Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

around her, and she breathed deep of his masculine scent, burying her face in the hollow of his neck. They were a perfect fit, as far as she was concerned. He was just the right height for her to feel safe and secure without being overwhelmed. As the shortest of her sisters, that was something very important to her.
    “I lost about ten years off my life when that vamp walked in,” Zak admitted. “I was so afraid he was going to go for you.” His arms squeezed her close, and she heard the emotion in his voice.
    Wonder filled her at his response. It sounded as if he…cared…for her. Her heart leapt in her chest. She liked that idea. A lot.
    “Would he really have bitten me if I hadn’t gotten the wine?” she asked, her voice trembling.
    “Honey, the wine was dessert. He had me for dinner,” he revealed. “Shifter blood is a delicacy to them, and it gave him more energy than your mortal blood would have.”
    “You let him bite you?” She pulled back, looking up to meet his gaze. Then she checked his neck for bite marks, but he chuckled.
    “He took it from my wrist,” Zak told her. “And we were damn lucky the guy was a gentleman. He’s a master, which means he’s an old son of a gun. Powerful. Probably stronger than anyone in this little town. We’re lucky he asked politely, because he probably could have just taken whatever he wanted. Including you.” He tucked her head into his shoulder and hugged her again. “In the state he was in, he would have killed you. And I would have died too.”
    That sounded serious. She pulled back to meet his gaze, noting the slight tremble in his hold.
    “Why?”
    He let some of his emotion show in his gaze and she caught her breath. “I would give my life for you, any day, any way. I would have tried to protect you. Give you a shot at running.”
    She clutched his shoulders. He was saying something important here, but it still wasn’t clear to her. Would he do that for any weak human stuck in that sort of situation? He was the town deputy, after all. He had some kind of duty to protect. Or was it more personal?
    Lord, how she hoped it was personal!
    “Thank you,” she said calmly, her mind racing. “But I wouldn’t run. I wouldn’t want you to die for me. I’d probably have tried to fight him with you.”
    “Then we both would have died, and I couldn’t do this…”
    Zak’s head dipped low, his lips catching hers in a gentle kiss that soon turned molten.
    Oh, yeah. This is something she’d wanted for a while now. Zak. Kissing her. Making her toes curl in her shoes. Dayum.
    She wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted, but eventually, well after her senses were swimming and her equilibrium was shot, he pulled back with a soft curse. She frowned. Why was he stopping?
    “I’m sorry, honey. We’re about to have company.”
    He set her back from him, holding her shoulders for a moment until she had regained some of her balance, then let her go. He picked up the bag she’d dropped and stuffed some of the clothing that had spilled out back into it.
    “Do you need anything else? Toiletries? Shoes?”
    Her mind finally clicked back into the on position, and she reached down for a pair of flip flops she kept near her bed. She used them like slippers and sometimes wore them outside, when she didn’t have to work in the bakery. Flour-dusted sneakers were the order of the day when she was working, but otherwise, she liked lighter footwear.
    She found a stray plastic bag and shoved the flip flops into it. She filled a small cosmetic case with the essentials—moisturizer, face wash, hairbrush and toothbrush. Zak took both of the smaller bags from her and put them into the overnight bag.
    Just as he was zipping it up, a knock sounded on her bedroom door.
    “You two about ready?” It was Brody’s voice, and he sounded perturbed.
    Well, that wasn’t Tina’s problem. Brody was her sister’s husband. Let Nell deal with his moods. Tina sailed past Zak, opening the door