Getting Wet Read Online Free PDF Page B

beavers here?” She sipped at her soda.
    “Most of them. Andy runs the general store. He was going to put me up if Rayna had not made those arrangements.”
    “Nice.”
    “I thought so. They also supplied the hair and claw trimmings from my family that the transporter needed. I was a little surprised by the speed of the transport. Normally, we have to schedule months in advance.”
    She grinned, “Rayna was given the number of the Guild Master. She can move anyone, anywhere, anytime.”
    “Very nice.”
    “It really is. She got me here as soon as I managed to make up my mind.” Augusta laughed. “I suppose that I would have to take a look at your house, though if it has a lake in the background, it might be the ideal place.”
    “I think so. I built it with a mate and a family in mind. It is close enough to most amenities that its removal from the local town isn’t too much of a hardship.”
    “Any problem with poachers?” She twisted her lips. “They are a particular concern of mine.”
    “Come to think of it, there have been one or two reported in the area. I can deal with them.”
    She twisted her lips. “I will do it. I really enjoy gnawing on humans, so to speak.”
    He smiled. “So, my place it is?”
    “Do we have to leave so soon? I was hoping we could go dancing.” She blushed a little, but she meant it.
    “They don’t like having mated pairs running around too close to the ones who are still looking. Generally, you make your match and you go home and prove it.”
    She frowned. “Isn’t that a little sudden?”
    “Is it? Our beasts knew each other the moment we locked gazes. Our bodies are in sync and we both like the water. I think we need to get to know each other.” Randal nodded as his burger and fries arrived across from her BLT.
    She shrugged. “I suppose that that is the way things are done. Funny, but I have never really thought about it before.”
    “Not funny at all. You weren’t thinking about men until you met me, and I am only too glad to be the target of your attentions.” He batted his lashes and nibbled at a fry.
    “Why didn’t you ever settle down?”
    “Well, I hadn’t met you.” He shrugged. “No other woman fascinates me like you do. Peculiar but true.”
    She snorted and bit into her BLT. “It isn’t that peculiar. Stranger things have happened.”
    He winced. “I didn’t mean that to sound insulting. I have just seen thousands of women, but no one’s face stuck with me until yours. Those big dark eyes of yours latched onto my soul and were there anytime I closed my eyes.”
    She smiled. “That sounds better.”
    He looked relieved and kept eating.
    Augusta smiled at the realisation that he was taking the hint. It was better to believe she was one in a million than simply a freaky moment of eye contact. As long as he kept his lips zipped, they were going to get along just fine.
     
    Teebie had their bags packed and waiting. She smiled and waved them goodbye from the porch of the Open Heart Bed and Breakfast.
    The guardians and their formal farewell bemused Augusta. She signed several copies of the mating contract, as did Randal. They still needed to formalize their relationship in the human world but that was an event that they would have to build up to. The mating registration was far more binding than anything humans could come up with and sharing territory with another species was always the greatest challenge.
    She took her copy of the contract and watched Randal take his. The other copies would be registered with the otter and beaver guilds, respectively, with one copy archived at the Crossroads.
    Teal stood on one side of them, Tony on the other, and in a rush of light, they were standing in the woods with moonlight rippling across a lake mere metres from their position.
    Augusta felt Randal remove her bag, and she heard him climbing a set of stairs. She was intent on the smell of the woods, the flavour of the water and the chirping of the crickets.