"What?"
"We're going for a run." He smiled that toothy, sexy grin she was beginning to get very used to. "It's been far too long since I've let my animal out, and while I thought last night would have gone a long way in satisfying him … well, I was wrong."
There was a lot in that statement Kira wanted to address, but it would have to wait because there were more pressing issues. "I can't," she said. "It's been too long."
Nash chuckled. "Admittedly, I don't know a ton about bears," he said. "But I can't imagine that part of things is too terribly different from wolves. It's not like it's use-it-or-lose-it situation, Kira. You'll be able to shift."
"But … what if … ." She trailed off because she couldn't think of a good excuse. In fact, she was fairly positive that there was no such thing as an excuse good enough to satisfy Nash when it came to this. He was like a dog with a bone. The comparison made her laugh inappropriately, and he took the moment to pounce.
"Come on, Kira. And you know what they say … sex is always better after a good run."
For the first time in forever, Kira found herself actually entertaining the idea. And then, with the weight of Nash's hands on her shoulders, his musky scent filling her senses, and his eyes boring into hers, she said, "Okay."
Chapter Seven
The day had taken forever to go by. But not because Nash had a lack of work to do. In fact, now that the camping season was starting to pick up, his workload had only increased. There were campsite signs to fix from the inevitable trailers that backed into them, more picnic tables to repair, a seemingly unending amount of clogged toilets, and never mind the actual maintenance work he had from the head office.
No, time hadn't moved slowly because he was bored. All Nash could think about all day was what was going to happen later that night. Getting Kira alone the first time had been nothing short of amazing. Getting her alone the second time would be absolutely mind-blowing. Because as soon as he was able to sneak her away from the cabin, they were going to go out into the woods and shift.
Just thinking about how good it would feel to stretch his muscles and run with Kira by his side fueled the raging erection he'd had almost all day. Not only was he going to have the chance to see Kira in her true form, he'd be the one to help her return to her animal self. He couldn't imagine the pain and hurt it must have cost her to go without shifting for so long.
But all that would change. Tonight.
Nash pulled into his parking spot at the staff cabin and cut the engine. He had just enough time for a shower and change before they were set to leave. Kira had said something about leaving early so they could have a picnic before it got dark. It sounded an awful lot like a date to Nash, and to his surprise, he had absolutely no problem with that. There were a million reasons he should have a problem with it, or be scared, even a little. But he didn't. Not at all.
His brother, on the other hand … Nolan would very much have a problem if he heard Nash was going on a date with a bear. Would he ever.
But Nash didn't want to think about Nolan, or anyone else for that matter. No one mattered but him and Kira and what they were going to do later that night. Because however it turned out, one thing was for sure: it was going to be good.
He slammed the door of the truck behind him and was headed up to the cabin when he got intercepted. "You look happy. Must have been a good day plunging toilets."
Nash narrowed his eyes at the man who'd come up beside him. But only for a minute. He wasn't worth the energy. "Conner," he said by way of greeting. Nash had only had the opportunity, if you could call it that, to sit down and talk to the man a few times, but that was all he needed to formulate his opinion. Conner was a bitter, angry guy. Why, Nash had no idea, but as long as he didn't have to spend much time with him and his toxic attitude, Nash couldn't care less. "My day was great. Thanks for asking."
"Mine sucked."
"I didn't ask." Nash flashed him a smile that he was certain would just piss Conner off. "You should really try harder to have more positive working days, Conner. Life is too short to be stuck in a job you hate, don't you think?"
He reached for the door a step before Conner got there, and held it open for the other man, who only looked more irritated by the gesture.
Nash shook his head with a smile. There really was no pleasing the guy.
"Whatever," Conner muttered under his breath. "You'd probably have a shitty day, too, if you had guests complaining about the stink of rotting fish next to their campsite."
Nash stopped short. He hadn't even thought to ask about the fish problem that morning and despite the fact that they were supposed to have been on a stakeout the night before to see what was causing it, he hadn't given the problem any thought at all. "There were more fish this morning? I didn't hear anything."