Game For Love: Winter Heat (Kindle Worlds Novella) (8 page)

B
ecca giggled
and tried to shimmy away from Samir's tickling fingers.

"Come back here, you!"

His big warm hands caught her around her middle and she felt the cool drip of sunscreen hitting her shoulders.

"I'm not losing my fair-skinned fiancée to skin cancer!"

His fiancée.

Becca relaxed in Samir's familiar arms. It was hard to believe they had met just six months ago. And even harder to believe how quickly he had slid an embarrassingly big diamond ring on her finger.

He was understandably proud of landing the Saab campaign – undoubtedly he was their first spokesperson of Nepali descent. And unlike Kandor, Saab saw no reason he shouldn't be in a stable relationship.

Saab led to several more lucrative deals. Although he used most of the income to pay off his father's mortgages and set aside a nest egg for when his career was over, he insisted that he wanted to celebrate with a special ring for Becca and a luxurious vacation getaway.

Becca, still reeling from her transition from sidekick to famous designer, balked.

The ring was too big. The engagement was too soon. The trip was too lavish. She had work to do.

Secretly, of course, she loved the ring. The diamond was big enough to make her hand look small and slender.

And who wouldn't want to spend a month in Hawaii?

But somehow it all seemed too good to be true. A little voice in Becca's head tormented her that she was testing fate.

Samir raged around their tiny apartment for days. Nothing she said or did could assuage his anguish until she agreed to wear his ring.

The beast arose on the full moon and curled himself in the corner trembling all night.

The next morning Becca relented.

Once the ring was on her finger it was suddenly easy to compromise on everything else.

They decided to plan a wedding for just after the next IW Games. The trip Samir had arranged would serve as a much-needed vacation.

And they had the rest of their lives to work. Relaxation was essential to inspiration, Samir liked to tell her.

So here they were.

Although Becca had expected to need the first two weeks to acclimate to the time away from her newly formed snowboarding gear company, she had actually let her hair down the minute the plane touched down.

Now, after a week, she was beyond relaxed. It was almost along the lines of a personality change.

And though they had worried that the beast would be frightened by the change of environment, he had stayed to his usual routine. On the night of the full moon he arose to give Becca a furry piggyback ride out to the beach and then completely forgotten her when he saw the moon reflected in the ocean's surface. By the end of the evening he was splashing and cavorting in the water like a puppy.

Samir seemed satisfied with his sunscreen application. He took her by the hand and they padded across the sand to azure water that lapped the black sands.

"Tell me the truth, baby. Are you bored?"

"Of course not, I'm happy!"

"So if I told you we were having company tonight, you wouldn't be happy for a change of pace?"

Becca stopped on a dime.

"Who?"

"It was just a rhetorical question!"

No amount of cajoling could tease the answer out of him. Instead they swam and talked and walked the beach.

By sunset they were both starving. As they hiked back up the beach to their cottage, Becca could see the lights were blazing. The warm glow drew her like a moth to the flame.

She smacked Samir's rock hard abs.

"I
knew
it! Who's here?"

He laughed his deep, lovely laugh but didn't answer.

Suddenly they were racing across the sand.

The door to the beach opened and a familiar silhouette appeared. Christopher.

Becca slammed into him with a fierce hug.

"Hey, sis!"

"How on earth did you keep this a secret?"

"I brought someone."

Becca let go of their hug, but Christopher kept his arm around her shoulder. They turned as one.

The reporter, Mia Morton, stood at the kitchen island. She wore a white t-shirt and a pair of cut-offs and not a trace of her trademark lipstick. She still looked like a movie star.

"Mia!"

"Hi Becca, Samir invited us. I hope you don't mind."

"I'm so glad to see you! I just had no idea..."

"Mia found a way to repay me for giving her the scoop on you, Becca!" Christopher said.

"Very funny, Chris!"

Whoa.
Chris
. It must be serious. Christopher never
let anyone call him Chris.

Becca turned to her twin.

He was glowing with happiness.

Becca though he looked just about exactly like she felt.

As though he had heard her thoughts, Samir stepped over and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I never thought you guys looked alike before – must be the light."

Becca smiled up into Samir's dark eyes. He wasn't the scared changeling boy she had met in Lake Placid either. He was so relaxed now, so confident.

"I think I know what it is," Christopher said, clapping Becca on the back.

Samir leaned down to brush a sweet kiss across her lips.

A feeling of utter rightness settled into Becca's heart.

She no longer depended on them for a sense of direction. But in the company of these two men she loved so well, it didn't matter what happened next.

T
hanks for taking
the time to read Winter Heat!

If you enjoyed it, it would be really helpful if you left a review.

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If only she didn’t have the urge to turn into a giant wolf every time the moon was full…

When a tragic accident forces her back to Tarker’s Mills, she finds herself caught up in a steamy web of shifters and magic, locked in a power struggle for control of the pack she left behind.

For Ainsley, the toughest wolf she faces might just be the one inside of her.

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eep in Touch

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-Tasha