LITMIR.BIZ

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the other house probably a lot sooner than another person would, for example. I’ll stay wary, but you don’t need to worry about me.”

      “Right.” He didn’t sound entirely convinced.

      Rainey parked the car she had driven—a rental, Selena figured, although she wasn’t sure whose—and came running up. “Hey, you two. Three, I mean.” She bent to pat Lupe. “I’m ready to go off to bed so I can get up early tomorrow. How about you?”

      Selena glanced toward Owen before answering. His gaze was on her, and it was probably a good thing that Rainey remained somewhat in the shadows behind him.

      She hopefully couldn’t see the very hot, very suggestive gaze that Owen leveled on Selena. But she caught it. And quite possibly she thought the same thing he did.

      Yes, she was ready to go off to bed. Alone.

      But the idea of sharing it with Owen?

      After their earlier kiss, it definitely crossed her mind.

      * * *

      Off to bed. Oh, yeah, Owen had heard that. Thought about it as he regarded Selena. Sexy Selena. Hot Selena, whom he’d definitely enjoyed kissing.

      Werewolf Selena.

      She and her dog walked with him to his SUV as if she hadn’t sensed the gist of his thoughts about bed when Rainey had mentioned it. Maybe she hadn’t—although her expression seemed to say otherwise.

      No matter. He could always act now as if Rainey’s words hadn’t triggered his imagination—not to mention a reaction from his most private body parts. Selena had, after all, reminded him earlier of why he wasn’t fond of shapeshifters.

      “I’ll be back here first thing with the rest of the group,” he said, slipping into the driver’s seat of his SUV. He’d decided to stop in at their hotel to speak with them briefly before heading to his own room that night. “I’ll make sure we get here early for them to get breakfast ready for all of us. As Canada Alphas, they’ve already begun to learn that their duties are diverse, and preparing meals can be among them.”

      He liked how Selena smiled under the faint lights. He was also amused when she shifted her dog’s leash to free up one hand so she could grab hold of the car door.

      “My turn,” she said, starting to close it.

      “Hey, you’re a gentleman, too,” he teased as he settled into the seat.

      “You got it.” She slammed the door shut.

      But as he turned the key in the ignition, his mind rebelled against what he had said.

      Selena was anything but a man, gentle or not.

      And her very womanly characteristics just might drive him nuts as he continued to work with her on this assignment.

      * * *

      Once they were all inside the house, Selena went upstairs with Rainey and helped her choose the room she would stay in while they were here. Rainey opted for the one overlooking the front of the house. Selena then left Rainey upstairs and returned to the room that was now hers.

      She had already changed into her long-sleeved navy pajamas, washed her face and settled herself beneath her bedcovers when Rainey knocked on her door. “Come in,” she called.

      Rainey, too, had put her on pj’s, a frilly pink outfit that contrasted pleasantly with her dark, curly hair. She grinned as she sat at the foot of Selena’s bed.

      Selena leaned back on both pillows that were resting against the plain black headboard. “Well, we’re here,” she said.

      “Yep, and I gather that we’re really supposed to start our assignment tomorrow.” Rainey paused. “Are you ready to show these Canadian folks what real Alpha Force shapeshifters are all about?”

      “That’s what we’re here for.” Now it was Selena’s turn to smile. “We’ll teach them what being a US shifter—and an aide—is all about.”

      “And a cover dog, too.” Rainey slipped her backside from the bed so she could kneel to pat Lupe, who lay on the floor nearby.

      “Exactly.” Selena didn’t want to kick out her aide, but she did want to try to get some sleep. “So...” she began.

      At the same time, Rainey asked, “So did you have fun tonight?”

      It was all Selena could do to hide her startled reaction. Surely nothing on her face, in her demeanor, revealed that she’d shared a kiss with the man who was in charge of the Canadian group that Alpha Force was here to help.

      No. Rainey must just be making conversation. Wasn’t she?

      Nevertheless, Selena made herself respond as if Owen was just some ordinary guy whom she didn’t find attractive at all—maybe married and twice her age. Or at least that was what she attempted.

      “Sure,” she said nonchalantly. “I had a drink with Owen at one of the other bars in town before we found you guys. He wanted to know more about what Alpha Force was about, but I doubt he got it from our limited conversation there in public. He, of course, knows that shapeshifters exist and that I’m one of them, but I still have the impression he finds them—us—weird.” She wasn’t about to reveal to Rainey how Owen had formed his opinion of shapeshifters. “I hope he gets over that enough to work well with his own CAs.” That was the truth, at least. “He got a phone call that apparently suggested they’ll be needed sooner than anticipated, and he’d better be ready for it.”

      “Well,” Rainey said, “we’ll see how he is at breakfast tomorrow. The rest of them, too. I had the impression that they’re way different from our Alpha Force members, even though they’re shifters. They were fun to be with, sure, but they struck me as being kind of wild kids. Good kids, though. Tim even let me use his rental car overnight. I just hope that giving them more control of their ability to shift will help tame them down.”

      “Guess we’ll have to make sure of it,” Selena said. But she was glad she wouldn’t be the only shifter there as things progressed. She wouldn’t be the most senior, either.

      And surely having other Alpha Force members here, like Captain Patrick Worley and Lieutenant Marshall Vincenzo, as well as their aide, Captain Jonas Truro, would also make it easier for her to remember who she was and why she really was here.

      And to remember to stay far away from Owen Dewirter except to teach him what she could as an Alpha Force member.

      To ignore any attraction she felt for him and, definitely, to make sure she never touched him again, let alone kissed him.

      When Rainey left a short while later, and after Selena gave Lupe a good-night hug and settled herself back into bed, she couldn’t help rehashing those intentions and told herself she needed to focus on her assignment.

      She just hoped she could.

      In the meantime, she lay in bed conscious of the quiet here in the Canadian countryside, except for occasional hoots from local owls.

      She mulled over all that had happened over the past couple of days, including Owen’s tale of his family and shapeshifters.

      She was concerned about what would happen tomorrow, and if Alpha Force—no, if she—would be able to do all that was expected to help the CAs start their team and deal with the kidnappings that Owen had mentioned.

      Not to mention her concern about her absurd attraction to Owen Dewirter that she needed to find a way to turn off. Permanently.

      * * *

      Owen saw Selena almost as soon as he reached the CAs compound early the next morning.

      She was outside again, with her dog, in the crisp early air. He knew that had to be a frequent ritual. Dogs had needs that had to be fulfilled often, especially last thing at night and first thing in the morning, no matter what the weather, no matter what the temperature.

      No

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