‘It’s because you care.’ I wished I was down in the village despite all the things that would overwhelm my new wolfy senses. I could have pulled Kit into a long hug. ‘You’ve built a wonderful bookshop. It would be lovely if that was recognised.’
‘Yeah. And the business it would bring would be amazing.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t want to be greedy, but a healthier profit margin would bring me joy.’
‘That’s not greedy at all,’ I snapped, indignant on his behalf.
Kit hummed, and his reply was lost under thumping footsteps.
I snapped up from the grass, bouncing higher than expected and crashing onto my knees. ‘Fuck.’
‘Lucas? Are you alright?’
I’d dropped the phone. I looked around for whoever was running at me, but no one sped across the rolling hills around the cabin.
I picked up the phone from a tuff of grass. ‘You know how it takes a while when you’re a baby wolf to get used to how freaking loud everything is? That.’
Kit laughed as Aster ambled around the side of the cabin.
‘I should go,’ Kit said. ‘But it was good to talk to you, Lucas.’
‘I loved talking to you.’
I cringed, then hung up before I could say anything else embarrassing. Kit had said he didn’t mind the weird shit that stumbled off my tongue, but I didn’t need anyone else witnessing it.
Aster’s face was flushed as he walked over. I suspected he and Callum figured I would be distracted enough by chatting to Kit that they could engage in hanky panky that had surely been lacking while I slept between them in their bed.
‘Dude.’ Aster blew out a breath and braced his hands on his hips. ‘Callum just gave me a blow job against a tree. It was epic.’
Who needed to theorise when Aster would spill all the details of his sexual exploits at the first opportunity?
I passed him his phone and grinned as Callum ran around to the door of the cabin, his face red enough that I would have spotted it even without my newly enhanced eyesight.
‘Who did you talk to?’ Aster asked.
‘Just Kit.’
‘Oh.’ Aster grabbed my arm and tugged me towards the river. ‘You’ve been on the phone for over an hour. I didn’t know Kit had that many words in him. Like, I’m a glorious conversationalist so it’s understandable that he’d leave me to do my thing, but I remember a lot of our chats being very one sided while I stayed with him during the brief window of time when Callum thought he was being kind by making me leave the island rather than acknowledging he was being a total silly billy.’
I ambled over to the river with Aster, where he insisted I practise my new jumping skills over the flowing water. His reasoning was that if there was no threat of a soaking, there was no fun in it.
I started jumping, a warm glow spreading through me.
I’d never had to drag Kit into a conversation, not even during the weird teething period when I’d first moved to the island and had been convinced I was making a total arse of myself every time I talked to him. He’d always chatted freely with me.
My smile didn’t even falter when I bounded over the river and straight into a fresh pile of goat dung. I liked being someone Kit opened up to, who he knew would listen when he spoke.
Wiping my shoe along the riverbank was worth it if I got a handle on my new abilities sooner. I wanted to not only hear Kit, but see and smell and hold him. I wanted to press my nose into his neck as he spoke and wrap my arms around him, feel his voice rumbling through his chest.
I hoped he wouldn’t mind me being clingy as a newbie wolf. He’d said he liked touching those he cared about. Even the thought that I was likely going to test that desire didn’t make the urge to master my new powers lessen. Kit had forgiven me for pushing the boundaries of social normality with my unstoppable compliments. I was sure he would do the same if I came down from the mountains and was more cuddly than normal.
CHAPTER THIRTY
KIT
Irushed over to the door before Louisa’s grandmother could attempt to open it. Her arms were cluttered with a mix of warm bags from the bakery and a stack of new books.
‘Such a lovely young man,’ she clucked, readjusting the goodies in her arms. ‘And so handsome when you smile.’
Despite the cool late afternoon air that rushed in as I yanked on the door handle, my face heated.
