Kodiak's Claim Read Online Free PDF

volunteered.
    “I guess I should check on the human,” Reid added with a grimace. At least Boris had the good sense to put her to sleep, although how he’d explain away her sudden slumber he didn’t have a clue.
    The passenger side door wasn’t locked and when Reid opened it, he managed to get his arms up just in time to catch the woman who tumbled out. At least he assumed there was a woman somewhere within the thick red parka. Hard to tell with all the padding in the way.
    A vanilla scent tickled his nose, a womanly smell that perked his inner bear’s interest. It gave a happy rumble, but Reid didn’t pay him much mind, given he also made the same sound when his grandmother made her famous pot roast with thick, pan gravy. Still … he’d never had his bear think a human smelled delicious before. No eating people. The first rule a shifter learned, right after don’t lick the electrical outlet.
    As Reid held her limp frame with one arm, curiosity had him pushing back the curly hair covering her face with his gloved fingers. Human or not, she was cute, just not what the media would call gorgeous. She did, however, appeal to him with her faint freckles splashed across the bridge of her nose. He even liked her snub nose, rounded cheeks, and tiny rosebud of a mouth. She possessed smooth skin and thick lashes, which brushed her pale cheeks as she slept, making him wonder what color her eyes were.
    Hefting her into his arms, he noted she was a woman with a bit of weight to her, some meat on her bones—which the bear in him heartily approved of. A man his size didn’t find scrawny waifs appealing. A full handful and something to bury himself into was more to his taste.
    But speaking of appealing, why the hell was he appraising her this way? The human was here to investigate him and his company. She was not dating material. Not even close, even if his bear liked the smell of her.
    Carrying her around the side of the truck, he caught Travis and Boris spreading out the needed tools to get the vehicle moving again. In the distance, he could hear the hum of approaching snowmobiles. Reinforcements arrived, and no, he wasn’t guessing. He’d recognized the distinct “Yahoo!” Brody hollered as a greeting.
    “The boys are arriving, which means I’m leaving.”
    “You taking her with you?” Boris asked.
    Peering down into her face, Reid couldn’t have said what prompted him to say, “Yes. The sooner I get her to Kodiak Point, the safer she’ll be.”
    If Boris and Travis saw the illogic in his statement, they didn’t voice it aloud. A good thing too because Reid would have been hard-pressed to explain how he, alone on a snowmobile, toting an unconscious human, just over two hours out from town, with who knew what in his way, was safer than having her finish the ride in the truck with a crew of his men.
    His decision didn’t make sense on the surface, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing a bungee cord from the tool kit, strapping her to his chest, face tucked into him, legs straddling his, and heading for home on his sled.
    And once there, he really couldn’t have explained why instead of bringing her to the mini motel in town, he brought her to his house. Not his bed, mind you, but given he gave her the room right across the hall, not far.
    He did draw the line at stripping her out of her clothes. More because his grandmother, who lived with him, shooed him from the room, stating, “Get out, you mangy furball, while I make her comfortable.”
    “Why can’t I help you?”
    Lips set in a tight line, his grandmother huffed, “Because it’s not proper.”
    Given his thoughts when he saw her peeled from her bulky jacket to reveal a very womanly shape, Reid could only agree. Despite her humanity and general unsuitableness, the ideas running through his head weren’t decent at all.
    But really, did his grandmother have to shove him out the door and then slam it shut?

Chapter Five
    Waking in a strange bed, Tammy