Rachel's Totem Read Online Free PDF

clit ached at his nearness, moisture pooling between her thighs as if he’d had his large hand rubbing her, prepping her for his thick, juicy cock. She’d felt an almost animal hunger and a hazy sense of desire, both foreign feelings that scared her and aroused her all over again.
    She groaned, clenching the hair by her temples. She swore she could smell him, even here. That caramel, sticky-sweet scent drenched in sex that made her want to spread her thighs and beg for him. Beg? The only dumbass who should be begging is the jerk in that office. Creaming for him. Ha.
    Lie, lie, lie, her inner self urged her. At least preserve your self-respect.
    Inhaling deeply, Rachel strove to work her temper under control. She refused to surrender to her body’s foolish demands. Head over heart, mind over matter, and reason over orgasm should have been her steadfast mantra. Instead, she battled her desires as she waited for Burke the Jerk and Gerald to join her. But surprisingly, after just a few minutes, her raging need settled as if it had never been, making her more confused than ever.
    When Gerald arrived a few moments later, he smiled and opened the passenger door of his Range Rover, waiting for her to enter. It felt strange to have a man behave like such a gentleman after Burke’s aggressiveness and her ex-husband’s perfidy.
    Gerald, however, behaved with a gentle assertiveness she found comforting. He drove slowly through the town, commenting here and there on Cougar Falls’ history. And 26
    she breathed easily, relaxed around him. Though attractive and with that same, earthy scent all the men around this town seemed to possess, he didn’t make her crazed with lust. She had no urges to strip him naked or nuzzle his neck to inhale his scent. Thank God.
    “And there’s Millie’s ice cream parlor.” Gerald pointed her toward an attractive little shop. “The woman’s nearing seventy-four and still opens the shop every morning and closes it every evening. That’s what I love about this place. The sense of pride in ownership and the family traditions.”
    Rachel nodded, taken with the charming town. The brick-and-log buildings showed their age and their character, all of them carefully preserved and well tended. She didn’t see a speck of litter anywhere, just clusters of bright multicolored flowers in window boxes and barrels. As they neared the center of town, she saw groups of smiling and laughing couples with children dancing near what appeared to be an open park. In the park’s center stood a large white gazebo peopled with musicians and surrounded by food booths.
    “The Totem Festival’s today. That’s what has all those people out here so early on a Saturday.”
    “Totem Festival?”
    Gerald smiled and kept his eyes on the paved road that gradually turned into a dirt road a mile outside of town. “A long time ago this used to be Salish land, though a lot of the history books show the Salish Indians farther west, thanks to our unscrupulous Uncle Sam.” He grimaced and continued. “Well, a few Salish ran into a mysterious, small group of people inhabiting the region we now live in.”
    Rachel listened, curious and caught by Gerald’s rhythmic words. She had a feeling the story was important, but couldn’t have said why. When he’d mentioned the Totem Festival, her entire body tensed on alert. Like everything else that had happened to her since stepping foot in Cougar Falls, this made no sense either.
    Instead of dwelling on it, she said to hell with worry and latched onto his story. “So the root of this festival isn’t the Salish, but the people they ran into.”
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    “Right, the Shifters.” Gerald flashed her a smile and turned down another dirt road, taking them deeper into the mountains. “The Salish called them Ac-taw, which in the Shifters’ language meant animal souls. According to legend, the Ac-taw could transform into the beasts that dwelt within their souls.”
    “What, like werewolves and