His brow smoothed out, and he leaned closer to kiss her gently. “I’m trying to imagine even separating long enough to go clean up, let alone a lifetime.”
“I still feel aroused as if we didn’t just do that, and I still need you inside me.”
He nodded, his fingers grazing up and down her back. “Good thing I grabbed an entire row of condoms.”
She giggled. “Am I supposed to be this horny?”
“That’s what I’ve always heard.”
“I didn’t believe you that our connection would be stronger after we had sex. Seemed preposterous.”
“I didn’t know what to expect either. All I had was legend.”
“And according to wolf shifter legend, you’re now going to lure me into your lair, tie me to a post, and fuck me into submission.”
“And you’re going to love every moment of my seduction.”
Chapter 19
One week later…
Layla leaned against the doorframe between the kitchen and living room in Aunt Marge’s house, a beer in one hand, her other arm crossed under her chest. She didn’t think she’d stopped smiling in a week.
The room smelled of pizza sauce and garlic. All of the most important people in the world to her were leaning over the two large pizza boxes, snagging their slices.
Her heart was full for the first time in years. Yes, she’d had a perfectly nice childhood, but it hadn’t included either parent, and it had been spent with a lonely grandmother and a quiet grandfather.
She still couldn’t believe she’d found her father. Every day when she woke up, she had to pinch herself to make sure it was all true. The reminder always came quickly in the form of a heavy, warm arm draped over her body and a firm erection pressed against her.
Elena lifted her face and met Layla’s gaze. The look on her face matched Layla’s emotions. Happiness. Satisfaction. Contentment. Excitement. The list was long. “You better grab a slice before these brutes polish it all off.”
Layla chuckled. She didn’t need to shove her way into the fray. Hunter had two plates in his hand. He had her covered. Plus, Anders hadn’t reached an arm in yet either. In fact, she realized he was staring at her, a wry grin on his face.
Even though she’d never known her father even existed, she easily surmised that he hadn’t smiled in years. Not until he found Layla and Elena. And even then, she was pretty sure he didn’t take a full breath or exhale all the way until Layla finally informed Elena she had no intention of returning to LA. That revelation was followed by Elena’s shoulders relaxing at her announcement that her return to Chicago would only be to move out of her apartment and get out of her lease. She and Caleb would do that next week.
The week had gone by so quickly. Life had totally changed in that time. Layla’s outlook on the world had undergone a transformation. She knew Elena’s had too.
Even though the two women had spent nearly every moment with their mates, including the nights, Layla and Elena had managed to sit down and really talk several times too. They finally professed to each other how badly they both had been struggling in their careers and aired out the fact that they’d been reluctant to admit defeat to the other.
They had laughed and cried and hugged and just enjoyed being with each other. Layla’s life was currently so full she couldn’t remember what it had been like a week ago.
Hunter rounded the table and held out a plate piled with more slices than she could possibly eat. He leaned down and kissed her as he handed it to her, and then he slid his fingers down her arm and guided her toward the table.
“So, what’s the plan for the house?” Anders asked. “You girls have been working on it all week. Are you going to sell it or keep it?”
Layla looked at Elena and smiled. Elena nodded, letting Layla know she should be the one to tell them. “We were thinking of keeping it. At least for now. We thought we might try using it as an office of sorts.”
Elena giggled.
Everyone else’s brows furrowed.
“An office for what?” Anders asked.
“More of a studio,” Elena added. “A creative and performing arts studio. A place where kids could come and take acting or creative writing classes. Maybe there are some other people in town who could add to our services with music or singing or dance.”
Hunter slid his hand behind Layla’s back and rubbed. His smile was so warm. “I love that idea, babe.”
“Me too,” Caleb said.
“While Elena works on her award-winning novel of course,” Layla added.
Elena flushed. “Let’s not get carried away. So far, it’s a pipe dream.”
“How did I get so lucky as to have two of the most amazing daughters in the world?” Anders’s face beamed with pride. “I think that’s exactly what Canyon Springs needs.”
There was a sizzle in the room. Something in the air. It wasn’t tangible. It was more of a feeling. It was love. An abundance of love. So much that it filled Layla to the brim and made her eyes water. She held back the tears, though, not wanting to change the mood into something sappy.
Hunter knew. He always knew. He leaned in close, kissed her neck, and whispered in her ear. “You’re amazing, and I love you.”
“I love you too,” she murmured in response.
Life looked nothing like it did before; it looked a whole lot better.
Epilogue
One year later…
As Hunter came through the front door of Marge’s Place, he let in the sounds of dozens of people talking. Young and old. Shifters and non-shifters.
Layla glanced up as he shut the door, temporarily blocking the noise. She chewed on her bottom lip, hopeful but trying to contain herself. When she met his gaze, she lifted a brow in question.
“Half the town is out there,” he announced. The line is all the way around the block.”
Elena groaned from her spot seated behind the table at Layla’s side. “Please don’t say that. You’re making me nervous.”
Caleb stood at her other side, and he picked up one of the dozens of copies of her book and held it up. “No reason to be nervous. Marge’s Place is amazing. Everyone is going to love it. Not just in Canyon Springs, but all over the country.”
“Whose idea was it to do a book signing?” Elena asked, her voice squeaking. “I don’t like attention. Why couldn’t we just put it in the book store and let people find it on their own.”
The next time the door opened, they all glanced up to find Anders and his girlfriend sneaking into the house. His face was beaming. It nearly always was these days. He’d been elated for the entire year ever since meeting Layla and Elena, but his entire outlook on life had changed even more dramatically the day he finally asked out Annabelle Watson and started making a life for himself.
Annabelle worked at Morton’s Grocery. Apparently she’d had the hots for Anders for years. Years that Anders had wasted moping. But those days were gone. According to everyone in town, he was a new man.
He held Annabelle’s hand as he approached. “Let me see this book of yours.”