Lycan Redemption by S. K. Yule Read Free Book Online Page B

it up, it’ll grow back.” Galen shrugged.
    “Can I be excused?” Patrick asked, apparently bored with all the haircut talk.
    “I don’t know. Can you?” She shrugged.
    “ May I be excused?” Patrick rolled his eyes.
    “Yes. You may.” She smiled. “Why don’t you go and read? I don’t think you’ve had a chance to read your superhero series for a while, have you?”
    Myka knew he’d look at the pictures more than anything since he couldn’t make out words that were more than four letters long. She’d worked with him on his reading to give him a head start for when he started school--and because she thought reading was important--but she wasn’t a teacher. He was a quick learner, but he was still only five.
    “That sounds like a good idea.” Patrick stood and turned to leave the room. “See ya, Galen.”
    “Later,” Galen answered.
    “I hope he’s not getting a cold,” Myka muttered as she ate a forkful of green beans.
    “I’m sure he’ll be good as new in the morning.” He stood and took his now-empty plate to the sink.
    “You’re probably right.”
    “I’ll do the dishes. Thank you for dinner. It was delicious as usual.”
    “Thank you, but you don’t have to do the dishes.”
    She stood and scraped what was left on her and Patrick’s plates into the trash, and went to dry the dishes Galen had already started to wash.
    She needed to make it clear to Galen about what happened in the barn earlier—or rather, what wouldn’t be happening again. She didn’t quite know how to bring the subject up. Maybe it would be better to simply ignore it. Maybe it would go away. Yeah. Right. It won’t ever go away. Even when he does.
    “Um.” She cleared her throat. “We need to talk.”
    He sighed after placing the last dish in the strainer and pulled the plug to let the water drain from the sink. Turning, he leaned his hip against the counter, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared down at her.
    “Do you want me to leave because of what happened in the barn earlier?”
    “What? Oh! No.”
    “That is what you wanted to talk about, though, right?”
    “How do you do that?”
    “What?”
    “Know what I’m thinking before I say it?”
    “I’m perceptive that way.” He grunted, shoved his fingers through his hair, and walked to the back door to peer out the window. “What happened in the barn happened.” He turned to face her. “I’m not sorry it did. You are beautiful, and I won’t deny I’m deeply attracted to you.”
    Heat rushed through her veins and right to her cheeks. “It can’t happen again. I don’t sleep around.”
    “We already had that discussion. I don’t sleep around either. That isn’t what this is about.”
    “Then what exactly is it about? Because we both know this thing, whatever it is between us, won’t end up going anywhere.”
    He took three steps toward her, and she found herself pushed against the counter, surrounded by a big, hard, angry-looking Galen.
    “But what if I want it to?” His hazel eyes held that strange shimmer again. His face was dark, and his lips were drawn in a straight line.
    He was intimidating as hell. The top of her head barely came to his pecs, but she didn’t feel threatened. For some unknown reason, she was sure that if she protested, he’d back off in an instant. Now, however, she intended to enjoy the heat that surrounded her.
    “You planning on settling down here now?”
    Her words made him cringe. “If I could settle down, here with you would be my first choice.” He leaned closer.
    “Why can’t you?” Her heartbeat sped up, and his heat bled into every pore of her skin.
    “It’s complicated,” he breathed.
    “Things are only as complicated as you make them. ‘It’s complicated’ is only an excuse that people who don’t want to deal with the complication use.”
    “Maybe. But sometimes it really is complicated.” He reached out and stroked his thumb softly down her cheek.
    “Uh-huh. I’ve been through