Shelter Me (Sawtooth Shifters, #6) Read Free

the only thing I have as soft as you,” I said. She’d given it to me for Christmas, and her scent was all over it. That’s how those Montana fuckers knew Lyssie was mine. Or the closest thing to it. I should’ve never worn it tonight, but I was glad I did. I caught her chin in my hand so she couldn’t look away. I should’ve done this a long time ago. “We have ten minutes ‘til midnight and I’m done wasting time. Dance with me, Lyssie.”
    Lyssie swallowed hard and I thought she’d refuse. “I don’t want to waste time anymore, either,” she said.
    We moved to the beat; the tension, everything forgotten as her hips moved in that hypnotizing sway, her fingers curling in my sweater. Taking her by the hips, I pulled her closer, imagining how her skin would feel moving against mine just like this, in a tangle of ruined sheets as the sun rose. A growl slipped from my lips against her cheek. Her head fell back in laughter, exposing the long line of her neck. The sigh that escaped from her lips when I kissed her was enough to bring me to my knees.
    It should’ve been like this all along. But I couldn’t be mad at her for running. I’d had my doubts, too.
    “It’s the countdown!” Trina burst in, breaking the spell, forcing plastic champagne flutes at us. Startled, we took them from her, staring at each other like we had no idea what just happened.
    Shit.
    The room chanted in unison. “Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven....”
    I grabbed her drink with my teeth, gulping it down, then lifted my flute to her lips. The cups fell to the floor as the room erupted in cheers. I crashed against her in a kiss before she had a chance to protest, pressing her against me. I wasn’t wasting time, her lips were open, and I let myself in. Tonight she tasted like champagne and promises of new beginnings. She didn’t fight me. Her lips moved with mine in a much more intimate dance than our bodies had shared.
    We were starting over, effective immediately.
    It wasn’t our first kiss, but I was beginning to understand what Lyssie needed. Something that came from deep within me that made us fit together like lock and key.
    Marked or not, no one in this room could argue that Lyssie was mine.
    There was some old business from last year that had to be taken care of. “Why are you afraid of me?” I whispered in her ear, then pulled away, giving her a chance to answer.
    Her blue eyes widened. They stole the show tonight, the same color as her shirt that dipped dangerously low, giving a delicious hint of cleavage. I’d laid in this woman’s bed but I’d never seen more of her than I did right now.
    “I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid of me,” she said, adding to the riddle.
    “Sometimes I’m afraid of you, too.” She’d brought so many feelings I was unfamiliar with to the surface, and the wolf in me had been too wild to commit to her. The idea of mating with humans was risky, and the ladies of Forever Home had been hurt enough. Lyssie saved my life; I couldn’t ruin hers by being selfish, especially now with this throbbing wound Ember inflicted on me as a reminder of exactly what was at stake. “But I think I like it.”
    It was the easiest way to explain what the hell was going through my head. Lyssie hesitated, but finally offered a wobbly smile. I had to make the feeling of losing her go away.
    “Kiera got me here tonight by reminding me what we do at midnight on New Year’s is what we’ll do all year long. Does that mean we can keep doing this?” she asked, her cheeks pink with the suggestion.
    “Excuse me,” Ember interrupted, putting her hand on Lyssie’s shoulder and shooting me the most feral smile I’d ever seen on any creature’s face. She turned back to Lyssie. “I thought you might want to know I can still taste him, sweetheart. He belongs to me now. Happy New Year!” She pulled the neck of my sweater down and glared at Lyssie before walking away from the carnage she created.

Chapter Three
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