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

A sound tickled the edge of his senses, and it wasn't coming from his mate.

Footsteps. Coming closer. He didn't know whose.

Reluctantly Owen pulled away, but he couldn't tear his eyes off Stasia's swollen lips and mussed hair. There was no question that she'd been thoroughly kissed, and no doubt about who'd done it.

He grinned with dark, male satisfaction.

"Caveman," she said with a shake of her head and a fond smile.

He loved that smile, wanted to see more of it. Owen beat his hands against his chest like a cartoon character before leaning down and catching a quick, sweet kiss, forcing himself to pull away before it got any hotter. "Want to see my club?"

That startled a laugh out of her. "Oh god, I should dump you for that." She pushed him away, putting space between them even as she smiled, almost against her will, at his dumb joke.

"You're not getting rid of me." It was both a promise and a threat.

Stasia rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get back inside. Otherwise they're going to think we snuck away for a quickie."

"We still could." Owen nodded down the hall. He was mostly joking, but his cock was one hundred percent into the quickie idea.

"Come on, caveman." She tugged on his arm and led him back towards the kitchen.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The memory of the kiss was still fresh on her swollen lips as Stasia sat back down at the kitchen table. Owen came in a moment later and everyone gave them knowing looks. Yeah, there was no hiding what they had been doing. But maybe they didn't need to hide.

It was exhilarating to think about. She'd never had someone truly worthy of the title of partner before, but maybe Owen was that guy. Maybe she could count on him for good.

Maybe this time she wouldn't get hurt.

Owen sat down right beside her and she expected a razzing from the guys, but they didn't say anything. Good.

She didn't know them well. Not yet. And she really didn't want to deal with whatever teasing normally went down. After all, these were a bunch of former military guys who only knew how to show affection through insults and swear words.

She didn't want them teasing her yet; that was something only close friends—and sisters—got to do. Even then, it was only Em out of all of her sisters that even tried. Tabitha, Ally, and Heidi didn't try and Emmy was only three.

Maybe one day these guys would be her friends. Maybe she was turning into a werewolf and would soon be a member of the pack, but not today.

Her phone rang and she wanted to ignore it, but she checked the caller ID and saw it was her father. That was a rare enough occurrence that she had to wonder if something was wrong. He didn't take time out from his world domination schemes for just anything.

Had something happened with the kidnappers? Had they missed one? Was she still in danger? Did she still need Owen to be her bodyguard?

It was strange how much she wanted the answer to the last question to be a yes. A week ago and she had fought against it with all her might. Now she couldn't imagine letting him go.

She was a bit frantic as she answered. "What's up? Is everything okay?" She didn't waste time with hellos. Her father was too busy to care for them.

But Armand Selby continued to be full of surprises. "I just got the guest list for Emmy's birthday party. Why aren't you on it?" he demanded, with the same kind of force he would use while negotiating a contract between warring nations.

Stasia had to pull the phone away from her ear and look at the screen to make sure she wasn't being pranked. But the number belonged to her father. And the voice sounded like him. She put the phone back up to her ear. "Are you kidding? I'm not going. I almost got kidnapped, doesn't that give me a break?" And hadn't she had this exact conversation with AR? What was it with Emmy's birthday? None of her other siblings had ever been celebrated so much.

Beside her she could hear Owen growl, and she reached out a hand to place it on his thigh to calm him down.

"You are a Selby and you need to be there," her father pressed, as if this was more than a child's party. It wasn't. Sometimes her dad got a stick up his ass and decided to make a stand. Apparently Emmy's birthday was one of those times.

Her life was Selby bullshit and she didn't need it. Cancer had stolen her mother away, but Stasia carried her name for a reason. "I'm a Nichols and I will do whatever the hell I want." And then she did something she had never done before in her life: she hung up on her father.

It felt good.

All of the guys were looking at her with curiosity in their eyes and Em had a huge grin on her face.

"Good for you, sis," she said. If she'd been close enough, Stasia was sure she would have reached over and hugged her.

"I should have done that a long time ago." She loved her father, even if the relationship was a bit complicated. But he didn't get to run her life. Not even when it came to something as inconsequential as a toddler's birthday party.

"What's that all about?" asked Rowe. He looked the most confused out of all of them. Andre seemed like he was interested but trying not to be, while Vega seemed to be holding still, as if Stasia might forget that he was there. Owen didn't look confused at all. Of course, he already had the story.

There was no use hiding it, and with every retelling Stasia found it kind of funny. "Our baby sister is having a birthday party pretty soon. Emmy. She's turning three.