Hunting Season: Werewolf Bodyguard Romance (Guarded by the Shifter Book 1) by Kate Rudolph (e novels to read online .TXT) 📕

She tried to keep it light, but she'd never been good at jokes, and it came out sourer than she intended.

"I don't want to keep secrets from you," he said. His hand found the nape of her neck and his fingers started to massage it.

"What's the but?"

"It's not only my secret to tell."

"Sounds big." The weight of the world lay all around them, and Stasia regretted summoning it. She'd been lying all happy in the afterglow and then she had to ruin it.

"I promise I'll tell you. Someday."

"Someday." Making promises led to expectations, and Stasia was trying her hardest—and failing—to keep from doing that. She could only guarantee that Owen would be around for a week. Was he really willing to travel all the way from Queens to see her? Dating someone in a different borough was basically a long term relationship in New York terms. And what about his job? What about hers?

"We'll figure it out," Owen said, kissing her hair and reading her mind.

Eventually she slept and dreamt weird dreams that disturbed her but were forgotten by the morning.

She woke alone to cold sheets and vaguely recalled Owen getting out of bed and telling her to keep sleeping. It was near eight o'clock and Stasia felt like she'd slept until noon.

She took her time showering and changing, and before she could head downstairs for some breakfast her phone rang. It was AR.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I have good news." He sounded triumphant, like he'd just managed a coup in a small country.

Stasia's heart sank. There was only one kind of good news he'd be delivering to her. "What is it?"

"We managed to track down the threat against you. Sounds like grabbing you was just stage one of a multi-pronged attack. The perpetrators are being dealt with and you should be safe enough to let the babysitter go early." For a second she wondered if AR knew what was going on between her and Owen before she remembered that she was the one who'd originally called Owen a babysitter.

It was Friday. Owen was supposed to be hers until Tuesday.

"Perpetrators? Multiple? You're sure you found everyone? That was quick." She didn't exactly want to suffer another attempted kidnapping, but she was grasping at anything to keep Owen by her side.

"There might be a few stragglers, but the plan is unraveling fast and they won't have the resources to come for you." No doubt her brother was sitting in the middle of the spider web and plucking the strings to close a trap.

"Do you know why they came for me?"

AR sighed. "Objection to a specific project from the company. Details confidential. They planned to hold you hostage until they extracted terms from Selby Group. Not the smartest negotiation tactic."

Because Stasia was worth less than a Selby Group project, probably. She was just the easiest of the Selby children to nab.

"Do you want me to cancel the contract early?" AR asked.

"No. You say there could be stragglers, better safe than sorry. But you can probably call in the surveillance team. No need to keep them tied up." She had almost forgotten about them, and it couldn't be fun to babysit a woman who never left her house.

"I already did. I'm a little surprised about the guard, though."

She didn't want AR to make trouble with Owen's boss. They'd figure out the road ahead, if there was a road ahead, later.

"He's not as bad as I thought."

"Huh. Well, I have a call. Reach out to my secretary if you change your mind."

He hung up before Stasia could say goodbye. She wasn't going to change her mind. But now she had to figure out how she was going to hold onto Owen for good.

Chapter Sixteen

Stasia was acting weird and Owen wanted to know why. Ever since she'd come downstairs for breakfast, something had been off. At first he worried that whatever fever of lust and emotion was building between them had been snuffed out, but when Em left them alone for a minute Stasia pushed him up against the wall and kissed him like her life depended on it.

So, no issue with the lust.

"Is staying in the house getting to you?" They'd meandered back to her room at some point and she was sitting in the window seat and looking out at the park. He didn't know what Em was doing, but she seemed happy enough keeping herself entertained in the peace of Stasia's house.

"What?" Stasia looked over at him, but her eyes were far away.

There wasn't much room on the bench for two people, but Owen managed to squeeze in near her feet. "I know it can be frustrating to be stuck inside. We can figure out something if you need a break." It would be difficult. No doubt the surveillance team would hate him, but he'd give Stasia the world if she asked for it.

She blinked hard and gave her head a little shake. "No, it's not that. I really would be a spoiled princess for complaining about being stuck in my house for a few days."

"You're not spoiled." It might have been his first instinct, but that was because he hadn't seen the generosity of her prickly spirit. Stasia didn't warm up to people quickly—Owen was pretty sure he was the exception there—but she gave her all.

She smiled wryly. "I am. A bit. Just not the way you thought."

"When are the servants showing up to wait on us hand and foot then?" Owen wouldn't mind a little pampering, but he couldn't imagine Stasia putting up with it. She had self-sufficient stamped on her forehead.

She reached out, silently asking for his hand, and Owen linked their fingers together. It was a bit awkward and his shoulder didn't like the position, but his heart loved it. Any reason to touch Stasia.

Mate.

His wolf needed to learn to shut the hell up. It was still restless under his skin; the only moments where they felt like one came when he was buried deep in Stasia, her