Gentry (Wolves of Winter's Edge Book 1)(21)

Asher's words shocked her into a moment of slack-jawed silence.

"One, I'm human, and clearly you aren't. Great. I have no idea what all  that entails, but Gentry doesn't feel so different from me, so stop  being such a prejudiced … Asherhole!"

Roman snorted and repeated, "Asherhole."

"Furthermore, that sticking around comment? It's none of your business,  but the divorce wasn't my choice! I didn't file the papers. What did you  want me to do? Never sign them and cling to a man who didn't want me?  Don't make judgements on things you know nothing about. I was destroyed,  and I'm just now finding my way back to myself, and yeah, Gentry has my  attention. He makes me feel like … like … me again!" Disproportionately  angry, she lost her mind and chucked her car keys at Asher's face.

Annoyingly, he plucked them out of the air before they hit him, and  Blaire regretted her actions. She wished she could stomp to the car and  speed away, spraying them both with snow from her tires, but …  "I need  those back," she muttered, holding her pink mitten-clad hand up to him.  Impatiently, she wiggled her fingers.

Roman was wearing a big, dumb grin as he looked back and forth from Blaire to Asher and back again.

She could've sworn she saw the faintest smirk on Asher's face as he  leaned over the railing and settled the keys onto her palm. "I wouldn't  drink at the tavern if I were you."

"I wouldn't tell me what to do …  if I were you! So … " She was angry and  terrible with comebacks, so she tried to flip him off, but her finger  only bulged against her pink mitten. Roman laughed harder, and there was  a smile on Asher's face.

Stupid Strikers. They made her want to be unladylike and rude.

Blaire kicked a snow drift away from the door of her car and got in.  Sure enough, there was an unwrapped gift on her passenger's seat. It was  a paperback copy of a werewolf erotica book called Bang Me, Fang Me.  Her anger evaporated, and Blaire snorted as she studied the cover.                       
       
           



       

Inside the front flap, there was a handwritten note that was already unfolded and likely read by Nosey Roman.



Trouble,

I can't answer questions, but I can give you this, another belated  birthday present. Everything in it is wrong, but entertaining. I checked  the sex scenes and I'm sorry to tell you, but there was no sign of baby  gravy. I hope you enjoy the read anyway. Relax. This isn't for work.  Just for fun. I'll give you the space you need. Call me if you want.

Chaos



His phone number was scribbled at the bottom.

"Are you mushy smiling?" Roman asked from where he was staring into her  window with his hands cupped around his face. "I get why he calls you  Trouble, but why do you call him Chaos? And what's baby gravy? Is that  some human flirting thing? I've never seen this before. It's gross, but  it's like one of those medical shows where you are repulsed, but at the  same time you can't look away."

Blaire sighed tiredly and started her car. "Have a good day, Roman," she gritted out through clenched teeth.

"You broke a chair over my back, Blaire. You owe me answers-"

"I said good day!" She hit the gas and felt a little guilty that part of her wished she would accidently run over Roman's foot.

She searched Gentry's house longingly, but he wasn't there, and his  truck wasn't parked out front anymore either. Okay, that was a good  thing. Now she wouldn't be tempted to turn around and jump back in with  him too quickly. Time to herself was essential today. Her hormones would  make her forget all the craziness that happened last night, and she  would jump his bones when she should really be taking serious  consideration whether to stay here any longer.

Oh, she believed Asher and Roman when they talked about how much trouble  they were in. Those two men had scared the ever-lovin' poop out of her  last night, and they were allies. Kind of. Well, at least they were  family to Gentry. Also kind of because she didn't understand why they  all seemed to hate each other so much. And right about now she was  thanking all her lucky stars she was an only child because, apparently,  the Strikers healed faster than the average human, but they were still  black-and-blue today from wailing on each other.

Last night, snow had fountained into the air, high above the trees, like  an upside-down waterfall. Could werewolves do that? She would've loved  to ask a million questions, but she had tried last night with Gentry,  and though he'd looked sick about it the entire walk from Winter's Edge  to her cabin, he'd denied her answers.

"It's safer for you if you don't know," he'd explained.

So, this was the type of relationship she could look forward to until  she went home. A surface relationship where they both pretended they  were the same kind of mammal and avoided all conversations about  anything serious or important. Sex with Gentry had been mind-blowing,  beautiful, and so satisfying, but a big part of her wanted more with him  than just a physical connection. She wanted him to trust her, and she  really wanted to trust him, too.

It was stormy out and snowing once again. Thick flurries drifted down,  piling onto her windshield, so she turned on the wipers and squinted up  at the churning gray clouds. She wouldn't see sunshine today.

She glanced at the book cover again and shook her head. Werewolves  existed. So much made sense now. The way he'd seemed so serious when  he'd asked if she read paranormal romance. How he'd asked her to trust  him and not call the cops. How he'd dragged that dead turkey off her  porch. He'd canceled breakfast due to no sleep. Was that because he'd  been the wolf that night?

Someone like you. How many times had she heard that since she'd come to  Rangeley? And not just from Gentry, but from the man she'd asked  directions from that first day. Perhaps he was a werewolf, too. Maybe  everyone in this town was but her.

That was an unsettling thought.

Blaire coasted around a bend, but when she saw the massive gray wolf  sitting in the middle of the snowy road, she gasped and locked up the  brakes. The car skidded sideways on the slick straightaway, but came to a  rocking stop before she slid into the animal.

Green eyes. That was the first thing she noticed. They were bright and  the exact shade Gentry's had been last night. He was huge, much bigger  than she imagined wild wolves to be. Even sitting, he was as tall as the  top of her window. He had a big barrel chest, and his fur was dark gray  with a touch of lighter gray mottled throughout. He had darker points  and a black nose. His paws were huge, splayed against the snow and ice.

He was just watching her, but without warning, he tossed his head back  and let off a long, haunting note. His breath froze in the air and  looked like smoke rising above him.                       
       
           



       

It. Was. Beautiful. The sound and Gentry both.

She moved to open the door, but Gentry lowered his head and let the howl  die in his throat, eyes flashing with warning. And then he stood, much  taller than she'd realized, and padded gracefully to the trees that  lined the road. He paused on the edge, his eyes looking bright  surrounded by that storm-gray fur. His back was to her, but he stared at  her over his shoulder.

She didn't want to leave. This moment was profound. He'd let her see  him, let her in. And everything in her screamed he wasn't allowed to do  this. Not with her. Not with a human. He was taking a huge risk because  he cared deeply. About her. He cared.

She wanted to cry and laugh and cry some more with the realization  because she was in this, too. She felt the same. If the roles were  reversed, she would take risks to show him he mattered.

Gentry trotted into the woods with such an unnaturally smooth gait, she  couldn't take her gaze from him until he disappeared into the brush.  He'd looked so powerful, so rugged, so dangerous, and so beautiful all  at once. If she wasn't staring right at the distinct wolf prints in the  snow near her window, she would've tried to convince herself it hadn't  happened. How could it? Science said two species couldn't occupy the  same body. But maybe Gentry and his brothers were formed from magic  instead, something she'd never believed in.

Her world had just been flipped upside down.

Blaire eased onto the gas and straightened out the car. She'd had these  grand plans today to convince herself the supernatural hadn't taken over  this town. She was supposed to go out and meet people to convince  herself all was normal around here. She'd planned on convincing herself  that last night had happened differently than it did, but Gentry had  taken all the uncertainty away from her, as if he had known she needed  physical proof of what he was. Of what dwelled inside of him.