Page 6 of The Alpha Option
“And I still live here,” Marvin offered up. “Are we going to get to that part of the discussion now? Because I’m pretty sure Rachel would have included that in whatever she did. Mischievous old coot or not, when she said a thing, she did a thing.”
Crap. Cassidy pulled the papers from her pocket and scrambled through them. “There was something.”
Beside her, Stephanie made a soft sound. “Oh no. Isthatwhat that means?”
They’d checked over the paperwork multiple times. Cassidy had thought the line about existing contracts meant something about not cancelling any bookings.
She found what she was looking for and read it out loud. “All terms are dependent on the expectation that the new owners will honour any previous promises and commitments Timberwolf Lodge has made to certain individuals.”
She glanced up into the big hairy man’s face. “You live here because Rachel said you could?”
He smiled back, his rather frightening visage turning strangely pleasant, despite all the hair. “I do.”
So. They had their first guest.
Cassidy glanced at Stephanie, who simply shrugged. “As long as he keeps his clothes on, and maybe obeys a few more rules, we’ll make it work.”
It seemed that was going to be their forever motto.We’ll make it work.
Cassidy met Jace’s eyes. “I hope you’re ready to dig in and get messy because we plan to make this the best eco-lodge in the area. We’re going to beat that requirement date and get the Wilson Pack approval. And you’re going to help us.”
There was amusement in his eyes but also acceptance. He dipped his chin. “As you wish.”
3
He wasn’t sure why it had taken this long for it to register. Jace could probably explain his initial slowness on the fact they’d been dealing with Marvin, pinning him to the floor and all that.
It wasn’t until they were outside by the firepit and he got a closer look at Cassidy that he put the pieces together.
She smelled delicious. That was the first and brightest detail that made all the other warning signs start flashing. She had an attitude, which he liked. Good-looking, with lots of curves and muscles in all his favourite places. Oh, everything lined up nicely for him to be very attracted to Cassidy Rundle.
Being attracted to a human wasn’t a problem in the big picture, but it was usually a lot easier when they were people who had grown up in the community. Not ones who came from the big city and might have never heard of shifters before.
The longer she talked and the more determined she proved herself to be, the more trouble Jace realized he was in. It wasn’t only attraction he felt.
It wastheattraction.
He wasn’t going to help her achieve her dream—he was going to be right by her side the entire time. If his wolf had any say.
Thankfully, the women took a break and went into the house before Jace could do something unwise, like lean in and lick Cassidy from the base of her neck up past her ear, just to get a good solid taste of her skin.
Standing beside Jace as the ladies vanished behind the door, Blue shuffled from foot to foot, a grin on his face as he casually whistled toward the sky.
Frack. “What?” Jace demanded.
Blue shrugged innocently. “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.” He turned his attention on Marvin. “While I would never dream of taking charge of the situation over fair Cassidy, let’s figure out a compromise before they come back. Rachel said you could stay, so you can stay. Where could you live other than the house that would make you happy?”
Marvin gazed into the forest as he thought for a moment. “To show what a considerate man I am, I’ll say Cabin 7 is nice. That one’s a studio. It’s currently got a bit of a leak in the roof.” He grinned at Jace. “I’m pretty sure a good caretaker can fix that up lickety-split.”
Of course the caretaker could. “Very considerate of you to leave the larger cabins forpayingcustomers.”
“Considerate is my middle name,” Marvin drawled, scratching his back against the nearest tree. He straightened then wiggled his shoulders. “I’m hungry. All the moving and shit can happen tomorrow. I need to forage.”
Jace held up a hand. “Cabin 7 backs onto the woods. Shift only when you’re out of sight of the house. And when I come over to fix the roof, I’m going to make a fence so you can strip down and stay out of sight. Got it?”
“You have far too big a stick up your ass,” Marvin said without heat, then walked away without agreeing to anything.
Jace’s headache kept getting bigger, and it was barely even nine o’clock. “Think he’ll listen to a word I said?” he asked Blue.
