Chapter 4

“WE DIDN’T HEAR you come in last night,” Travis said to Glory at dinner.

Glory rolled her eyes. It wasn’t as if they lived together or anything. There were three apartments on the floor above the bar. Travis and Phoenix shared one and Glory had another. The third one had belonged to Phoenix for a couple days before she’d moved in with Travis. Now it was empty again. 

Despite living in separate apartments, Travis and Glory had eaten meals together more often than not, sharing the cooking and cleaning duties, switching back and forth between apartments from one day to the next. They’d continued this tradition even after Phoenix had joined their group, which Glory now thought was a terrible idea because it meant her brother had ample opportunity to pry into her life.

“Went for a run,” she said.

“With Max?” Phoenix asked.

Glory sighed. Now they would have even more expectations than ever. “Yes. With Max.” 

“That’s great!” Phoenix beamed. “Did you guys have fun?” 

Glory smiled, remembering how Max’s wolf had played in the water, splashing and bounding every which way. He hadn’t seemed afraid of the great, lumbering bear at all. In fact, he’d climbed right onto her back when he’d gotten tired and had fallen asleep there while she’d rested in the shallows. 

They’d woken in their human forms and had walked back to the bar hand-in-hand where they’d collected their clothes and dressed silently. 

She’d tried not to stare at his gorgeous body, though it’d been hard, what with all those muscles right there. As a shifter, nudity wasn’t normally a big deal. 

Until it was. 

And last night, comfortable with Max, walking hand-in-hand in the woods, it hadn’t felt like a big deal at all. 

Until they’d come out of the woods and had to get dressed in each other’s presence.

She’d had difficulty remembering why she was resisting the mating, especially with the way he kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He’d acted like she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, which she didn’t get considering she was so much bigger than him. 

That really hadn’t seemed to matter though. As soon as they were dressed, he’d kissed her, and boy, did that man know how to kiss. She’d about melted in a pool at his feet and when he’d finally pulled away, she’d been speechless.

“Tomorrow night – or I guess that’d be later tonight – we’ll run again,” he’d told her.

She’d nodded and he’d grinned, then kissed her one last time before loping away.

 Remembering that kiss now, Glory couldn’t imagine resisting Max’s sexiness for much longer. 

She let out a huge sigh. 

A grumbling growl startled her from her thoughts and she glanced around.

Travis was glaring at her while Phoenix was grinning.

“I take it the answer’s yes,” Phoenix said.

Glory couldn’t even remember the question.

Phoenix prodded, “You guys had fun?”

“Oh.” Glory sighed. “Yeah. We sure did.” 

“That’d better not mean what I think it does,” Travis growled.

Oh for the sake of all bears everywhere. “What’s that supposed to mean? Weren’t you the one telling me just yesterday to open up to Max, to stop turning my back on my mate?”

He glared at her. “That mangy wolf just better not try anything, that’s all I’m saying.”

Phoenix giggled. “And exactly how is he supposed to become her mate if he tries nothing, Travis?”

He made a gravelly sound of frustration, but didn’t say anything more, which had Phoenix giggling and Glory rolling her eyes.

Honestly, men were just so ridiculous.