Page 21 of The Alpha Option
She had no real idea. Not yet. Not until they continued their discussion in the morning and all the mornings to follow.
Screw it. Good intentions meant doing what was right for both herandhim, and right now that meant closing the distance to the porch steps and hopping up them to stop at her feet.
The walls behind her desperately needed to be sanded and stained. The floorboards underfoot creaked badly enough that he had personally checked that afternoon to make sure the entire building wasn’t going to collapse around them.
Cassidy wore a pair of boxer shorts and a formfitting tank top, dainty and yet utterly perfect.
A complete and utter contrast. The lodge, his past. Her, his future.
She lowered herself to his level, head tilted to one side. Her expression made him want to do something wild and outrageous.
“I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m pretty sure you’re Jace,” she said softly. “Yes?”
It was all sorts of wrong but impossible to stop. He leaned forward far enough to lick from her chin to her hairline before she jerked back with a snort.
“Dude. I gotta say it. Doesn’t matter how much I was thinking of kissing you earlier, your tongue is not going in my mouth when you’re furry.”
Jace circled, brushing against her and soaking in her scent. When he came around to face her, Cassidy curled her hands around his shoulders and stroked.
He was no fool. He sat his ass down and let her pet him.
And oh God, he didn’t want to think about how she knew exactly what to do, but she not only stroked him the right way. She dug her fingers into the itchy spot behind one ear that made him damn near roll belly up.
“You’re soft. But I can feel how muscular you are.” Cassidy leaned in again and peered into his eyes. “I know this is all normal and typical for you, but it really is mind-blowing to think you’re in there.”
She yawned. A huge, enormous thing, and while she covered her mouth quickly, it was too late.
Jace yawned back. He gave his head a shake when he was finally done.
A soft laugh escaped Cassidy. “So. Yawns are contagious even between humans and wolves.” She tilted her head toward the door. “I’m going to bed. I was looking out the window and wondered if you’d come back to the lodge before you finally called it a night.”
She stood, and he brushed against her shins.
Cassidy seemed to consider, then opened the door. “If you want to come in, I wouldn’t mind.”
Really bad idea.
Jace’s wolf had him through the door and headed up the stairs before he could come to his senses. It was only going to make him even more wild to be around her without being with her. Then again, in some ways, this was the best of bad choices.
Maybe his human couldn’t have her yet, but his wolf could absolutely sleep at his mate’s side.
Her heart ratehadn’t slowed down yet.
Jeez, what had she been thinking? It was one thing to know Blue had turned into a wolf in front of them, but there had been no guarantee the wolf wandering past Timberwolf Lodge in the middle of the night happened to be the one shifter she really wanted to see.
Then putting her face so close to those razor-sharp teeth—
And yet, it had made perfect sense. Walking downstairs, stepping onto the porch. Just looking at him, she’d known.
She’dknownit was Jace. To her core.
Now, as she followed the wolf that was Jace up the stairs and into her bedroom, she found herself grinning. This was way better than any Goldilocks story or any version of “Little Red Riding Hood.” It was awesome, this fantasy realm where the man she really wanted to jump, sometime soon, showed up in his shifter wolf form and then hopped on her bed.
She paused beside the mattress. The sheets were still turned down from when she’d rushed to the window and then outdoors. She should crawl in, but she hesitated.
“And now I feel awkward. Do you expect to sleep under the covers? Because I don’t know how I feel about that, at least in your furry form. And I was watching you and suddenly wondered if you’d turn in a circle three times before you lie down.”
Jace hopped off the bed, and for one horrible moment, she thought that she’d offended him so badly he was leaving.
