distance away and turned his back to us. I watched, amazed as he transitioned from a burly bear back into his brawny man. His backside was strong and muscular with a firm ass coated with a light gleam of sweat. He yanked on a pair of jeans and his tee.
“Really Grant, thanks for jumping in there,” Evan grinned. “Brad was on my neck and I couldn’t breathe to transition. But next time, I get to be the hero.”
In the distance I could hear the sound of several fire truck sirens. Someone must have reported the fight and they were coming to break it up. Well, better late than never.
Grant laughed at Evan’s words, but his face grew serious as he looked towards me. “Are you ok, Judith?”
“I’m fine…a little shook up and shocked…but fine.”
“Shocked? What happened? Did Brad do something to you back there…?” Grant asked, concern creasing his face.
“No, it was just the shock of seeing you transition.”
“Oh, haha, you’ll get used to it.”
“What are you guys doing here anyway?”
Grant looked at Evan and shrugged. “We don’t like or trust Brad. We know what kind of shifter he is.”
“What do you mean?”
“He does a lot of real estate transactions and we think some of them are shady. No one has caught him yet, but we have our suspicions.” Grant said.
“Yeah he has a property management division also. We rented a property from him, the old Crazy Cakes Bakery site.”
“Was that the bakery that burned down?” I asked.
“Yep, that’s the place,” Evan nodded his head.
I furrowed my brows. “I remember Vic, the owner of the ‘Luscious Lad and Ladies Marriage Mates’ site saying something to me about his brother Max being blamed for that.”
“Yep, Deputy Bob had some lame excuse about Max being in the area and having a lighter. He arrested Max and threw him in the slammer. But he’s out now.”
“Anyway,” Grant said, “We think that Brad had something to do with the fire. We’ve heard his investments haven’t been going so well lately and he needed cash. We think he wanted to collect money on the fire insurance.”
“Whoa…” It was hard to believe that Brad could be so conniving, but then again…maybe not.
“Ok, ok…but why were you hanging around Brad’s house? Why not just report your suspicions to the police?”
“Well, to be honest, when we saw him leave the wedding with you, we were concerned about your well-being,” Evan said. “We just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you.”
“Oh wow,” I could take care of myself but it gave me a warm feeling inside to know they felt protective towards me.
“Judith,” Grant said softly He looked at me, his expression a mix of sweet love and sheer desire.
I could feel his warm cocoa eyes probing into my soul.
“We want to be with you all the time, in every way. We know you are our mate—our intended,” Grant motioned to Evan. “We both feel it.”
I glanced at Evan. He had that same longing and loving gaze in his eyes.
A shiver went through my spine. I’d always been the one to choose my man. Maybe it had something to do with always wanting to be in control, something I hadn’t been when I was burned. Maybe it was time to give up some of that control. I looked at Evan and Grant again. They were staring at me intently hanging on my every move and word—hope in their eyes. These two men had fought for me. They were kind and good, and even the scruffy beards had grown on me…in fact they were really kind of sexy. They deserved a chance!
CHAPTER NINE
“Those sirens just keep getting louder,” I said, desperate to change the topic. I was still reeling from the shock of Brad’s true colors. I wasn’t ready to jump into any kind of relationship with Evan and Grant—at least, not just yet.
Evan cocked his head listening. “It sounds like they’re close. Damn, someone probably started another fire!”
“Let’s check it out.” Grant grabbed my hand and we walked
Clive Cussler, Paul Kemprecos