Pursued by a Werewolf (Mystic Isle, Book 4) Read Free Page A

given her over a year and a half. Isn’t that enough time?” He picked up his bottle and squirted a stream of water into his mouth.
    “Time will tell.”
    Hunter used a small towel to wipe the sweat from his face. “Sorry about the bag.”
    Latham waved off his concern. “Happens all the time. I bought the company that makes the chain.”
    His attempt at levity made Hunter relax a fraction. He strode across the gym and refilled his water bottle.
    “Tell me this,” he said, walking back over to where Latham stood. “Will I ever be enough? Will I ever get through to her? Or am I just fooling myself?”
    “Does it matter if you’re fooling yourself?” Latham countered.
    Hunter inhaled deeply, then let the breath out slowly as he stared up at the ceiling. It was an unremarkable drop ceiling, standard grid pattern with squares of white cork like material. But he barely saw it. Instead he saw Avery in her little red bikini, deep blue eyes shining up at him from her spot on the volleyball court. There was a smirk on her sexy come-kiss-me mouth.
    Restraining himself that night two Decembers ago had taught him new things about patience. Her giggle was addicting. A sound he’d never heard before and if she wasn’t in his life, a sound he’d never hear again.
    The thought of never seeing her again made his chest seize up. He rubbed the thick wall of muscle over his heart and took a deep breath. Even breathing was painful when he thought of losing her.
    How was it possible to be so crazy about a person who obviously didn’t feel the same way? He wouldn’t go so far as to say she wanted nothing to do with him, because she’d made it clear that she enjoyed his friendship.
    “No. It wouldn’t matter.” Hunter hadn’t so much as looked at a woman and felt the slightest interest since the moment he’d laid eyes on Avery. And he knew he never would again.
    That knowledge had scared him. No, it had terrified him at first.
    “Then that’s your answer. If she’s the one you want, the one person you need above all others, then you must discover a way to reach her. You and you alone can find the way to her heart.”
    Hunter wasn’t so sure about that. He’d thought that a year of slow and steady friendship would chip away at her one-night-only rule, prove to her what she was missing.
    “It’s up to you to tear down the walls and earn her trust and make her fall in love again. It won’t be easy and I’m willing to bet she’ll try your patience in ways you’ve never been tried before. But it’ll be worth it. She’ll be worth it. You know that…or you wouldn’t be so crazy over the thought of losing her.”
    Hunter stared at the golden haired god for several long seconds. He was tanned, toned, and sophisticated. Confident to the core. But this was a sex resort, his sex resort, and Latham was handing out relationship advice as if he ran a matchmaking service.
    More importantly, everything he’d said had been spot on.
    “Am I right?”
    “Completely.”
    “Where do you want to be three weeks from now?”
    Hunter looked down at the thick rubber mat covering the floor and thought about the question. If he had his way, he’d whisk Avery off to a chalet in Switzerland and keep her in bed for a month, at least.
    “And a year from now?” Latham asked, obviously having read Hunter’s mind.
    Cuddled up in a log cabin somewhere in the western United States waiting for a long cold winter to trap them inside.
    The thought brought a smile to his lips.
    “And a hundred and fifty years from now?” Latham asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
    Hunter met the god’s gaze. “I want to show her the first blush of sunrise over Paris.” By then she’d be old enough to withstand sunlight and the world would be their oyster.
    “There you go. Keep the end game in mind.” Latham turned to leave. But he paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder. “Speaking of oysters… Pearl’s plane just landed. She’ll be