Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Rafe’s cheek twitches, and he steps back. “Come on in.”
The Black Wolf pack’s lodge smells like heaven’s kitchen. Adele must be cooking.
“Lucy, I’m home!” I shout halfway down the hall.
Gabriel dips his head close. “I Love Lucy, 1950s sitcom.”
“That’s right,” I whisper back. We round the corner to enter the living room.
“Tabitha!” Charlie and Sadie cry. My friends are lounging with their respective boyfriends. Their mates.
There’s a rush of hugging. We’re joined by Adele, who clomps from the kitchen in her apron and high heels.
“You’d think you’d haven't seen me for a year. Not a month,” I pretend to grumble from the center of the hug-huddle.
“There wasn’t a ton of socializing after the wedding. Not when Mr. Dragon wanted to fly you off to Paris for a honeymoon,” Sadie teases.
“It was Italy and Paris and Switzerland, remember?” Charlie says.
“Right,” I say. “Gabriel does nothing in half measures.”
All our mates are on their feet, standing in a loose circle around us. Lance in particular looks watchful, wary. As soon as the hugging ends, he tugs Charlie into his arms and folds them both into a huge armchair. His hands cover her burgeoning belly.
Deke is a tall, dark shadow by the fireplace. He wears a forbidding expression. But that’s Deke. He has resting badass face.
Gabriel has his hands in his pockets, but a smoky, spicy scent like charred cinnamon fills the room.
I go to him and thread an arm in his. “You all know Gabriel.”
“Oh yes. I’ll never forget a man who flew me and all your bridesmaids to Paris for dress fittings.” Adele gives Gabriel a smile, which reduces the level of tension in the room.
From what I gather, wolf shifters and dragon shifters don’t mix. They’re used to seeing each other as a threat and really don’t like each other in their homes or around their mates.
On top of that, Gabriel and the Black Wolf pack don’t have the best history. Something about Rafe and the ops team breaking into his chalet, and Gabriel thinking Adele was his mate because she was wearing the scarf I gave her.
I’ve had long conversations with Gabriel about how to repair the relationship after he played all his little games.
Seeking Adele’s forgiveness was paramount. The trip to Paris and unlimited shopping spree helped a lot. Plus Gabriel was the perfect host during our wedding.
“Yeah, still not sure if I’m over you fucking with my mate,” Rafe growls.
“I returned her to you when I realized my error,” Gabriel counters. “And I destroyed her enemies in the meantime.”
“Yeah, about that,” Lance interjects. “You can’t just go incinerating drug cartels in their homes with dragonfire. It confuses the hell out of the local authorities.”
I stare at Gabriel. “You did that?”
“They were after Adele,” he says as if that explains everything. “And I thought she was you.”
“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same,” Gabriel says to Rafe.
“We try to follow human laws,” Rafe says stiffly.
“Bullshit,” Deke coughs into his fist.
“Well, we cover our tracks better when we do clean house,” Lance explains. “You need to up your game there, dragon.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Gabriel says. I love him for being conciliatory.
“Excuse me, I need to check the roast,” Adele says. “Rafe can get you a glass of wine.”
“Need help?” I ask.
“No.” She flaps her hand at us as she heads back to the kitchen. “You guys relax.”
Rafe follows her to fetch the wine. Lance and Charlie are already curled up in the armchair. Deke sits on the stone fireplace ledge and pulls Sadie onto his lap.
Gabriel and I settle on a loveseat together. He looks so formal with his suit and straight posture, I surreptitiously stick my fingers in his hair and mess it up.
“You’re too pretty,” I murmur.
“How long will you guys be in Taos?” Charlie asks.
I twist to her. “I was thinking we’d stay for a while. There’s Sadie’s wedding, and of course, I want to meet the baby.”
“Oh, that’s lovely,” Sadie pipes up.
“We have a place near Angel Fire,” I say.
“Not staying in the train car?” Charlie teases.
“No, I turned that into my studio,” I say. “Gabriel got us a chalet. You guys can come visit. It’s nice.” The chalet is a twenty-bedroom mansion on a private mountain, with its own helipad. Nice can’t begin to describe it.
“Sounds great.” Sadie drinks us all in. “Look at us. Just a few months ago, none of us were dating. Now we all have mates.”
“Where’s Channing?” I ask.
“On a road trip,” Lance says. “He’s been doing that more lately–going off on his own.”
“Maybe he’s going to see a woman.” Charlie bounces her brows.
“Or two. Or five. Player’s gonna play,” Lance says. Charlie rolls her eyes and Lance nuzzles her neck. The expression on his face is so tender, I look away to give them privacy.
“Dinner!” Adele calls, and we tromp to the dining room and let Adele arrange us in the seats the way she wants. There are huge covered dishes lining the center of the table.