Fierce Protector (Sierra Pride Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

after her, he shifted back to human while she watched.
    “Oh,” she said, covering her mouth. “Oh, wow.”
    He tugged on his jeans and shirt. “You okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine. Fine. It’s just—it’s one thing knowing, and another thing seeing, you know?”
    “I can understand that.”
    Tears were leaking from her eyes again. Damn it, what had he done? He reached forward again, wiping her cheeks. “Don’t kick me in the nuts again, okay?” he said seriously.
    “I won’t,” she said.
    “I’m Gabriel.”
    “I’m Miranda.”
    He knew it, of course, because he’d overheard her saying it on the phone. But to hear her tell her name to him made him feel bigger and stronger. Her name was now the most important thing in the world. It was a beautiful name—perfect for her. He wanted to say it over and over again, he wanted to shout it while he was buried inside of her. Where was this coming from? These feelings were stronger than anything he’d ever experienced.
    Her hands were shaking, fluttering, really, and he wondered if she was in shock or something. He wasn’t taking care of her, but he should be. He felt…responsible for her. “Come inside. Let me get you some food,” he said. “I’ve got some instant oatmeal. You like oatmeal?”
    He sounded like a nervous high schooler.
    She followed him into the little hunting shed. “Yeah, oatmeal would be great.”
    Busying himself with the camp stove and a pot of water, Gabriel stole looks at her over his shoulder. She was triggering every one of his protective instincts. Yeah, she turned him on, but more than anything, he wanted her to be well and feel safe.
    Right now, she looked uncomfortable, so he tried to think of something to fill the silence. “I’m not the cook in my family,” he said. “That’s my brother Maverick. He’ll brag to anyone who’ll listen that he makes the best barbecue sauce in the north state.”
    “Is he right?” Miranda asked.
    Gabriel smiled. “Yeah, he’s right about that. He’s not right about everything he brags about, though.”
    “No?”
    “No. He definitely has the smaller dick between the two of us.”
    Miranda started giggling uncontrollably. She had the prettiest smile. Between bursts of laughter, she asked, “Is this where I talk about typical guys and their preoccupations with their genitals?”
    “It’s not a preoccupation if I’m stating the truth,” he said. “It’s Maverick who’s preoccupied.”
    She shook her head. “Is Maverick your only sibling?”
    “No.” Gabriel frowned. He hadn’t wanted to talk about his brothers. It wasn’t as painful now that he wasn’t in knots over Hera, but he hadn’t left his brothers on the best of terms. He’d hit Mav by accident while trying to punch Blake, and Jude had all but thrown him out.
    “How are you feeling?” he asked, trying to cover up the new silence. “You seemed pretty upset out there, when you saw me shift.”
    “I’m doing better, thanks. Science is so easy for me—everything has an order to it, a reason. Even if I don’t know the answer, I know that there’s an answer in the science, waiting to be found. But this—what I just saw—I don’t know if it has an answer.”
    “Sure there’s an answer,” he said. “It’s just not something the world is ready for yet.” After finding a clean spoon, he passed it and a bowl of oatmeal to Miranda.
    “Thanks.” She dipped her spoon into the oatmeal.
    “Hang on,” Gabriel said, and stepped outside. He found a nearby bush of thimbleberries and gathered a few. He came back in and handed them to Miranda. To her it was probably just berries, but he felt a little as if he was making an offering to a goddess.
    “Thanks,” she said with a smile, and stirred them into her bowl. “My mom always put berries in my oatmeal when I was a kid.”
    “Best way to eat it.” Gabriel cleared his throat. “So, this, uh, program of yours. What’s it about?”
    “We’re studying population