Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
needed to be very prepared. Rolling in half-cocked like we did at that warehouse Ryland had used worked once. We had no doubt this place would be better guarded and be more difficult to get into.
My friend told me to give him a couple days to dig, and that he’d get back to me. It felt anticlimactic. A huge leap forward in our case, and now all we could do was wait. I stepped back into the office and heard Tate on the phone with Steff, filling him in on everything we’d learned. Blayne was still skimming old pictures. One looked like it was from the eighties when the building was still being constructed.
“I’m heading home, guys. I need a breather. Maybe you guys can do the same,” I said. “And get some rest.”
Tate nodded, still on the phone, and gave me a thumbs up. Blayne turned from his computer. “You good?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just want to get this figured out.”
Blayne raised an eyebrow. “Okay.”
I left, his one-word statement echoing through my head. The sarcastic way he’d said it was enough for me to know he was worried about me. I wasn’t all right. Thoughts of Celina consumed my mind. My wolf was pawing at my chest, desperate to take her, claim her, and make her mine completely.
I spent the drive home, trying to push away R-rated fantasies and thoughts, and all the other things my wolf and I wanted to do to her. But that wasn’t what I wanted yet. Her first time should be special. It shouldn’t be some fast carnal attack. It should be something she could remember fondly, not something that made her embarrassed and ashamed.
Back at the apartment, I walked up the steps and glanced at Celina’s apartment door before I went into mine. The same thoughts were still flitting through my head like a flip book. It seemed silly to be thinking about things like that with everything
going on. The idea of something this special happening while we were actively searching for the hunters was a little immature on my part. At least, that’s what I told myself as I closed my door. My pain and irritation would only get worse, which put me in a quandary.
I was thinking of calling Steff to see how well ibuprofen worked on the body aches when there was a knock at my door. I jumped in surprise. I couldn’t think of anyone who it could be other than Celina, but I didn’t think it was her. Whoever knocked was pounding on the door, hard. Had one of the guys followed me home with info? My thoughts were jarred by another insistent set of pounding knocks.
I stepped over to the door and opened it, freezing in terror. My whole body stiffened. Celina stood there, and the look on her face sent my wolf whimpering into the recesses of my mind. I’d never seen her look so pissed.
“Uh…hey,” I mumbled.
Ignoring me, she stepped into the apartment and rounded on me. “So, I just got off the phone with April. We had a really long talk.”
“Fuck.” The word slipped out without me even thinking.
“Fuck is right. Is there something you want to tell me?”
“II…um.” I’d apparently gone braindead, because I was unable to form multi-syllabic words.
“How much pain are you in right now?”
Still, stubbornly, trying to keep her from worrying, I lied. “Pain? None. Why?” Jesus, still with the one-syllable words. Something about that glare she was giving me was short-circuiting my mind.
“Don’t give me that shit, Miles. April told me everything. All the stuff that happened to Steff and Tate before him.” She pointed an accusing finger at me. “I knew something wasn’t
right. You’ve been on edge for days, and you look exhausted. How bad is it? Just tell me.”
My shoulders sagged. There was nothing for it now. I had to be honest. I walked Celina over to the couch and sat with her. “It’s not great, but it isn’t too bad yet.”
Celina sighed. It sounded like it was a combination of relief and irritation. “Why didn’t you tell me? We’re supposed to be honest with each other!”
“I know.” I shook my head and leaned my elbows on my thighs. “I didn’t want you to feel like I was pressuring you. I wanted it to be special, and with so much stuff going on, I couldn’t figure out how to do that. Plus, all the stuff with the hunters? It felt like I’d be making you feel like you were obligated to accept me. Like you had to.”
Celina stared at me for several seconds, then leaned toward me. She looked at me like I was an idiot. “For someone so hot, you sure are stupid.”
“Huh?” I said, frowning.
“Do I have to spell it out? I’m not good at this stuff, and even I kind of thought it was obvious.”
“Obvi—“
“I already chose you, Miles. There’s nothing else for me to think about. I accept you. Should the first time be special? Sure, but I’m not some fourteen-year-old girl who thinks there has to be candles, violins, and rose petals. The only thing I need for it to be special is to have it happen with the person I love.”
Her words slammed into my chest. My wolf, who’d run hiding in the face of her anger, padded closer. Cowardly bastard. His tail wagged, and there was a hungry surge within both of us. She loved me. She wanted me. I couldn’t remember the last time words had made me so happy.
“April told me it gets worse the longer you ignore it. I need you at your best. You and the wolf both. There’s no way you can
focus if you’re in agony all the time.” She reached forward and ran her hand through my hair. “I don’t need storybook romance. I only need to know that you’re all in. That you’re as committed as I am.”
The look in her eyes was all I needed to see. The words only cemented what I already knew. She was mine, and I was hers. My response couldn’t be spoken. Only actions could show her what I felt. I answered her by pulling her on top of me. She gasped, but I cut the sound off with my mouth. Celina softened and melted into me as the kiss grew more insistent. Our tongues tangled together as we explored each other. As we peeled the clothing off each other’s bodies, I knew I was where I needed to be.
TWENTY-SEVEN
CELINA