the general direction of his head.
“Stella? Yes, I hear you! No, I’m fine! Yes, I’m in Shifter Grove. How did you—”
Cannon watched as Kimberley’s expression went from mildly annoyed to surprised to completely blank, nodding her head as she listened to what sounded like a stream of screeching jabber coming from whoever was at the other end of the line.
“Yes, it is the Chicago Bluehawks. Yes, the rumors are true. How did I know? Um, I—”
“You’ve got friends in high places,” Cannon offered with a grin, tossing the covers off and fishing around for a new pair of underwear, perfectly aware that Kimberley was staring at him as he did so.
He hoped she liked what she saw now as much as she had the evening before.
“Someone gave me a call but I wanted to check it out myself. I’m coming back today. What? Stella, no, I’m coming back! You can’t... no, I mean okay, I get it,” Kimberley said, her tone flabbergasted now, sounding placating at best. “I’ll do it. Yeah, sure. Yes, two thousand words. Fine. Bye.”
Cannon looked at her with a flicker of questioning in his bright blue eyes as Kimberley closed the call and sent her phone bouncing over the bed with a dull thud as it finally stopped on one of the messed-up pillows. Her brows were knit together now and she looked as far as she possibly could from the smiling, beaming beauty he’d made purr in his arms last night.
“What’s going on, baby?” Cannon asked, stepping up to her and stringing his arms around her waist before she could bat him away.
“I’m not your baby,” she said with a frustrated sigh, though she dropped her forehead against his shoulder and he tightened his grip around her as she seemed to contemplate her fantastically questionable luck lately.
“I didn’t hear any objections last night,” he said with a chuckle.
“Well, drunk Kimberley doesn’t know what she’s talking or not talking about,” she grumbled softly, banging her head repeatedly against his shoulder until he put a hand to her chin and tilted it to look up at him.
“You weren’t drunk and neither was I. No excuses, Kimberley. Now, what’s going on?”
Kimberley gave him a look that could end up with him getting smacked across the face, pushed back on the bed and straddled, or simply ignored—he could never tell with that woman and the unpredictable nature he had seen far more than he cared to admit. This time, she simply softly slid out of their embrace, grabbing for her panties and pulling them on as she shook her head again.
“So apparently, everyone knows that you guys are in Shifter Grove now. And just my luck, this is big news. The Shifter Grove Shovelers… I swear, you might as well have called yourselves the Shifter Grove Shifters if you wanted to be ridiculous.”
“Maybe we will,” he offered with a toothy grin, garnering him another half-hearted glare, along with a twitch of her lips. “You’re the PR expert here, I’m at your mercy. But if we’re big news, does that mean you’re staying?”
He watched her straighten up again, loving the way the shirt draped over her body and even more the quirky, snarly look she gave. It made him want to toss her down on the bed again, but he refrained from letting himself get swept away like that again. He’d have to make up for lost time in other ways now too, not just by reminding both of them how good they were together in bed.
Good? Try mind-blowing, he corrected himself silently.
“Looks like it,” Kimberley finally admitted, tossing her hands to the sky as she stomped out of the bedroom. “Because apparently this trip couldn’t get screwed up enough already!”
“Oh, there’s definitely been some screwing,” Cannon muttered, stalking out after her, not bothering to find another shirt.
They looked far better on Kimberley anyway. She disappeared into one of the two bathrooms with a toothbrush before he could catch her again, and with a shrug, he followed her lead. Five
“Stella? Yes, I hear you! No, I’m fine! Yes, I’m in Shifter Grove. How did you—”
Cannon watched as Kimberley’s expression went from mildly annoyed to surprised to completely blank, nodding her head as she listened to what sounded like a stream of screeching jabber coming from whoever was at the other end of the line.
“Yes, it is the Chicago Bluehawks. Yes, the rumors are true. How did I know? Um, I—”
“You’ve got friends in high places,” Cannon offered with a grin, tossing the covers off and fishing around for a new pair of underwear, perfectly aware that Kimberley was staring at him as he did so.
He hoped she liked what she saw now as much as she had the evening before.
“Someone gave me a call but I wanted to check it out myself. I’m coming back today. What? Stella, no, I’m coming back! You can’t... no, I mean okay, I get it,” Kimberley said, her tone flabbergasted now, sounding placating at best. “I’ll do it. Yeah, sure. Yes, two thousand words. Fine. Bye.”
Cannon looked at her with a flicker of questioning in his bright blue eyes as Kimberley closed the call and sent her phone bouncing over the bed with a dull thud as it finally stopped on one of the messed-up pillows. Her brows were knit together now and she looked as far as she possibly could from the smiling, beaming beauty he’d made purr in his arms last night.
“What’s going on, baby?” Cannon asked, stepping up to her and stringing his arms around her waist before she could bat him away.
“I’m not your baby,” she said with a frustrated sigh, though she dropped her forehead against his shoulder and he tightened his grip around her as she seemed to contemplate her fantastically questionable luck lately.
“I didn’t hear any objections last night,” he said with a chuckle.
“Well, drunk Kimberley doesn’t know what she’s talking or not talking about,” she grumbled softly, banging her head repeatedly against his shoulder until he put a hand to her chin and tilted it to look up at him.
“You weren’t drunk and neither was I. No excuses, Kimberley. Now, what’s going on?”
Kimberley gave him a look that could end up with him getting smacked across the face, pushed back on the bed and straddled, or simply ignored—he could never tell with that woman and the unpredictable nature he had seen far more than he cared to admit. This time, she simply softly slid out of their embrace, grabbing for her panties and pulling them on as she shook her head again.
“So apparently, everyone knows that you guys are in Shifter Grove now. And just my luck, this is big news. The Shifter Grove Shovelers… I swear, you might as well have called yourselves the Shifter Grove Shifters if you wanted to be ridiculous.”
“Maybe we will,” he offered with a toothy grin, garnering him another half-hearted glare, along with a twitch of her lips. “You’re the PR expert here, I’m at your mercy. But if we’re big news, does that mean you’re staying?”
He watched her straighten up again, loving the way the shirt draped over her body and even more the quirky, snarly look she gave. It made him want to toss her down on the bed again, but he refrained from letting himself get swept away like that again. He’d have to make up for lost time in other ways now too, not just by reminding both of them how good they were together in bed.
Good? Try mind-blowing, he corrected himself silently.
“Looks like it,” Kimberley finally admitted, tossing her hands to the sky as she stomped out of the bedroom. “Because apparently this trip couldn’t get screwed up enough already!”
“Oh, there’s definitely been some screwing,” Cannon muttered, stalking out after her, not bothering to find another shirt.
They looked far better on Kimberley anyway. She disappeared into one of the two bathrooms with a toothbrush before he could catch her again, and with a shrug, he followed her lead. Five
Similar Books
