Pack Investigator by Crissy Smith Read Free Book Online

and made sure she was ready.
    It had been hard to hide her shifting ability from her foster family but Lily knew she had been lucky. She could have easily been moved to a larger city that used group homes instead of the family placements that took place in Clear Creek. Craig had even offered to have her moved to a shifter family but Lily had loved the Houstons, who’d taken her in. Plus she’d had two other foster children in the home that she’d been close with. There’d been lots of family dinners, much like what she’d just experienced that night.
    “Let me walk you out,” Garrett offered, coming up behind her.
    Lily hadn’t missed the way he’d kept his eyes on her all night. Garrett wasn’t very subtle in the way he’d been checking her out. Not that she minded. It was good to know that he felt the same attraction as she did.
    She waved one last time before walking out of the front door that Garrett held open for her. The evening had cooled down even more, making her glad she’d worn her most comfortable sweater.
    Unlike in most movies and some books, shifters didn’t actually have the ability to heal all wounds. They weren’t werewolves or whatever mystical creature the media like to portray them as. They were humans who had a slight alteration to their DNA that allowed them to be able to shift. Her parents had died instantly from the crash. She’d been spending the night with a friend as her parents had gone out to dinner to celebrate their anniversary.
    Garrett closing the door behind her pulled her from her thoughts and she turned toward him.
    “Thanks for asking me to stay for dinner. I enjoyed it,” she told him.
    “I’m glad you stayed,” he replied as he cupped her elbow while they walked down the steps.
    “Nick seems to be settling in well,” she noted.
    “Hmm,” he hummed in agreement.
    He seemed distracted, so Lily glanced around the property as she attempted to ignore the heat from Garrett’s hand on hers. Cooper and Julie had a beautiful house just on the edge of town. The woods around the property were gorgeous, and Lily could only imagine how much enjoyment Cooper felt running in his own back yard, literally. She lived in town, close to her office, and only ran in Pack territory.
    The sidewalk was lit by small solar lights, leading them to the drive where she’d parked her car. Lily dug her keys out of her purse and hit the fob to unlock her vehicle. While the actual driveway was dark, there was enough of a moon to allow her to see somewhat around her. In the city there would have been streetlights but so far out they were all alone, especially with the trees that blocked them from the front of the house.
    Garrett reached the door first but instead of opening it he turned back around and leaned against it. “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Yes.” The picture Garrett made, with his muscular arms crossed over his chest and his long legs braced apart, was enough to almost make her drop to her knees right there in the middle of the drive.
    He pushed off her car and leaned close. “You feel this too?” he whispered.
    Lily wasn’t going to play games. She knew exactly what Garrett meant and didn’t pretend otherwise. “Yes, it’s a new feeling for me but I felt it the second we met.”
    Garrett nodded. “I didn’t think it was a shifter thing but I wanted to make sure.”
    Lily laughed nervously. “No, I can assure you that this is new for me.”
    “Thank God!” Garrett said before he pushed himself off the car. He stepped directly in front of her and wrapped his fingers around her waist.
    She looked up into his eyes and saw the same need that she knew shone from her eyes back at him. He lowered his mouth slowly, as if giving her time to tell him no or pull away, but Lily had no intention of denying him.
    Lily lifted onto her tiptoes and closed the distance. The first touch was soft but as their lips pressed together, Garrett took another step forward and removed the space