by Liza Street
Lena, following Carter’s gaze, took his hand.
He turned to look at Lena instead and smiled. His mate. Her brown hair was loose around her shoulders.
He couldn’t resist—he reached for a tendril and wrapped it around his finger, then gave it a gentle tug. She laughed and smacked his hand away.
Playful, sexy. He’d enjoyed every day with her like this in the few weeks since they left the Junkyard. They’d been renting a one-bedroom house in a nearby town, but they came back often to visit not only Caitlyn and Grant, but Marcus as well. When Caitlyn and Grant had asked them to dinner tonight, they of course accepted. They missed these woods, even if they didn’t miss the violence of the Junkyard.
It was true—Carter didn’t care about fighting anymore. He’d forgiven Kyle, and Lena’s love satisfied his restless beast.
“So you two are really looking to buy a piece of property around here?” Caitlyn asked from the deck chair across from them.
“Yes,” Lena said. “I wouldn’t go back to my pride if they paid me.”
“And I don’t have a clan anymore,” Carter said. “And between the two of us, we have enough saved up for a small down payment.”
Grant came out of the cabin with four beers. Carter reached for one, but Lena smacked his arm. Carter sighed theatrically while Grant looked between them, a puzzled expression on his face.
“What’s this about?” Caitlyn asked.
Lena beamed. “Well, buying some property isn’t the only thing we’re planning for. And Carter’s taken a vow of sobriety for the next few months to support me.”
Caitlyn squealed and jumped up, clapping her hands. She rushed forward to hug Lena.
Grant put down the bottles so he could give Lena and Carter hugs, too.
Carter sent a longing look at the beers Grant set down. A drop of condensation slid down the side of one.
Laughing, Lena pinched his arm.
“What?” he said. “A man can dream, can’t he?”
He liked giving her a hard time about not drinking, but the truth was, he was fucking delighted that his baby was growing in her belly. A little grizzly shifter, or a little cougar shifter, he didn’t care which. Boy or girl, he also didn’t care. He just hoped the little one had the same big heart that Lena had.
Grant went back in the house for some nonalcoholic beverages, and Caitlyn brought Lena down to the vegetable garden to show her what grew best in the area.
Watching the two women, Carter couldn’t help but feeling like the luckiest asshole alive.
The painted trailer sat on the other side of the boundary. Marcus would return to it at some point in the evening. He’d met with Carter at the gravel line earlier in the day. His right hand was completely severed, but he was adjusting to life with just one hand and seemed in good enough spirits. Carter couldn’t help the feeling that Marcus was hiding something, though—some kind of secret having to do with why he’d been sent to the Junkyard to begin with.
Maybe all the Junkyard shifters had pasts they’d rather not discuss. Carter wouldn’t hold it against the man.
In the meantime, Carter would be grateful every day for his new chance at life.
He’d never thought he would get his beast under control. He’d believed he belonged in the Junkyard and that he should never leave.
But Lena had given him something else to believe in—love.
The next Junkyard Shifters book, Filthy Wolf, features Marcus! It releases in July 2020.
“I have never met a person more aggravating than you,” she spat.
“Yes, well, the feeling’s mutual,” he grumbled, resting his hand on her backside to keep her from squirming free. He rather liked her slung over his shoulder like this.
“You are a terrible, awful man. And when I get free, I’m going to pick you up and…and then I’ll throw you in the lake.”
He abruptly switched course. “The lake. That’s a great idea.”
“Wait, what? No!”
She spun around awkwardly to get a view of where he was taking them.
“Can you swim?” he asked.
“No. I sink like a stone.”
It was a lie, and he laughed.
“Marcus, I was just kidding,” she said desperately. “I’d never throw you in the lake. I wouldn’t even be able to, remember? Frail human woman, no muscles, no speed. How could I even try? Besides, I like you. You’re really quite nice and your ass is tight. I bet you could bounce a quarter off it. Maybe we should try that, right now? I think there’s a quarter in my backpack.”
The lake was in view and her scrambling—and panicked reasoning—increased. He grinned to himself. This was the most fun he’d had in…well, since he couldn’t remember.
“Marcus,” she said sweetly, “I’ll be your best friend…”
He waded into the water, not caring about his shoes and jeans getting wet. They’d dry in the afternoon heat.
“I make a great friend,” she said. “I have half a bottle of tequila. I’ll give it to you, my new best friend.”
“I’m not interested in your tequila,” he said.
“Then what?”
He wasn’t about to answer that question, because what he was interested in was her naked body, writhing beneath his, her beautiful lips parted while she was in the throes of an orgasm.
Once he was in water up to his thighs, he stopped.
“Marcus, don’t do this, I swear, I’ll—”
Her words ended in a shriek as she flew through the air and landed in the water.
Visit lizastreetauthor.com/filthy-wolf to get your copy of Filthy Wolf today!
Also by Liza Street
Fierce Mates: Sierra Pride
The Sierra Pride: The Complete Series
Fierce Wanderer
Fierce Heartbreaker
Fierce Protector
Fierce Player
Fierce Dancer
Fierce Informer
Fierce Survivor
Fierce Lover
Fierce Mates: Corona Pride
The Corona Pride: Books 1-5
Savage Yearning
Savage Loss
Savage Heartache
Savage Thirst
Savage Bliss
Savage Redemption
Irredeemable (a FREE prequel)
Savage Penance
Fierce Mates: Dark Pines Pride
The Dark Pines Pride: Books 1-3
Wild Homecoming
Wild Atonement
Wild Reunion
Wild Engagement
Fierce Mates: Rock Creek Clan
The Rose King
Ruthless Misfit
Ruthless Outlaw
Ruthless Fighter
Ruthless Rogue
Ruthless Knight
Junkyard Shifters
Filthy Vandal
Filthy Beast
Filthy Wolf
Spellbound Shifters: Dragons Entwined
(with Keira Blackwood)
Dragons Entwined: Books 1-3
Dragon Forgotten (a FREE prequel)
Dragon Shattered
Dragon Unbroken
Dragon Reborn
Dragon Ever After
Spellbound Shifters: Fates and Visions
(with Keira Blackwood)
Oracle Defiant
Oracle Adored
Spellcaster Hidden
Spellbound Shifters Standalones
(with Keira Blackwood)
Hope Reclaimed
Orphan Entangled
Alphas & Alchemy: Fierce Mates
(with Keira Blackwood)
Claimed in Forbidden
Fated in Forbidden
Bound to Forbidden
Caught in Forbidden
Mated in Forbidden
About Liza
Liza likes her heroes packing muscles and her heroines packing agency. She got her start in romance by sneak-reading her grandma’s paperbacks. Now she's a USA Today bestselling author and she spends her
time writing about hot shifters with fierce and savage hearts.
Join Liza’s mailing list to get all the good news when it happens! Visit https://lizastreetauthor.com/free-book/