Mischief in a Fur Coat by Sloane Meyers Read Free Book Online

was in it. Her mouth hung open in surprise at what she saw. Inside the bag were several blank canvases of several different sizes, about a dozen tubes of acrylic paint, a large assortment of artist’s paintbrushes, and what appeared to be a table-top easel compactly folded down. Hope looked up at Drew, her face still registering surprise.
    “Painting supplies?” she asked.
    Drew nodded. “I know it’s not the same as graphic design. But since we can’t have computers out here I was hoping it might be the next best thing. At least it’s artistic. You know, a creative outlet for you.”
    “Drew, no one makes physical paintings anymore except people who are incredibly wealthy. Everything’s done on computers. These canvases must have cost a fortune.”
    Drew shrugged. “It’s fine. I have money saved. I don’t spend that much living out here in the boonies, you know.”
    Hope ran her fingers across the edge of one of the canvases. She’d always wanted to try painting on a physical canvas, but had never been able to afford it. Now she had several of them, just waiting for her to fill them with color.
    “I…I don’t know what to say. Thank you,” Hope said, her voice cracking a little with emotion. “Where did you even find these? I know the general store in the little town here doesn’t keep this kind of thing in stock.
    Drew shrugged. “I went to Traverse City this morning. Took one of the gas helicopters from my secret fleet and made a trip up there.”
    Hope felt her heart beating faster. Gas vehicles and aircraft were strictly prohibited, so flying one was a big risk. Drew would have been in a lot of trouble if he’d been caught. But he’d flown one, anyway, just so he could get her some overpriced art supplies.
    “Drew, I don’t know what to say. You didn’t have to do that. I mean, Traverse City is so far. And that was such a dangerous trip. I can’t believe you went to all that trouble for me.”
    “Well, believe it, Hope,” Drew said gruffly. Then he crossed the distance between them swiftly and planted his lips on hers. Hope took a step backward in surprise, but Drew took another step forward at the same time, so his kiss was never broken. Hope felt a surge of hot electricity going through her body, and she dropped the cloth bag as Drew pressed his body hard against hers. She could feel his strong erection through his jeans, and she shivered with delight and desire, completely shocked by how quickly this had turned into a passionate moment, but completely overcome with pleasure. This was insane, and such a bad idea on so many levels, but she didn’t have the willpower to stop him. His kiss, his arms, and his body all felt so good.
    She wanted more.
    But moments later, the sound of laughter and voices echoing across the meadow reached their ears. The rest of the shifters were back. This moment of privacy was over. Drew stepped backward, reached down for the cloth bag of art supplies and handed it back to Hope, then disappeared out the front door.
    Hope was alone for a brief moment, once again finding herself putting her fingers to her lips where they still tingled from the electricity of Drew’s kiss.

Chapter Six
    Over the next several days, Drew forced himself to avoid Hope as much as possible. He wanted more than anything to spend time with her, but he held back because he needed her to know that the art supplies he had given her were given from the heart with no strings attached. In fact, he was mad at himself for kissing her right after he gave them to her. He hadn’t bought them to try to win her over romantically. He’d bought them for her to show her that he truly did care about her struggle to adjust to life out here in the middle of nowhere.
    Sure, Drew would have loved to kiss Hope all day, every day. He’d completely given up trying to deny that to himself at this point. Sometimes her rebellious, stubborn nature made him angry, but most of the time it just turned him on. He knew