ROMANCE: Meet the Parents (Alpha Male Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance) (New Adult Shifter Romantic Comedy Short Stories) by Sicily Duval Read Free Book Online

  “Do we have to go?”
Jared asked, dragging his feet.
    Elena smiled, tightening her grip on her husband,
perfectly-painted red nails lightly digging into the skin of his forearm.
    “Babe” Jared whined, sounding like the cute puppy he used to be.
Even as a fully-grown werewolf, it seemed some things could still make him
whimper like a poodle. The latest thing: his impending week-long visit to his
newly betrothed’s parents in Italy.
    They had just landed in Pisa and were headed to baggage claim
where they would hail a taxi to Elena’s parents’ house.
    “Stop being such a baby” Elena’s blood-red lips stretched in a
wicked grin as she began pulling Jared along faster. “I haven’t seen Mama or
Papa since the wedding, you can afford to see your in-laws every few months.”
    “But baaaabe” Jared tried once more, “your father hates me and
your mother has her suspicions, it’s too dangerous.”
    Elena rolled her eyes. “Oh please, Papa’s just protective and
Mama merely thinks you lack good hygiene.”
    “Lack hygiene?” Jared asked, affronted. He self-consciously
lifted up his free arm and gave a tentative sniff. Reassuring himself that he
smelt fine, he straightened his shoulders, making a mental note to give Mama
Rosa a big hug so that she could smell just how hygienic he was.
    Sensing her husband’s line of thought, Elena laughed. “It’s not
your smell dear, although it is strongly reminiscent of the outdoors and a
freshly-bathed puppy; it’s that you don’t shave. You have more hair on your
body than the average man, even the hairiest Italians my mom knows. She worries
you’ll shed.”
    Jared stroked his beard proudly. “Shed? I’ll have her know that
my beard is perfectly trimmed, my back hair is nicely maintained, my underarm
hair is normal and my leg hair is manly.”
    “Mhmm” Elena said, pulling them to a stop once they had reached
the luggage carousel. “And what about your forearm hair and your uncombed
luscious locks that haven’t been cut in a month.”
    “You love my hair” Jared challenged, wrapping his arms around
her in a bear hug, “especially at night when you tangle your fingers in it and
scream-”
    “Not now babe!” Elena said while clapping a hand over his mouth
and shooting an embarrassed and apologetic look at the disgruntled parents of
two young boys next to them.
    Jared guffawed, removing her hand to place a loud kiss on the
back of it as he nodded to the dad of the family who had given him a covert
thumbs-up.
    “Fine, fine, we’ll talk about it over dinner tonight.”
    “Not if you value your life” Elena smirked, pointing out their
purple luggage set as it came around and Jared dutifully ran to get them.
    Elena gave him a peck on the cheek in thanks when he returned
and made a show of taking the heaviest suitcase and handing Jared her purse and
zebra-striped carry-on bag.
    Jared smiled good-naturedly, pulling the purse onto his shoulder
and holding his head up high. “You know, I think my mom did a fantastic job
picking out this purse. Great Christmas idea, I wish I’d have thought of it.
But if I had, I probably would have just snagged this gem for myself.”
    “It doesn’t go with those shoes” Elena said over her shoulder,
exiting the automatic doors and raising her free hand to hail a taxi.
    The taxi was small and Jared couldn’t understand a word the
driver was saying with his heavy accent. It took him a minute or two to realize
that it wasn’t the accent that prevented Jared from understanding him, it was
the fact that he wasn’t speaking English at all.
    He quirked an eyebrow in surprise as Elena began instructing him
where to go in flawless Italian. He hunched his shoulders self-consciously in
the small vehicle as Elena ruffled his hair and said something to the driver
sending him into an uproar of laughter.
    “What’d you say?” Jared muttered, huffing at the sly wink Elena
gave him in response.
    The taxi was tiny, laughably so. Or