Authors: Moira Rogers
Zola's Pride (7 page)
He couldn’t help but laugh. “I
grew up around here. I know the lay of the land.”
“
Then you know it will never
be boring.”
Living in a plastic bubble wouldn’t
be boring as long as Zola was with him. “Are you sure you can
forgive me for sneaking out on you?”
A hint of laughter bubbled up as she
reached into her pocket for a phone. “This time. But only if
you take over my class full of adolescent male shifters. Perhaps a
weekly reminder of the crippling effects of male ego will teach you a
valuable lesson.”
It was far more than he deserved,
but there was no way he’d squander a chance to make up for the
hurts he’d visited on her in the past—the distant and the
not so distant. “Make your call, Zola. The faster we get these
two out of here, the faster we can be alone.”
The faster he could convince her
she’d made the right choice.
Epilogue
“
...so after the Scion
representatives struck their deal with you, the Alpha escorted the
whole mess of them back to New York on his jet. Got a call from him
last night to let me know they’d left the country.”
Zola made a noncommittal noise, only
half of her attention on Alec’s voice as it spilled out of her
phone. There were only six students in her adolescent shifter
group—all males, because she refused to teach them in a mixed
class when their hormones would drive them to posture and preen for
their classmates’ feminine attention. Any urge they might have
had to fight for
her
attention had been knocked out of them within their first week,
leaving a moderately serious group of youths on the cusp of manhood.
Manageable enough, until confronted
with a shapeshifter male in his prime. Zola hid a smile behind her
hand as Walker deftly handled another borderline challenge, patiently
but firmly, setting the boy in his place without damaging more than
his ego.
Alec was still talking, and Zola
made a conscious effort to drag her attention back to the
conversation in time to hear, “...all taken care of, then.
Paperwork for the pride should be ready in a few days. If you need
help getting them across the border—”
“
We will be fine.”
Considering all the trouble Alec Jacobson got himself into, owing him
too
many favors could prove to be an uncomfortable situation. “Thank
you.”
She ended the conversation just as
Walker ended the class, sending the boys out into the cool New
Orleans evening. When the door swung shut behind the last one, she
lifted an eyebrow. “Well?”
He flashed her a hint of a smile as
he cracked open a bottle of water. “Well what?”
“
Nothing.” Impossible
not to admire the beauty of him, sweat-sheened golden skin and hard
muscles and those eyes she’d now seen glazed with passion.
Making love to him was new, but loving him was like remembering a
move so ingrained it was instinct.
Muscle
memory,
an amused part of
her noted as she crossed the room to slip her arms around him.
The
heart is just another muscle.
Walker wove his fingers through her
ponytail and pulled her closer, tilting her head up for a slow kiss,
his open mouth teasing over hers. Hot, perfect, even before she
parted her lips on a moan and realized he was determined to kiss her
within an inch of her life.
Which made it even easier to catch
his leg with her foot and spill them both to the ground. A breathless
moment later she was straddling his waist with her hands on either
side of his head. And because English was
his
native language, she ignored her self-consciousness and her odd
accent and spoke from her heart. The words, in any case, were simple
enough. “I love you.”
“
Love you too.” He slid
one hand to her hip, the other around to her back, cradling her
close. “That’s why we’re stronger together.”
“
And you should never forget
it,” she whispered, before leaning in to kiss him again. Soft
and slow, like she had all the time in the world.
Because she did.
The End
About the Author
How do you make a Moira Rogers? Take
a former forensic science and nursing student obsessed with
paranormal romance and add a computer programmer with a passion for
gritty urban fantasy. Toss in a dash of whimsy and a lot of caffeine,
and enjoy with a side of chocolate by the light of the full moon.
By day, Bree and Donna are
mild-mannered ladies who reside in the Deep South. At night, when
their husbands and children are asleep, they combine forces to
unleash the product of their fevered imaginations upon the page. To
learn more about this romance writing, crime fighting duo, visit
their webpage at
http://www.moirarogers.com
.
(Disclaimer: crime fighting abilities may appear only in the
aforementioned fevered imaginations.)
The
Southern Arcana Series
Novels
Short Stories
More Information Available At
http://www.moirarogers.com/southern-arcana
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