Free The Tiger's Reluctant Mate: BBW Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Standalone (Hunky Shifters Book 2) by Ashley Hunter

need to send off are at my place."
    This wasn't right. Ryan didn't want her to go. Something was bound to happen. But he couldn't leave her cooped up and he couldn't get the papers, as he didn't know what she was looking for. He sighed.
    "Okay. But be careful."
    Julie slipped out of his arms and pick up his robe from the floor, which he divested of the morning before without thinking. She put it on and went to the door. Ryan stopped her before she left.
    "Come back quickly. I have something to talk to you about."
    While she didn't seem to mind about him being a shifter, Julie deserved to know the truth. And he would do it tonight. Julie looked at him and smiled.
    "I will."
    She blew him a kiss and left. Ryan waited until he heard his front door close and then leapt out of bed, hurrying to his wardrobe.
    There was no way he was letting Julie go home on her own. Not without him watching her back.
    #

 
     
     
     
     
    Julie was on a high as she drove home. Last night couldn't have gone better. While she had had a shock about her best friend and her boyfriend, she had also found out that her feelings were not in vain.
    Ryan did love her. Even though she didn't agree with the way he kept things from her, she knew he only did it because he loved her and didn't want to see her hurt.
    Maybe she had been rash on believing working for him was a bad idea. It was feeling like the best idea in the world now.
    It felt strange entering her house after three and a half weeks away. But everything looked in its place. In fact, it looked tidier than she remembered. Walking through the house, she saw that her carpeted had been vacuumed, her dishes had been put away and her clothes were out of the dryer.
    She found a note on her kitchen counter.
    "Ryan wanted you to come home to a clean house. We didn't touch anything we shouldn't. Hope this is a good welcome home gift. Greg.'
    Julie smiled. Greg had always treated her kindly. The big man was a real softie and a sweetheart. Whatever woman - shifter or human - ended up with him would be a lucky woman.
    For the next half an hour, she focused on sorting out the paperwork that Charlie needed. She found the fax number and the relevant documents, feeding them into the fax. After that, she logged onto her account and saw the money Ryan had sent over.
    She transferred what was needed over to her brother's account, trying not to have a slack jaw at the amount of money she was looking at. Then she sent an email to Charlie to let him know she had sent everything over and the money would be in his account in a few hours.
    After all that, Julie was feeling like she needed a break. She had quickly dressed before she left and she felt like she needed a shower. Then Julie quickly dispelled that idea and decided on a bath. A good soak was needed more than a quick shower.
    The bath was heavenly. Julie settled in it and dozed as she let the steam fill up the room. Her apartment only had a shower so she had missed these. The bath was the only thing she had missed while she was at the apartment.
    She had taken her laptop and a few books, the apartment already stocked with DVDs and a big-screen TV. It had even included a Wii Fit plus DVD and balance board. She had spent a few evenings a week using it and it had helped to shift a few pounds.
    Perhaps she could ask Ryan if she could take it home with her.
    If he let her go. Julie had a feeling Ryan was going to ask her to stay. She wasn't adverse to that but she didn't want to rush things. That wasn't her style. But being with Ryan felt right. She liked being with him, being held by him.
    Maybe she would stay if he asked tonight.
    Suddenly, she was aware that she wasn't alone. Someone was in her house. Julie sat up, tensing as she realized that someone was in the doorway, the dim lighting in the bathroom hiding his face.
    For a moment she thought it was Ryan but he was the wrong size. Ducking down so he couldn't see her breasts, Julie stared at the intruder.
    "Ian?