Complication: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifters Forever After Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

impartial.”
    “Of course.” He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her in, closing the door behind her. “After the case is resolved, then—”
    Laken crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not looking for complications in my life.”
    “I’m not offering a complication.”
    You’re a walking, talking, sexy complication.
    She drew in a deep breath, ready to tell him that his very presence complicated her life and confused her thinking and made her body feel things she hadn’t felt since the last time she’d seen him—
    The doorbell rang.
    Panic struck. She stumbled away from him and around the corner of the breakfast bar, seeking cover, just in case. Who the hell could it be? What if it was the old polar bear shifter he was representing?
    He opened the door and spoke to someone there, reached into his pocket, took out some cash and handed it over, then closed the door with a takeout bag in his hands.
    “Steak?” He placed the bag on the counter and unpacked the contents. Two steaks. Two baked potatoes. “Interested?”
    “Two of them?” Her stomach grumbled at the aroma rising from the tin platters. “Oh, no. One of those was for your brother!”
    “You’re prettier. No contest.”
    The uncontrolled desire in his eyes made heat rise to her face and then drop into her midsection.
    “Medium-rare good?” He took steak knives from a wood block.
    I can’t stay for dinner. What is he thinking? “Perfect.” What am I thinking?
    Ky grabbed a couple of plates from a cupboard and reached for a baked potato. He picked the steaming, foil-wrapped vegetable up and dropped it quickly.
    “Damn.” He stuck the burnt finger in his mouth and sucked on it.
    A dozen dirty images flew through Laken’s mind, all of them from that one night, involving the things he’d done with his fingers. A blush began its inevitable rise, heating her chest and neck, making its way to her face, where it would be a dead giveaway that he was affecting her.
    Laken took a few steps toward the balcony door, looking at the view to keep him from seeing what he’d done to her. The rustling of his unpacking and setting the table came from behind her.
    “What do you like on your baked potato?”
    You. She took a deep breath and turned his way, hoping the red had regressed. “The usual. Butter, sour cream.”
    “Grab a seat.” He held a chair out for her at the breakfast bar instead of the dinner table. A part of her was relieved that they’d be eating in the more casual area, until she realized that the bar was so small, they’d be forced to sit very close to each other.
    Great. Just what my libido doesn’t need. She took her spot and pulled the stool up to the bar.
    “So, what have you been up to since the last time I saw you?”
    Ky took a bite of steak. The way he bit into the pink flesh made a slow quiver run through Laken’s body. She studied her baked potato, stabbed it with her fork, and pushed it around, almost stirring it. Surely he couldn’t make eating a baked potato look sexy?
    Injured by a land mine, lost a leg. Lost a boyfriend—okay, not much of a boyfriend, to be honest. Working for an organization that helps wartime victims—especially ones hurt by land mines.
    “Not much.” She looked up at him.
    He was still, his blue gaze focused on her face. In the depths of his eyes, a golden glow flamed.
    Her panther roared in Laken’s head. She ignored her. “What have you been up to?”
    He cocked his head, as if he was thinking what to say. Then he nodded. “I left for the Middle East the day after you… after I… after we…”
    That was the last thing she needed him to say out loud. She didn’t need that night, that one and only charmed night, to be brought up and talked about. She didn’t want the magic to dissipate the same way that everything else in her life had. “Why’d you come back?”
    He paused, the hand holding his fork hesitating midway to his lips. “Disillusioned.” He set the