Read Online Longing for Wolves (Shifter Country Wolves Book 5) by Roxie Noir - Free Book Online Page A

projects.
    Just nice, normal guys who have their shit together.
    She was still disappointed.
    “Come on,” she said. “I’ll show you.”

    Annika heard Greta laughing from down the hall, and the sound made her smile. She knocked on the door and stuck her head in.
    “I found Calder,” she said.
    Greta sighed.
    “All right, let him in,” she said. “Let’s see the damage.”
    Annika turned and looked at Calder in the hallway, where he leaned against the wall. He screamed disheveled sex appeal, even with no shoes, and Annika hated herself for it.
    “You’re in,” she said.
    “Thanks,” he said with a quick smile.
    Annika stepped back and Calder went through the door.
    “Jesus tap-dancing Christ, Calder,” Annika heard Greta say.
    She started to walk away, and then the door opened again and one of Greta’s bridesmaids poked her head out.
    “You want some champagne?” the girl asked. “We’ve got like ten bottles in here and the ceremony’s not for another two hours.”
    “I’m at work,” Annika pointed out.
    “You’re not at work for hours,” Greta called. “Come have a glass.”
    Annika shrugged, then went into the dressing room. She accepted a glass, then sat on a couch under a window, watching everything happen. Another bridesmaid sat next to her and introduced herself as Jessica.
    From the corner of her eye, Annika watched Ingrid deal with Calder. Calder kept looking at her, and Annika kept trying to pretend that she wasn’t watching him.
    “You at least showered, right?” Ingrid asked.
    “Yes, I showered,” Calder said.
    “Where were you?” she asked. “Michael said he had to pick you up at some cabin in the mountains.”
    “It’s a long story,” Calder said.
    “You have a hickey the size of Wyoming,” Ingrid said, her voice dropping.
    Calder’s face dropped, and inexplicably, Annika nearly laughed.
    “I do?”
    Ingrid stared at it, biting her lip and thinking for a moment.
    “I’ve got foundation,” she said at last. “Take your shirt off.”
    “But there’s ladies around,” Calder said.
    The look she gave him could have cut glass, and Calder obediently took off his jacket, shirt, and undershirt.
    Annika stared pointedly at the floor, sipping at her champagne.
    “So,” she said to Jessica. “What do you do?”
    “I teach high school math,” Jessica said. She also seemed to be pointedly looking at the floor. “Mostly algebra and pre-calc, though sometimes the other stuff. You?”
    “I own a bakery,” Annika said.
    She sneaked a peek at Calder.
    The man had abs for days .
    “You made the cake!” Jessica said. “Greta raves about your baking.”
    “Thanks!” said Annika.
    Another sneak peek.
    He was jacked , and just standing there as Ingrid dabbed concealer onto his neck.
    “Did you fuck a vacuum cleaner?” Annika could hear her mutter.
    Calder didn’t answer, and Annika looked back at the floor.
    “He’s a look, don’t touch, kind of situation,” Jessica confided.
    “Calder?” Annika asked.
    She peeked again, but this time he was looking, so she looked away.
    Jessica nodded.
    “I heard,” Annika said.
    “The looking is good, though,” Jessica said.
    “No kidding,” said Annika. “It’s like a bad cliché: the brother who shows up hungover to the wedding, all devil-may-care.”
    “I think he even rides a motorcycle,” said Jessica.
    Annika laughed.
    “Of course he does,” she said, feeling a little better about everything.
    “I think one of the men has your shoes,” Ingrid was saying to Calder, still dabbing away. “After you left them in the parking lot.”
    “Got my phone, too?” Calder asked.
    “Probably,” said Ingrid. There was a long pause as she reviewed her handiwork. “It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough,” she said, capping the bottle. “You ever going to tell us where you went last night?”
    Calder didn’t say anything.
    “Or do we just have to guess?” she said quietly.
    “It’s better if you don’t,”