Bathsheba that I’d bring a few dishes to help out with the picnic part of things . . . and I hadn’t started. I’d meant to cook last night, but Josh had distracted me with flirty kisses, and before I’d known it, we’d fallen into bed early, though sleep had come hours later.
I tossed the covers aside and rolled away from Josh, intending to get out of bed . . . only to be snared at the waist and dragged back against him, my sleep tank top riding up to expose even more of my skin.
“Where are you going in such a rush, gorgeous?”
“
He kissed my bare shoulder, sending shivers through my body. “You can do that later.”
“But—”
He nipped my flesh, then stroked it with his tongue to soothe the ache.
A low heat pulsed in my belly and my limbs immediately went liquid. I whimpered. So unfair of him to play dirty. But when his hand slid to my panties and began to edge them downward, I leaned back against him and sighed with pleasure. “Think we’ll be late if we stay in bed for a bit longer?”
“Definitely,” Josh murmured, his fingers sliding under the silky fabric.
About two seconds later, I found that I didn’t care.
• • •
We showed up to the Russell house about an hour after I’d promised Bathsheba that I’d be there. She didn’t say anything when I showed up in the kitchen; she just gave me a knowing look that made me blush bright red.
Her scent was something I recognized instantly. The oddly unfamiliar tang of human, plus a slight undercurrent of the more familiar—and more comforting—were-cougar. There was an enormous mate mark on her neck, visible right under the strand of hair that she tucked behind her ear.
Josh kissed my cheek and moved toward the stove that Bath hovered over. “Anything I can help with?”
She turned to face him, a look of surprised amusement on her face. “A Russell offering to help in the kitchen? Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Hey, my favorite ladies are in here right now,” he said easily, taking the bowl I was carrying from my hands and heading to the fridge with it. “You just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.”
“You can head back to town and get some extra beer. We’ve got a few extras coming today.”
“Extras?” I gave her an odd look. “I thought this was just Russells. Were-cougars.” Of course, she was here, so it wasn’t like we planned on sticking to that rule fast and hard. Beau wasn’t about to have a clan get-together and not invite his own wife.
“It started out that way,” Bathsheba said, pulling a list from under a nearby plate. “But then we didn’t know what to do with Lily, since she’s still under surveillance, so Ryder volunteered to watch her if she could come, too. I couldn’t exactly refuse that. And of course there’s Sara and Ramsey, who are always included even though they’re not cougar. Jeremiah’s bringing Miko and Sam. And Savannah asked to bring Connor.”
Josh scowled. “Did you tell her no?”
“I told her yes,” Bathsheba said in a pert voice. “Now please, we need a few more six-packs of beer. Would you mind?”
He snagged his keys back off the counter and moved toward me, giving me a quick, hot kiss full of promise. “I’ll be back soon, baby.”
“Got it,” I told him with a soft smile, resisting the urge to swat his ass when he walked away. I watched him as he left, then turned back to Bathsheba once he was gone.
She was smiling. “So . . . how are things with you and Josh?”
“Good,” I said, though the word didn’t seem to encompass quite enough. Life was incredible, and wonderful, and so full of wonder and hope and happiness every day that I pulled out my mother’s Virgin Mary figurine and kissed it in gratitude every time I woke up. I couldn’t ask for a better life.
And it was all thanks to Josh, that wonderful, beautiful man.
“Mmmhmm. Can you start making the potato salad?”
I moved to the small mountain of potatoes on the far end of the kitchen table. “So why is it that we got stuck with the cooking?”
Bath pulled out a bottle of barbeque sauce from the fridge. “Because if I let one of the men in the kitchen, they’d eat everything before it ever made it to the table.”
“And you like being in charge,” I teased, grabbing the potato peeler and attacking the first potato.
She gave a small sniff. “That’s not it. I just—”
“Like being in charge,” Sara chimed in, walking through the back door, a bag of groceries in her arms. “Marie had it right the first time.”
I caught the waft of wolf-scent and resisted the urge to wrinkle my nose. I was still getting used to all the different scents.
“You hush,” Bath said to her sister with a mock scowl. “Did you bring the dessert?”
“Three cheesecakes,” Sara announced proudly. “All fresh from the bakery. Ramsey’s carrying them in. He says I’m too small and they’re too heavy.” She rolled her eyes.
“It
“Beau likes his privacy,” Bath said simply. “If there was a road nearby, someone’d be driving down it constantly. He doesn’t mind a little walking to get here.”
I supposed he had a point. “Here” was Beau’s cabin in the midst of the woods, with no roads, no trails, no nothing, for at least a square mile. It had been quite a hike for me and Josh, since we’d been carrying food as well, but I’d felt healthy and strong and alive—and my shifter strength was quite a bit stronger than my wimpy human strength. It had been a long walk, but not a hard one, and I was pleased at that.
Bath and I cooked and made sandwiches while Sara sat on the counter and picked at the food, nibbling when she thought Bath wasn’t looking. As we worked, we chatted and laughed, and more people began to wander into the kitchen as they arrived for the party. Eventually Josh returned with the beer, and instead of setting up outside with the other guys at the picnic tables, he headed toward me in the kitchen and picked up a potato peeler.
That was why I loved the man. Beneath that incredibly flirty exterior was a heart of gold.
Each person came by to give me their congratulations on my successful turning and subsequent absorption into the Russell clan. The twins showed up first—Everett and Ellis. Then Austin, then Ryder and Lily, whom no one knew what to do with. Beau moved back and forth between the house and the grill outside, smelling like smoke and cougar. Everyone was thrilled that I’d joined the clan, and I didn’t see a hint of antihuman sentiment anywhere. It made me wonder if it was going this smoothly for all of the clans, or if it was because the Russells were such a mixed blend that it didn’t matter to them. I couldn’t see it being this easy for the poor tiger girl.
Sure enough, Jeremiah showed up with Sam—who smelled different and whom I’d never met, so I knew he wasn’t a were-cougar—and Miko. Jeremiah congratulated me in his soft voice, then headed outside with the others as they passed through the house.
Bath gave me a prim look. “I hope you’re not bothered by the fact that Jere has a boyfriend and a girlfriend?”
I wagged the potato peeler at her. “I worked at the dating agency, remember? I’ve seen weird, and that isn’t weird. A were-snake and a harpy? Now
Sara snorted, then plucked a deviled egg off the counter the moment Bath set it down. “That’s not the weirdest pairing. Did you ever see—”
There was a knock at the door. Bath wiped her hands and headed to answer it, and Sara and I turned to look. The scent of wolf was definitely getting stronger. I wrinkled my nose a little, not used to the smell.
A man about Sara’s age stood in the doorway—Connor Anderson. His dark hair was shaggy and hung in front of his eyes, but he had a gorgeous face. He also looked downright uncomfortable and kept glancing over his shoulder to the person standing behind him on the steps. “Hi.”
“Come on in,” Bath said warmly. “We’re still making food. Everyone else is out back.”
He stepped inside, and the smell of wolf accompanied him. A woman stood behind him, her hand clasped in his, and I waved at the heavily pregnant Savannah Russell.
Bath leaned over Savannah’s enormous belly and kissed her cheek. “Why don’t you two go out back and say hello to Beau? He’ll be thrilled to see you.”
