Reading Online Novel

Shifters in the Shadows(7)



“I’ll be around.”

“Good luck today.” He pushed back from the table, and after gathering up both plates, he headed into the house.

Sasha trailed her fingers across the top of her hand where he’d touched her. Oh he’d awakened something all right, but she’d have to ignore her naughty impulses. Maybe at the end of the week she could get his number, but until then, the only thing she’d be getting intimate with was a big block of clay.



* * *



Jack swiped his hand across his forehead as he surveyed the monstrosity of twisted metal behind the barn. He’d hauled a bunch of pieces up from the scrap pile so he wouldn’t have to keep making trips. Although he’d only just begun his creation, he knew it would be awesome. His bear scampered around in his chest. The beast loved the wild, primitive feel of working with fire.

He’d been bending, twisting, and soldering for hours. As he stepped back to assess his creation, he nodded. Yep, right on point. After the conversation he’d had with Sasha earlier, he’d been inspired to create a sculpture of two people dancing the tango. What could be sexier? When he’d been in Argentina, he’d learned the provocative dance from an eighty-year-old woman who could dance circles around him. He hoped he’d be able to move half that good when he reached her age.

After turning off the welding equipment, he set it aside. Mack and Logan had been by to let him know that he was free to swim in the lake in either human or bear form. Although the ambient temperature hovered around sixty degrees, he’d worked up a sweat. Time to cool off.

He strolled across the ranch to the B&B. After changing into a pair of swim trunks, he grabbed a towel and headed outside. On the way to the lake, he spotted Sasha sitting at a picnic bench. An extension cord stretched from the house to a spinning potter’s wheel. Eager to check out her creation, he walked toward her. A frustrated huff punctuated the air a moment before she smashed a half-formed vase.

“Hey,” he said slowly. “How’s it going?”

“I’m just so frustrated. I’ve tried pinching. I’ve tried coiling. I’ve tried freeform hand molding. Nothing is working.”

“Maybe you need a break?” he said.

“I don’t—”

“Have time? I know,” he said.

“You don’t get it. I’m going to lose everything I’ve worked for if I don’t get this done.”

“I understand. But I also think that sometimes you have to step back from work and give your ideas time to cook. Even chefs have to let their soup simmer for hours to get the right consistency.”

“I’m not making soup,” she said.

“I know.” He couldn’t help but smile. “But trust me, sitting around being mad isn’t going to help you right now. I know what you need.”

“Really?” she asked in an amused tone.

“You need to go skinny-dipping in the lake with me.”

As she tossed her head back to laugh, sunlight sent fiery streaks through her hair. Joy cast radiant beauty across her face. He licked his bottom lip. The sudden urge to kiss her rose up, but he managed to keep his desire in check.

“I can’t do that,” she said when she finally caught her breath.

“What? Go swimming?”

“No, skinny-dipping.”

“Why not?” he asked.

She twisted to one side and pointed at her voluptuous butt. “My ass is far too big to be parading around naked.”

“Good thing I like curves.” He flashed a charming smile.

“You’re the devil in disguise, trying to tempt me like that.”

“It’s not me,” he said with mock innocence. “It’s my bear.”

As if on cue, the beast clawed at him. Jack ran his palm across his chest.

“Has he been acting up?” she asked.

“He always does when there’s a beautiful woman around.”

“I … thank you.” Her cheeks turned crimson. “You’re a very convincing man.”

“So you’re coming?”

“I’m going to run back to my room and get a bathing suit,” she said.

“Bummer.”

“Consider it a compromise.”

“Hey, I’ll take what I can get,” he said.

“You don’t seem like the kind of man who needs to beg a woman to join him,” she said.

“I do tend to draw them in like moths to a flame.”

“And so humble too.”

“I try,” he smirked.

“Let me get this clay cleaned up and I’ll be right in,” she said.

“See you soon.”

Ten minutes later, she reappeared in a black-and-pink polka dot halter-top bathing suit. The bottom half consisted of a skirt which was slit up the thigh, giving him a hell of a view. It was sexy without being sleazy, just like her. She sauntered toward the lake and dropped a towel next to his on the shore. She looked like a curvier version of a Bond girl. Feisty too. Exactly the kind of woman he’d love to take to bed.