Free Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Lapthorne Page A

moment she doubted herself. She questioned if her William had really just turned into a wolf, and if he had kissed and bitten her neck, placed his essence inside her.
    When William raised his head and grinned a huge, feral grin, reminding her so strongly of the wolf he was, she smiled back. She hadn’t dreamed a thing—she just didn’t yet understand the significance of that kiss.
    “William, what was that? There was something in that…kiss…”
    William laughed and patted her cheek. “Why, Josephine, I just marked you as mine.”
    With such a bizarre comment as his explanation, Josephine now had more questions arising from that one sentence than the whole previous ten minutes. William cut off her curiosity by climbing off the bed.
    “Are you hungry? Sophie, my sister-in-law, was ravenous by this stage of her pregnancy. I swear she ate more than Art and I combined. Drove her nuts. We teased her that the baby had created all this extra room in her she was trying to fill, what with the huge belly she was carrying around. I swear if she could have managed it at the time she would have killed us all.”
    Josephine climbed out of the bed and shivered. Even with the flannel shirt the morning air was still brisk.
    “I don’t blame her. A woman is always touchy about her weight. If you tried carrying a watermelon around in your stomach for a while maybe you’d understand better. Not only is your body doing strange things to you, but also your hormones are totally out of whack. You suddenly feel not just awkward, but fat, ugly, and unbearably uncomfortable in your own skin. If you or your brothers start teasing me , I can promise a swift, painful retribution.”
    Lost in her search for her underwear, Josephine was surprised when William embraced her from behind.
    “I think you’re beautiful. Your skin glows, your hair shines. Your body is lush and so feminine it makes me ache with desire and emotion just to look at you. You’re still the witty, funny girl I met originally, and I think I’m the luckiest guy alive to have you here.”
    Kissing her gently, sweetly, Josephine felt herself melting against him. Finally pulling back, she smiled.
    “I’m hungry. What do you have to eat? Go cook up a storm while I get dressed.”
    Licking her lips at the sexy body leaving the room, Josephine tried not to think of the conversation she would soon need to have with William. He undoubtedly wanted all the details of why she had left, why she had returned, and everything else in between.
    A part of her brain knew, now that he had shared his secrets with her, he would want her to play fair and share all her secrets with him.
    Running her hands through her hair, she took a deep breath and sighed. There was no time like the present, and it wasn’t like her to run. She needed to face this all sooner or later, so she might as well bite the bullet finally and make it now.
    Pulling on her clothes and running her brush quickly through her hair, five minutes later she was leaving the sanctity of the bedroom. Breakfast first , she promised herself, then some truthful explanations.

Chapter Seven
     
    William watched Josephine moan in ecstasy as she ate another mouthful of the omelet. The nearly sensual delight she took in eating surprised him. He knew she wasn’t putting on an act, as she had eaten three omelets with barely a pause for breath, and now finally she lingered over this one, her fourth.
    Finishing the toast, and refilling her glass of juice, he seated himself next to her with a huge grin.
    “I never realized you took such sensual delight in eating.”
    “I never realized you cook like a five-star gourmet chef,” she countered.
    William grinned and placed a slow, delicate kiss on the nape of her neck. He nibbled at the sensitive spot he’d found the night before.
    “If you come back to the house with me, I can whip up even more delicious meals. I leave a lot of my stuff up there simply because I rarely have the time to cook