Loner (Norseton Wolves #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

because he didn’t want her .
    “It’ll be okay soon.”
    She huffed.
    But maybe he was right. Maybe it would be okay. They’d get along swimmingly if he kept his negative opinions of her to himself. In fact, she’d be coming out way ahead of some mated women she knew. She couldn’t help but to want more, though. The goddess had promised her more in all the dreams Stephanie had after being absorbed into her father’s pack. Wolf men weren’t as sweet as the ones in Stephanie’s dreams. They simply didn’t exist that way. Hell, they weren’t even that sweet in fairy tales. She turned slowly, holding onto his telephone pole-like arms to keep from slipping, and fixed her gaze on him. He was beyond good-looking. Tall, dark, and handsome had always done it for her. They’d make pretty kids. There was nothing wrong with the genetics here—the raw goods.
    “Aren’t you pretty?” she muttered.
    His dark eyes widened a bit.
    Gods forbid he ever play poker. He can’t hide a damned thing in his expression . She put her hands on her hips and examined the rest of him. Defined chest, long torso, lean hips.
    She canted her head sideways and set her gaze on the thing that had been impaling her only minutes ago. “It’s very nice.”
    He dropped his hands from her shoulders and cupped himself.
    “Now, now, it’s only fair,” she said through clenched teeth, yanking her gaze back up to his face. Wet warmth tracked down her chin and onto her chest, and Darius yanked the shower curtain aside. He grabbed a washcloth, pressed it to her mouth, and drew it back.
    “You’re cutting it.”
    “Huh?”
    “Your lip. Your—” he peeled back his lips, extended his wolf’s fangs into his bite, and pointed to them.
    “What?” She pressed her hand to her mouth and felt the truth for herself. Sharp, long, new . She let out a whimper and fixed a pleading gaze on him.
    He nudged her back under the spray.
    “Words!” she shouted as the cool water pelted her boiling skin. “I’m not psychic. Tell me what’s happening to me.”
    “Shit. Uh—you’re a moon shifter? Your clan?”
    “Do our wolves shift for the full moon? Yes.”
    “You might have had a little time to adjust, otherwise. The wolves in our pack, including Mrs. Carbone, are different. We shift when it suits us.”
    “I’m—I’m going to shift now ? No.” She shook her head. “Not yet. I’m not ready.”
    “I think you are.”
    “Oh, gods.” She gripped that grab bar again and held on tight as a powerful cramp in her midsection doubled her over. “I don’t want to.”
    “It’ll get better. I promise.”
    “Liar. You’d— oh, gods —tell me anything.”
    He let out a long breath and nudged the water handle to the off position. “Only the truth. That’s all that’s worth saying,” he said quietly. His voice seemed tender, almost, though she may have been misreading him. He could have simply been tired. She sure was after such a long two days. “I’m gonna take you out to the patio. Don’t want to be in such an enclosed space when the wolf comes out.”
    “Naked?”
    “No one will see. Besides, wolves are naked all the time. Not a big deal.”
    “Right, right.” She knew that.
    He’d helped her over the tub ledge when a suffocating internal implosion dropped her to her knees. She scratched at her chest and tried to find some air. So full, so much inside —stifling her, something was pressing against her skin, demanding to be let out.
    “Come on.”
    She was writhing atop his shoulder when her claws broke loose and a low growl rent the air.
    “ Shhh . It’s okay, Stephanie.” He carried her onto the back patio and the cool night air calmed her mind, but energized her inner wolf.
    The wolf wanted out. She wanted out immediately , and she wasn’t going to wait. Oh, gods! “Put me down. Please, Darius .”
    He did, but pressed his hands to her cheeks and forced her gaze up to him. “Look at me.”
    “I am.”
    “Keep looking. You’re