my ass against the tiles, imagining I was encouraging my mate to bend me over and slide inside me. I was slick for him. Only for him. I needed him to fill me. I needed his knot. I needed?—

"Fuck," I cursed, my balls drawing tight at the mental imagery. My cock exploded into the space between me and the glass shower door.

The lukewarm water caught it and removed all evidence of what I had done.

3

CONRAD

"There he is," I greeted my work partner for the day with a big grin. My stomach flipped when he cast his gaze down and smiled shyly back at me from beneath lowered lashes.

Timothy ‘Timmy’ Bowman was the cutest creature on the farm, and I'd seen the ducklings down by the pond, too. I enjoyed flirting with him, even though his dad would come at me with a shotgun if I considered doing more with the petite little omega. The looks Sam Bowman had given me ever since my alpha side was revealed told me all I needed to know. I was to keep my big bear paws off his sweet son.

I respected that. I was thirty where Timmy was only twenty-two. I was also much bigger and brawnier and nowhere near as smart as the lithe little fox. He deserved better than a brute like me.

Still, I knew he had a crush on me, and flirting with him was its own reward. I wasn't planning on acting on it. I just liked seeing him smile.

"Ready for pear picking?" I bounced on my heels.

It was September. The high heat of summer was starting to fade, but it was still hot out. Working in the little copse of pear trees wouldlend us some shade for the day.

Tim yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he nodded. "Yeah," he sounded less than enthused. "Better than pulling potatoes from the ground. I don't think my back could handle that right now."

I took a moment to really observe him and, yeah, he looked exhausted. With dark circles under his eyes, he was kind of pale, and his face seemed a bit puffier than usual.

"Are you comingdown with something?" I wanted to reach out and feel his forehead. I refrained, though, not wanting to overstep.

"Nah," he shook his head quickly, locks of auburn hair falling into his blue eyes. He brushed it back, confessing, "I'm not sleeping very well lately, and my back's starting to ache..." He rubbed at the base of his spine. "Maybe it's time I get a new bed. I've been in that one since I was a kid." Blushing, he glanced away. "Wow, could I sound any lamer?"

"Hey now," I picked up the stacked tubs for our day's work and peered inside to make sure our gloves and shears were inside, along with a few large bottles of water and a small cooler containing our lunches. "There ain't nothing lame about havinga roof over your head and a family that loves you."

I should know. Until I heard of Shifters Sanctuary, I hadn't really had either.

I grew up with my grandparents and to say we hadn't been close was an understatement. They’d resented me, probably because my mom had dumped me on them and run away, ruining their golden years. Grandma died when I was thirteen, and Pops made it to five days shy of my seventeenth birthday. Not wanting to go into foster care, I packed my stuff and skipped town.

Over the years, I picked up odd jobs here and there. I'd been of the 'fake it until you make it' mindset, and I grew myself alittle nest egg of savings, but I'd never found a place where I'd wanted to settle down. I'd never felt like I fit in.

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