CHAPTER TWELVE
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“Don’t you come any closer,” Sandy bit out. “I don’t want to hurt your wolf.” She warned him, but the beast kept padding along towards her as if he was stalking his supper.
Sandy flicked a look at the car and back to the wolf when a low rumble of a warning growl drifted toward her. “I mean it,” she knew she didn’t – she couldn’t hurt that beast, but the man was fair game. “Shift back,” she demanded. She’d have no trouble at all zapping that man.
The wolf kept coming. “You chicken – send your wolf to the slaughter because you’re too scared to face…” Sandy yanked her head back on her neck as the change happened, and there he was – tall, dark, and oh-so naked.
Sandy couldn’t stop the fall of her lower jaw no more than she could stop her eyes from taking in his hard, muscle-packed body. She heard a small sound that lodged in the back of her throat, and it sounded like a deflating balloon and snapped out of it. “Do not flaunt your bits in front of me like…”
“You wanted the man and not the beast, sweetheart,” he said as a slow, wolfish grin spread across his face. “Well, here I am…”
“There’s just … so much of you,” Sandy said as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.
“And I’m all yours – congratulations.”
There was a rumble of a growl underlying his words, and he sounded hungry like the wolf – but, not for food. That snapped her out of ogling his goodies.
“Would you just put some darn clothes on?” she hissed. Not because he wasn’t a sight to behold – oh, he was – but, because she just couldn’t seem to concentrate on – well, much of anything when she had a barrage of X-rated thoughts going through her mind.
“Do you see any clothes?” he asked, and he lifted his arms and did a full three-sixty for her viewing pleaser.
“Ummmmmmmmmm…” her brain just wouldn’t let her focus on one word and be able to spit it out.
“Like what you see?” he offered her a teasing smile to go with his playful but assured tone. The blighter even nodded his head in agreement with himself.
Well!
“It’s a solid five – maybe … five and a half with vast room for improvement!”
Sandy liked her brain when her sense of fair play kicked in. She liked her brain when someone was so darn cocky that she wanted to drop him on his pride. And boy, did she like her brain when his face fell, the smile dropped, and those expressive eyebrows of his wrinkled into a not so cocky crinkly mess on his forehead.
Gotcha! She patted herself on the back – not literally because she knew that would have looked weird.
“Say … Huh?”
“Huh?” she replied with a small smirk of one-upmanship on her lips.
“Huh?” Joel was stumped.
“Huh?”
“I don’t … are we? What the …?”
“You said say huh, I said huh, is this a thing for you?”
Joel pursed his lips, pushed out his lower jaw and closed his eyes as he tried that counting to ten thing in his head. It wasn’t working. He’d been had, maybe in more ways than one.
A solid five – Pah! She liked what she saw alright. She liked it so much that she couldn’t pull her gaze away for the longest time.
When he opened his eyes, she was stalking towards her car. “Hey!” he snapped. How like a sneaky witch to try something when he wasn’t looking.
He’d need to sleep with one eye open where his mate was concerned – but, once he’d wooed her as his, and mated with her – that thought lodged in his brain as his wolf started to claw within him at the thought.
Sandy wasn’t going to the driver’s door – nope, she was headed for her small suitcase on the back seat. She unzipped it and rifled inside. “Nope – not gonna happen – never in a million years – ohhh, if your backside fits in that I’m never eating chocolate again – like that’s ever gonna happen,” she was muttering to herself, but he caught every word.
“Eureka!” she exclaimed as she turned towards him and held out something strange and fluffy.
“What’s that?” Joel wasn’t sure he liked the look of it.
Sandy tossed it at him, and he caught it in one hand and held it against his chest. Hmm, fluffy was the word – it was one of those soft fleece things, and he’d never admit it, but it felt good against his naked skin.
“It’s a Onesie, a really big, super soft Onesie that I bought for this trip…”
“I’m not going to fit…”
“Maybe not all of you – Mr Ten-foot-tall guy, but, if you want access to me – then you’ll cover up.”
“Access?” Joel frowned, but he couldn’t help move the hand holding the material and allowing the softness to rub against his skin. He liked it.
“To talk – to be present – to speak – to…”
“Okay, I get it,” he grumbled then sighed. He looked down at the thing in his hand and scowled. “It’s a woman’s…”
“Oh for the love of everything stupid – would you just put it on?” she snapped back.
Joel had to wonder what would happen if someone were to see him wearing a Onesie – a purple and black, Zebra stripped – Onesie, he noted as he flicked it out and looked at it as if it was going to bite him.
“I don’t have cooties,” Sandy scowled, and he snapped to attention.
“I know!” he bit out and then sighed again.
“Okay, well, I’m leaving – would you like me to zap you now or…”
“Fine!” he bit out, and grabbed the thing in both hands as he pushed one leg into the soft material and noted the feeling against his skin – it was nice – it was girlie – but, he couldn’t deny that it felt super soft and gave him tingles.
Joel grumbled as he thrust his other leg in and hoisted it up – it was a little tight in places that might affect his ability to have children – but, she was right – it was big. But, not big enough that he could get his arms in.
“Doesn’t fit,” he offered back with a small; I told you so, in his voice.
Sandy folded her arms and tried to hide her amusement at the big shifter in the purple catsuit – and it was a cat – it even had ears. Not that she’d ever get to see him wear the whole thing, because he was right – even at the size of the thing – it was still too small to tuck the rest of him inside. That was a pity.
“Stop pouting…”
“I’m not pouting…” he grumbled.
“Just tie the arms around your waist to hold it up,” she offered with a wave of her hand. Joel flicked a look around them – still in the middle of nowhere – and still alone.
He did her bidding for her and tied the arms around his waist. He couldn’t say that it didn’t feel kind of sexy against his abdomen, but he lifted his hands and then dropped them to his sides. “Are we done now?” he asked with a small growl for his manhood – yep, it was still there.
“Not just …” she fished her mobile out of her pocket and went straight to camera – taking a snap before he could even move. “Done now.” She beamed him a happy smile.
Joel growled. Not only was he wearing a stupid zebra, but she had proof. That was never going to see the light of day around his pack.
Joel heard her snigger and frowned. “Not funny.”
“You like it,” she teased him.
“Looking like a purple zebra and parading around in girlie clothes?” he rushed to hot denial.
“Wanna do a three-sixty now?”
“Noooo,” he grumbled.
Sandy didn’t bother to stifle the next chuckle on her lips. “You really, really like it,” she sniggered.
“Oh really?”
“Well, you’re stroking your thighs,” she pointed out, and Joel stiffened as he realised that he was doing just that. His fingertips were moving against the soft fabric without any thought on his part.
He fisted his hands into big tight balls and grumbled something under his breath.
“Do you like ladies panties too?” She spat out a chuckle at the look on his face and snapped another shot on her camera. “Priceless!” she chuckled.
“That’s it…” he grumbled as his hands went to the arms that he’d tied around his waist and he went to pull the knot apart.
“Oh no,” she berated him and wagged a finger. “A deal is a deal.”
“I don’t like the deal” he grumbled back.
“Welcher…”
“Am not…”
“You agreed…”
“To be humiliated?”
“Should have read the small print!” she tossed back and he grumbled another growl as he blew a hard breath down his nose.
“Witch…”
“You betcha ya!” Sandy grinned from ear to ear, and when he grunted and folded his big, muscled arms over his broad, muscled chest – she snapped another picture.
“Stop doing that!” he grumbled.
“Nah,” she tossed back, full of glee, and snapped another one.