by Kim Fox
“Really?” she asked, staring at him with an excited gleam in her eye. “This may be exactly what I need to save my shop. Something that gets the whole town excited.”
“This will do it,” Zane said as he licked the honey off the side. He was only halfway through, but it didn’t stop him from craning his head up to look in the kitchen to see if she had any more back there. He could definitely eat another one, and then another one after that.
“I’m trying to come up with a name,” she said, tapping her chin as she looked up at the ceiling.
“Oh, no,” he said with a laugh. He loved Gwen, but she wasn’t the best at coming up with names. Anyone could see that by looking at the name of her lesbian muffin shop: Muff Rules.
“I like how you’re diving into it,” she said with a nod. “How about Muff Divers?”
“How about you let me choose the name?” Zane answered with a shake of his head.
“Why, it’s cute.”
“It’s perverted.”
“Everything is perverted to you,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“That’s why you love me.”
She grinned at him. Gwen couldn’t argue with him on that one.
“Or Muff Muncher?” she asked with her eyebrows up.
Zane just shook his head as he finished off the heavenly treat. “You can call it whatever you want, and you’ll still be a millionaire. One taste of these, and you’ll have every bear shifter in Colwood coming daily for their fix.”
His bear grumbled in jealousy as Zane picked up the plate and licked every last drop of honey off it.
“Now will you give one to your bear?” Gwen asked as she walked back into the kitchen. Zane began drooling uncontrollably as she pulled out another one.
“I sure will,” he said with his fingers crossed under the table. “Bring it over.”
Epilogue
Gwen
“I’ll take eight,” Royal, the bear shifter from The Clawed Ranch said.
Gwen cringed as she looked down the line of shifters waiting to order her latest creation. I’m going to need a few more ovens.
Her new salmon, elk, and honey muffins, which she called Bear Buns after Zane continually vetoed her other cute suggestions, were selling like crazy. Every bear shifter in town was showing up every morning to get their paws on as many as they could.
“I only have six left,” she said with a gulp. The big boys were never too happy when she sold out. They were so big and took up so much space in the oven that she could only cook about thirty per day. She sold them for twelve dollars each, which was enough to save her shop from bankruptcy. When she closed later today, she was going to drive to the store, and get a second oven. Maybe even a third. She was still in disbelief that not only would she be able to pay all her bills, but she might actually have some extra money lying around.
“I’ll take all six,” Royal said, throwing his money at her.
“No, you won’t,” the bear shifter behind him growled. It was Ashton, the tattooed bear shifter who worked at The Wilde Inn. He didn’t look happy.
Royal turned with his huge arms flexed. “Are you going to stop me, little cub?”
Ashton clenched his jaw as he stepped forward, staring up at the larger man with challenging eyes. “How are you going to eat it if you don’t have any teeth?”
“Whoa, guys,” Gwen shouted as the shifters behind them started to get involved too. These guys went crazy if they didn’t get their fix. This must be the first muffin shop in history that needs security.
“There’s four of you here,” she said. “You get one and a half each.”
Royal and Ashton begrudgingly agreed, happily throwing money at her as she cut the Bear Buns up, placed them in boxes, and handed it to them.
“Wow,” she said with a laugh as she flipped the open sign to close. It wasn’t even nine-thirty in the morning, and she was already sold out for the day. I never thought I’d say this, but business is good.
It wasn’t the only thing that was good.
She grinned as she looked out the side window and saw her man scrubbing the fire truck. Her cheeks turned as red as the vehicle he was washing as she remembered last night, and how Zane had slipped into her room while she was sleeping. He woke her up in the best way, and she slept beautifully in his big arms until her alarm went off in the morning.
It had only been a few days since they bonded, but it was the best few days of her life. Each day got better and better as they connected and learned more about each other. She had absolutely no doubt that he was the one for her. She could feel it in her heart, but it was more than that. She could feel it in her bones, in her soul, in every thought and feeling she had.
Zane said it was the intensity of the shifter bond that she was experiencing. He said it was pulling them together, and that it would only get stronger over time. It was already so strong that she couldn’t imagine he could be right, but she was more than excited to find out.
She let out a tiny moan as he stood up with the wet sponge, and began scrubbing circles on the hood. She bit her bottom lip, feeling heat course through her as she watched his flexed arms as they cleaned the truck.
“I’ll never get tired of this view,” she laughed to herself. “Best real estate in town.”
The water was streaming down the driveway of the firehouse and pooling in the street. Gwen followed it down with her eyes and laughed when she saw what he did for her.
She shook her head, still laughing as she walked outside. “If you can learn to be a good neighbor, than anything is possible,” Gwen said with a chuckle as she picked up her newspaper. Zane had placed it on the grass so the runoff water from his hose wouldn’t hit it.
He turned to her with a grin on his sexy face. “I’m getting you wet enough these days, so I spared your newspaper.”
“How thoughtful of you,” she said as she walked over. “If only you had started getting me wet sooner, we could have saved all of those poor newspapers.”
“How can I ever pay you back for them?”
She smiled as she stepped on her toes and kissed him on the lips. “I can think of a few ways.”
Zane wrapped his big arms around her and pulled her in, holding her to his body. “Let the payments begin,” he said. Her heart pounded as he sealed her mouth with his.
Life was good. Too good.
She had a booming business that made tons of money, and of course, she had Zane. He did so much for her. It wasn’t just the fun company, and the earth-shattering orgasms—he made her world better. More than ever, Gwen was appreciating the world and everything in it. Sunsets were never so beautiful, animals never so cute, food never so good. Her worries were gone, replaced by a sense of euphoria.
She felt safe and whole when they were together, which was pretty much always. Even when they were apart, he was only a quick walk to the property next door.
Even the mysterious gray dragon didn’t worry her anymore. The town was full of powerful shifters that now loved her thanks to her Bear Buns. She also had Zane, two lions, and a polar bear shifter next door, not too mention a dragon shifter of their own in Draven. One measly dragon wouldn’t last long against those odds.
Her head was dizzy and light when their lips finally separated. “Isn’t it better to love thy neighbor?” she asked with a grin.
“Much better,” he answered before giving her lips a soft kiss.
“Am I a good neighbor now?”
Zane hissed in a breath. “I don’t know,” he teased. “Did you get rid of your van with the penis on your face?”
She groaned as she narrowed her eyes on him. “It’s not a penis. It’s a nose.”
“It sure looks like a penis,” he answered with a laugh.
Gwen glanced back at her shop, picturing the cash register that was overflowing with crumpled up bills. At least I could afford a new wrap for the van now.
But she wasn’t about to give Zane the satisfaction of changing it.
“Y
ou’re just going to have to deal with it,” she said, grinning as she stuck her chin in the air.
“Small price to pay,” he said, grinning as his lips hovered over hers. “For having you as a neighbor.”
“So, I am a good neighbor?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.
He grinned as he pulled her in close. “The best!”
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