Longing for Wolves (Shifter Country Wolves Book 5) (13 page)

“It’s car rides,” he said, yawning. “It’s always happened.”

She’d hung in there too, even though she had no real reason to believe that they wouldn’t implode again, especially at first.

There’s only so much you can do
, Sam reflected sleepily, as she put her hand in his.
You keep waking up in the same bed and kissing each other goodbye and working through your shit, and then it’s months later and you’re really, truly happy for the first time in years. And if someone asked how you got there, you could never tell them, except it was slow and it was worth it.

Finally, Calder came back out of the office, opened the car door, and got in.

“Good news and bad news,” he said.

“Bad news first,” Annika said automatically.

“They gave away our cabin because we were late,” he said.

Annika leaned her head back against the headrest.

“Please tell me the good news is
really
good,” she said.

“They felt really bad, so they’re giving us the Mount Shasta,” Calder said. He grinned, and even in the dark, Sam could see his eyes light up. “It’s got a kitchen, a fireplace, and a
luxury
hot tub.”

“What makes it luxury?” Sam asked.

“We’ll have to find out,” Calder said. “Buckle up.”

The Mount Shasta cabin was barely a cabin. It was more of a house, mostly made of massive logs with a stonework fireplace, huge patio windows, and a loft where the bed was. The three of them dropped their bags off by the couch, and Sam pushed back the sliding glass door and walked onto the deck.
 

The hot tub was toward the end, out in the open, nearly surrounded by the forest, and he took the cover off, found the controls, and got it going. Then he walked back into the cabin.

“Seriously, what did you do?” Annika was asking Calder. They both stood in the kitchen, where Calder was untwisting the top of a champagne bottle.

“We got champagne?” Sam asked.

Calder shrugged.

“It was in the fridge,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s any good.”

“It’s
free
,” said Annika. “It doesn’t have to be
good
.”

“What
did
you do?” Sam asked. He walked to the cabinets and started opening them, looking for champagne glasses.

“I’m just very charming, I guess.”

In unison, Annika and Sam snorted.

“Seriously?” said Calder, laughing. “Of all people, you two don’t believe I’m charming?”

He grabbed the cork and pulled, the muscles in his arm flexing. It popped out, and he tossed the cork onto the counter.

“I don’t see champagne glasses,” Sam said, opening the last cabinet. “How about tumblers?”

“Good enough for me,” said Annika, and Sam got three out. Calder poured, and each of them took one, then held them up.

“To vacation,” Annika said.

“To free champagne,” said Calder.

“To luxury hot tubs,” said Sam.

They all drank.

“I turned it on, by the way,” Sam said.

“It’s on the deck?” Calder asked.

Sam nodded.

“Let’s do this,” Calder said.

“My swimsuit’s in the suitcase,” Annika said, making a face.

Sam and Calder looked at each other, then at her.

“There’s no one out there,” Calder said.

“It’s still outside,” Annika said.

“But there’s no one out there,” Sam said.

She opened her mouth and then shut it.

“I’m getting in,” Calder said. He walked onto the deck and balanced his champagne on the railing, then took his shirt off.

“Same,” said Sam, following suit, throwing his clothes onto the deck in a messy pile before getting into the tub, sliding down next to Calder. Behind them, Annika hovered in the doorway, looking slightly uncertain.

“Humans,” Calder said, waving at her. “They just don’t get naked enough.”

“She’ll learn,” said Sam.

“Turn out the lights in the house,” Calder called, and Annika disappeared for a moment. The lights inside flicked off, and then everything was bathed in the silvery light from the half-moon above. Underwater, Calder’s hand found Sam’s and squeezed. Sam squeezed back, and Annika reappeared in the doorway.

She paused. Then she took off her shirt.

Sam put two fingers into his mouth and whistled at her.

“Take it off!” Calder shouted.

Annika ignored them, tossing the rest of her clothes onto the deck and walking over, stark naked in the moonlight.

“Hubba hubba,” Calder said.

“You two are ridiculous,” she said, even though she was clearly pleased. She stepped in carefully, setting her tumbler of champagne on the deck by the tub.

“You like it,” Sam said.

She said nothing, just sipped her champagne and rested her foot on his knee.

“Yeah,” she said. “You’re right.”

Her knee came to the surface as she sank further into the water, and without thinking, Sam bent down and kissed it. The peaceful, perfect quiet stretched out between them.

“How much do you think about Marie?” she asked, suddenly, staring up at the sky.

Sam looked at Calder, and Calder looked at Sam.

“Some?” Sam said at last.

“I’m just curious,” Annika said. “At first I really thought I’d be jealous, or feel like you two have this
thing
in common that I can never understand or share, but I don’t,” she said.

Calder took a long drink from his champagne glass, then put it back on the deck.

“I still miss her, but I don’t wish she was here anymore,” he said. “Does that make sense?”

Sam nodded.

“I used to be completely certain that I’d never love anyone else,” he said slowly. He cupped his hand around Annika’s calf underwater, sliding his hand around her ankle. “I had this idea that my heart only had two slots in it, or something. Like that was all I got, one for you and one for her,” he said, nodding at Calder.

Then he shrugged.

“I was wrong,” he said. “There was another one.”

“Well, I’m glad about that,” Annika said softly.

Calder got up and moved to sit next to Annika, sliding an arm around her.

“I write a lot of shit where people overcome obstacles and then they get engaged or married or whatever and there’s a happily ever after, but that’s bullshit,” he said. “There’s just happy right now.”

“Are you?” she asked.

Sam scooted over to sit on her other side, and Calder’s hand found his shoulder.

“Yes,” Calder said.

Sam kissed the top of Annika’s head, and she put her hand on his thigh, holding it there lightly. He rested his chin on top of her head.

“I’m not a chin rest,” she said.

Sam grinned, his eyes meeting Calder’s.

“Well, I’m resting my chin on you,” he said. “So it stands to reason that you
are
a chin rest.”

Annika sighed. Calder leaned forward and pressed his lips to Sam’s, a long, slow, lazy kiss, and Sam didn’t think about a single thing besides the feeling of Calder’s lips on his own, Annika’s body pressed against his.

“You cannot
make out
on my head
,
” she finally grumbled.

Their lips still touching, Calder and Sam both started laughing, and Calder pulled her onto his lap, her nipples puckering in the cool night air. Sam closed the gap between them, his arm around Calder.

“Can I make out
with
your head?” Calder asked.

“Not sexy,” said Annika, laughing.

“Disagree,” Sam said, grinning.

In the whole world, there was only the three of them in the moonlight, laughing. Annika bent down and kissed Sam and then kissed Calder, and then she pressed their foreheads together.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” Sam said. He didn’t even have to think about it, and then he was kissing her, and Calder was also saying
I love you
, and nothing else mattered.

THE END

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Greta Waltz doesn't take crap from anyone. As the owner of the Tooth & Claw Saloon, Rustvale's only wolf shifter bar, she can't afford to. Even when a couple of sexy newcomers shift and get into a bar fight, Greta doesn't hesitate to scruff them and boot them into the street. Sure, she'd rather be touching them somewhere else, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Recovering nerd Elliott Whiting just moved back home, and brought his mate Shane along with him. Their very first day in town, Shane gets into a bar fight - and the most beautiful bartender he's ever seen tosses him out of her bar. Ever since, neither of them can stop thinking about the curvy, fiery wolf. Could she be the only to finally complete their triad?

It doesn't take long for Elliott's past as a dorky, bullied kid to resurface, and when it does, Shane can barely control his temper. At the same time, Greta's dad - the pack's alpha - makes his expectations for her perfectly clear, and they don't involve running a business or Greta staying independent.

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About Roxie

I love writing sexy, take-charge alphas with a softer side. In fact, I love it so much that I always have two in my stories! Two's always better than one, isn't it?

In real life, I live in California with one husband (who might be a bear shifter) and two cats (who would be much too lazy to shift, even if they could).

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