Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  “I'm the idiot.” He gripped my hips and lifted and lowered me on him in a way that had me seeing stars. “I never should have waited so long to come after you.”

  I smirked. “I don't mind the wait so much now that you're here. I'm a big fan of multiple orgasms.”

  He grinned and then he proved just how capable he was of giving me exactly what I wanted.

  “I don't want you to move to Denver,” I said later, when we were lying on the couch, still naked and tangled up in one another, happily sated and lazy.

  He stiffened beneath me. “Have to say I've never seen a long-distance relationship that actually worked out.”

  “I'm moving back to Aspens Whiten. I was packing up the car when you showed up at my door.”

  He rose over me and smiled. “I don't want you to move to Aspens Whiten. You're moving in with me, to Mule Creek.”

  I hesitated. I loved him, but was I ready to move in with him? I still needed my own space, to prove I could be independent. “You left your bag in the hall,” I said, like I was truly worried about his bag full of jeans and t-shirts and wasn't just stalling for time.

  He placed his hands on either side of my face, his gaze intent and filled with so much love. “Move in with me, Abby. I promise I'll give you your space, and I won't make it weird. It'll be a bit of a commute to a job in Aspens Whiten, but…” He looked at the ceiling, considering.

  “I'm going to be working in Mule Creek,” I said. “Helping the pack figure out how to make money. I'll be like the CEO for the pack, if Axel okays it.” I knew I was hurting my case, but Zane would find out anyway.

  His smile was so bright and big, it made my heart stutter with love.

  I held up a hand. “But that's not a reason for us to rush into living together.”

  He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers through mine. “It makes more sense for you to live in Mule Creek, so you can see how everything works day and night, than to commute to Aspens Whiten. Agreed?”

  I studied his expression, looking for the trick, but it was carefully blank. “Of course, but—”

  “And there aren't any free rooms or houses in Mule Creek right now. It makes sense for you to live with me. I'll even let you have the guest room. You can pay rent if it makes you feel better.”

  Darn it. I didn't have a reasonable argument for his rational suggestion. “I guess that makes sense.”

  He grinned, triumphant. “We should spend a couple days in Denver. A mini vacation before we go back to Mule Creek and the craziness of the pack.”

  I considered. I loved the idea of spending a weekend with Zane, just the two of us, but I knew the pack was in serious trouble and Julie and Axel needed to start instituting changes immediately to ensure the autonomy and safety of the pack. “One day,” I said. “We'll leave tomorrow after dinner.”

  He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight against a very important body part that was already rock hard again. “Can't stand me for two whole days?”

  I grinned. “It would be a trial, but I really want to get to Mule Creek and get to work on my ideas. If we stay for one day, I'm going to need to pick your brain tonight so I can present my idea with as much of the details already figured out as possible.”

  He rolled over on top of me and thrust into me with one hard flex of his hips. “You can pick anything you want if we don't have to put clothes on or leave this couch.”

  “I think that can be arranged.” And then I shut up, because he was moving and all I could do was feel.

  ***

  “You want to do what?” Axel asked. His expression alternated between shocked, angry, and afraid for my sanity. Next to me, Zane squeezed my hand.

  “Just hear her out, man.” Zane's calm tone was impressive considering he'd had the same reaction to my idea when I'd first voiced it to him two nights ago. He'd talked me into staying in Denver one more night and we'd arrived back in Mule Creek just after eleven in the morning. We'd gone straight to Axel's to present the plan to him and Julie.

  “You actually support this crazy idea?” Axel asked. “You want humans visiting our town like we're the latest tourist attraction?”

  “Sweetie,” Julie said, putting a hand on his arm. “Has Abby steered us wrong, yet?” Daisy was in Julie's arms, watching her daddy with obvious interest.

  Axel sat back on the couch with a huff and a wave of his hand. “Go on.”

  “Werewolves are popular with only thirty-seven percent of Americans,” I said, giving them each a handout I'd created to show the information. “Some people fear or dislike anyone who's different and there's nothing you can do about them, but I think you could bring more people to your side by inviting them here and letting them get to know you.”

  “Why do we care if people like us?” Axel asked. “We did that stupid reality show, wasn't that enough for them?”

  “And in that reality show,” I said. “You interacted only with other wolves. A lot of people think you don't like humans, that you might be a threat to humans if you ever decided there should be fewer of them and more of you.”

  “We don't like humans,” Axel said. He waved his hand in my direction. “No offense.”

  “And we wonder why more humans don't love us,” Julie said, rolling her eyes.

  “The bottom line,” I said, “is that you need leverage with the council or they'll have no reason to deal fairly with you. If you have human friends, a larger pool of humans on your side, who look forward to visiting this retreat and this pack, the council will be strongly incentivized not to destroy the pack or take the land from you. No one would want vamps running a retreat. Invite humans here to Mule Creek to participate in a yoga retreat, they can take yoga classes with Zane, pole dancing classes with me, they could build crafts at the hardware store, go on hikes, and Zane can teach them meditation. I know we don't have the facilities to host a ton of people right now, but they can stay in tents, rough it, until we do.”

  “They can live off the land,” Zane said. “Get closer to nature.”

  Axel glared at his friend. “You're fucking seriously okay with this shit?”

  “We don't have a hell of a lot of options, man,” Zane said. “If the council decides we're too much trouble and burns our village to the ground tomorrow, no one will give a shit, aside from a few of our allies. If they try to wipe out a popular spa destination, where humans have learned that werewolves are nice people and a ton of fun, they'll have a lot of people asking questions. It's the same reason Julie did the reality show.”

  “I didn't like the reality show, either,” Axel said. “But at least it had an expiration date.”

  “I did a ton of rate comparisons,” I said. “If you charge two thousand dollars per person, per spa week, plus extra for special treatments, you could bring in a lot of dough.”

  “I have a friend who owns a spa in LA,” Julie said. “She could probably recommend some people who could do massages and facials. As we grow, we could maybe build an actual spa and offer guests an alternative to roughing it.”

  “That would be great,” I said.

  Axel glared at me and Julie in turn, then he glanced at Zane. “This is really going to happen, isn't it?”

  Zane nodded.

  “Shit,” Axel said. “I'll bring it before the pack and if everyone agrees, we'll move forward with this plan.”

  Axel left to arrange a pack meeting and Julie stood and stuck out her hand. “It looks like you have a job. Welcome to Mule Creek.”

  “Are you sure about that?” I asked. “The pack could vote it down, especially if Axel's the one selling it.”

  She grinned. “If he had a better idea, he'd have offered it. He'll sell it, don't worry. Most of the pack will be excited for fresh blood and more money coming into the village. I think this is going to be awesome.”

  I cuddled Daisy for a few minutes, hugged Julie, and then Zane and I went back to his place. He insisted I let him carry all my stuff into the back of the house. I followed h
im back and started unpacking. I was putting away the last of my clothes in the dresser, when Zane walked in and flopped on the bed. “Don't you have to knock before you come in?” I asked. “This is my space.”

  He grabbed me and yanked me down on the bed with him. “I'll knock if you really want me to. But then I'd miss out on the pleasure of catching you naked.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You've seen me naked plenty.”

  “And I'll never get tired of it.” He slid a hand under my shirt and pressed it against my bare back. “Want to go out to dinner with me after the pack meeting and stay over at my place?”

  “I am staying at your place.”

  He pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. “Oh, my mistake. I meant, do you want to stay in my room, naked, while I do wicked things to you all night?”

  I studied him. “Don't you think we should have a little space? If I'm in your room every night, it'll be like we're living together.”

  “No, it won't. It'll be like we're dating. You'll still have your room, where I have to knock and you can slam the door when you're pissed, and I'll have my room, which will be lonely and boring without you.”

  I couldn't help smiling. “Okay, then. I guess I could stay at your place tonight.”

  He grinned and rolled me to straddle his hips. “Before we do that, maybe we should christen your new place.”

  I bent over and kissed his warm lips. “I'd say it's imperative that we do.”

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Katharine Sadler lives with her husband in North Carolina. She’s been writing since she was ten and has wanted to be a writer even longer. When she’s not writing or otherwise gainfully occupied, she reads like it’s an addiction, exercises, skis whenever she gets the chance, and adds more books to her wish list.

  OTHER WORKS BY KATHARINE SADLER

  FANTASY

  The Reapers (5 book series)

  The Reaping (Reapers 1)

  On a White Horse (Reapers 1.5)

  The Revolt (Reapers 2)

  The Rift (Reapers 3)

  Switch (Reapers 3.5)

  The Resonance (Reapers 4)

  The Resistance (Reapers 5)

  The Reapers Series Box Set

  Dying Dreams (Trilogy)

  Dying Dreams (Dying Dreams 1)

  Dying Innocence (Dying Dreams 2)

  Fairy Files (6 book series)

  Fairy on the Rocks (Fairy Files 1)

  Pink Princess Fairytini (Fairy Files 2)

  Fairy with a Twist (Fairy Files 3)

  Wild Fairy Moonshine (Fairy Files 4)

  Bloody Fairy (Fairy Files 5)

  Fairy, Neat (Fairy Files 6)

  Wolves of Mule Creek

  Fighting Furry (Mule Creek Book 1)

  Stripped (Mule Creek Book 2)

  Nature’s Call (Mule Creek Book 3) – Spring 2019

  ROMANCE

  Remixed Fairy Tales (7 book series)

  Remington’s Tower (Remixed Fairy Tales 1)

  Francesca’s Slumber (Remixed Fairy Tales 2)

  Lizabell’s Gamble (Remixed Fairy Tales 3)

  Catalpa Creek (6 book series)

  The Deadbeat Next Door (Catalpa Creek 1)

  The Workaholic Down the Hall (Catalpa Creek 2)

  I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

  You can chat with me at:

  www.KatharineSadler.com

  www.Facebook.com/KatharineGSadler

  www.Twitter.com/KatharineSadler

  www.pinterest.com/AuthorKSadler

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you to my family for their unfailing support. And a big thank you to my husband/business manager for making sure I keep my priorities straight and keep writing and editing and publishing, even on the days I’d rather spend curled on the couch reading a good book. Thank you to my friend and beta reader Becky Kyslinger for letting me know when something isn’t working for her and giving me spot-on advice about how to improve the book. Thank you to www.CoverYourDreams.net for the gorgeous cover on this and all my books.