chin in thought. “Think we can drag one back? I’ve got a recipe for stew I’ve been meaning to try.”
Boris , in the process of dressing, shot her an incredulous gaze. “Like hell you’d eat it. I’ve seen your idea of lunch. Salads and fruit.”
“Just making sure I eat health ily. And I’ll have you know, I have a lot of meat in my diet. I might not have eaten much wolf meat, but I’ve partaken of my fair share of other prey. Stuff I’ve brought down. My daddy taught me not to waste what I hunt.”
“Because you go hunting so often,” he scoffed. Then again, maybe she did. Boris had done his best in the past few years to not pay attention to what the fox did during her time off. For all he knew, she liked to dance naked around bonfires. Now there was a visual to almost knock him to his knees, especially since he now had a clear image of what a naked Jan looked like.
Pale skin, rounded curves, fat pink nipples, blonde cur ls at the vee of her thighs. Good thing he’d already managed to get his pants on, or he’d have had a fine time explaining his sudden erection at the recollection of her sweet body.
The lack of weight in his empty holster reminded him to hold out his hand. “Now that the danger’s passed, do you mind handing over my gun?”
She tucked it behind her back in a childish ploy. “Don’t I get to keep it since I proved I can fire it without blowing off my own foot?”
“No.” Sharing his gun was too much to ask. Sharing implied friendship, friendship led to conversation, conversation led to him grabbing her by the nape and dragging her in for another kiss.
And then … bad things might happen. Even if they did have sex and it was great, nothing could come of it. He couldn’t offer her the life she wanted, and he wouldn’t lead her emotionally astray.
Because once upon a time I swore to beat the hell out of anyone who hurt her. Yet, if I’m the one dealing the pain, then that means I’d have to take care of myself. How would he explain that to his alpha?
Ignoring her angry look , he took the weapon she handed him and ejected the clip, replacing it with a fresh one. He then holstered it.
“Ready to go?” he asked as he threaded his arms through the straps on his pack. He eyed the unconscious cougar on the ground. Given he planned to question the feline, forget leaving him behind. Damn he looked heavy, though, and they had hours of trekking ahead of them. But he’d dragged bigger.
“Who says I want to go with you?” Her mutinous expression went well with her crossed arms.
This time, he didn’t hold in his sigh. “Why are you testing me like this? What happened to nice Jan? The one who asks me if I want coffee?”
“That one is paid to serve java to idiots. I’m not on the clock now , and I see no reason to pander to your ego.”
“My ego? What’s asking if you’re ready to go have to do with my ego?”
“Maybe I’m tired of trying to cater to you.” She tilted her chin at a stubborn angle. “ For years I’ve tried to play nice and get you to notice me. Well, no more, moosehead. From now on, no more Miss Nice Fox. Say hello to the real me. The not-so-nice vixen.”
She wanted to be a bad vixen ? He could have groaned, as that concept immediately had her dressed in his mind in tight latex with ruby red lips curved in a wicked smile as she crooked a finger at him. Fuck, there she went addling his brain again.
It drew a scowl from him and a mocking , “You don’t have it in you to be bad.” Too late, he recognized his challenge.
For the second time that day, she invaded his personal space, stepping right up to him to whisper across his lips. “And that just shows how little you know the real me, Boris.”
His eyes went to half-mast as he waited for the inevitable kiss. Bad Jan would surely plant one to throw him off-kilter again. But I’m ready for it this time. As well as eager.
He almost cried out in protest when she stepped away and spun, coming