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I roll my lips, pretending I don’t know what she means. “Well, that’s not what I asked now, is it? What you hidin’?” I try to peek over the small device in her hands, but she laughs, pulling it to her chest as she tries to push me back.
Of course, she’s still injured, so I don’t want her to hurt herself kidding around. “Oh, it’s one of those books.” I wink, then laugh when she pulls a face.
“Romance books have certainly made a comeback.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a good shifter romance. That’s what I’m reading.”
“Shifter?” I frown, setting the glasses down on the table between us. “What the heck is that?”
She can’t control her laughter when she says, “Well, it’s where the main character—usually the male—shifts into a wolf, or a dragon, or even a bear.”
I look at her, making sure she’s not trying to pull the wool over my eyes. “You’re shittin’ me?”
“Sadly, no. This is what my life has become.”
“And women read this?”
“Lots of women read this. Reading is an escape.”
“I’ll bet it is.” I scrub a hand down my face. “Men these days need to take note. They’re failin’ miserably.”
“This book, right here.” She waves the device at me. “It’s in the top one hundred on the Amazon best-sellers list.”
“What’s it called? I’ll have to see for myself why women are choosin’ the bear, and not the man.”
She laughs softly. “It’s called The Relentless Beast; a wolf shifter, fated mates romance.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“It’s actually not bad.”
I pour the liquor into the glasses, then hand her one.
Surprising me, she pats the seat next to her. “I don’t bite.”
I give her a pointed look. “You sure? You read wolf shifter books.”
Rolling her eyes, she takes a sip as I sit next to her on the swing. “If you want biting, there are plenty of vampire books I can recommend.”
I hold up a hand. “I’m gettin’ seriously scared right now. My manhood has been called into question over a bear, a wolf, and now a vampire.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I know it’s just fiction.”
A rumble sounds through me, and she smiles, too. I hold out my glass. “A toast.”
“Oops, I should’ve waited. How rude of me.”
“Not gonna say you’re a drunk,” I snicker, then put on my serious face. “To sittin’ around on a Friday night, enjoyin’ unexpected company.”
“Aw.” She pouts, and my eyes drop to her lips. “That was sweet.”
That’s the second time she’s called me that.
I swallow as I try not to envision what those lips would look like wrapped around my…
No!
We clink glasses, then I slide the smooth, amber liquid down my throat as she does the same. She winces, then coughs, her eyes watering.
