The Alpha's Mail Order Bride by Jasmine White Read Free Book Online

“I guess I should have asked or warned you…”
    “ Don’t be sorry.” Akala smiled. “I would have stopped it if it was a problem. There’s no risk of anything unexpected happening.”
    Nashoba smiled and sat back down beside her. He saw Akala shiver a little as the sweat from their exertions cooled in the night breeze, and he leaned forward to snatch up the other blanket.
    “Thanks,” she said. Akala curled up next to Nashoba under the blanket, nestling into the crook of his arm and relishing the heat of his body. “I didn’t expect things to end up this way when I set out with you this morning.”
    “ To be completely honest, neither did I. For all Haley’s skill, I didn’t know if she could undo the awkwardness I’d laid out between us.”
    “ My dad was in the navy, and we must have moved fifteen times before I was old enough to go off to college and do my own thing. Each time we moved, I was stuck with having to go out to find new friends and to figure out who was worth getting to know, and who was best avoiding.” Akala looked up at Nashoba who tilted his chin down to meet her gaze. “I guess you could say I’m an excellent judge of character, and there was something I saw in you right from the beginning. You hide so much of yourself away, even still, but there’s a goodness in you that shines through. It was that light that made me stay.”
    “ Well, I’m glad you did.” Nashoba kissed her on the forehead.
    Akala snuggled tighter to him and closed her eyes. She thought she ought to return to her room at the B&B, or at least go inside and sleep in a proper bed, but she felt warm and safe, and within minutes was fast asleep.
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
     
    Gravel crunched under the truck’s tires when Nashoba pulled into the B&B to drop Akala off shortly before noon. Their morning had been long and leisurely, the two of them lingering over breakfast before sharing a shower and then falling into bed together once more. After yet another shower, Nashoba had told her he had some things to take care of, and offered to bring her back to her room to change and relax with Haley. He’d joked that Haley would be more than a little curious to find out how the date had gone, and sure enough, the woman was there waiting just inside the door when Akala pushed it open and slipped inside.
    Akala helped Haley prepare a simple lunch, and they ate together while Akala recounted the day’s adventure with each little stop along the meticulously planned treasure hunt. Haley beamed with happiness to learn that her cousin had finally managed to open himself up a little, and not much needed to be said about the fact that Akala had spent the night and the better part of the morning with Nashoba instead of back at the B&B. Haley made a few suggestive comments that caused Akala to flush red with embarrassment, but it was clear that Haley thought it a perfectly natural thing to talk about.
    When the lunch dishes were cleared away and Akala had been shooed out of the kitchen despite her insistence on helping with the cleaning, she went out back with the intention of walking out through the meadow again. She drifted down the back steps and into the garden, hardly making it past the edge of the B&B’s back yard before seeing a figure standing on the path in front of her.
    “ You reek of sex,” he sneered, stalking towards her and causing her to walk backwards in fear.
    Akala recognized him as the man from the viewpoint. He’d told her to get off his land, and now he was here trespassing on Haley’s land.
    “You were supposed to be here for me,” he snarled. “Do you think it’s okay to run around and fuck whoever you want?”
    “ I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Akala looked over her shoulder and angled her body towards the B&B. There was no sign of Haley and she wasn’t sure if she could cover the distance before this obviously crazy man caught up with her. “I came here on the invitation of