Brink Of Passion (Alpine Woods Shifters) by Sondrae Bennett Page B

down.
    He’d brought her bacon. Not because she asked him to, or because she was being sweet. Truth be told, she’d been a right bitch. Mornings were never her best time of day, despite her job requiring an early start.
    Laurie opened her eyes and met Max’s gaze, trying to channel all of her appreciation into that one look.
    “It seemed the best way to end the argument before it started,” he said, sounding embarrassed. “No need to use your eyes, it’s already yours.”
    “Use my eyes?” What did that mean?
    “Nevermind. Just eat your bacon while I go grab something to eat.” Max walked to the buffet and began piling his plate with food. His shirt stretched over his broad shoulders as he reached for a bagel. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him. Her gaze dipped to his butt. His pants clung to his hips and glutes before widening over his thigh and calves. He turned then, and she caught a glimpse of the bulge in his pants. Would it be bad if they missed a bit of the conference and went back to their hotel room for a quickie?
    “I take it back. That one is a keeper,” Danny said next to her.
    “I think he just might be.”
    “He got you bacon when there was none.”
    “He did indeed.”
    “You going to share?”
    Laurie grabbed the box and brought it close to her body, snarling in her brother’s direction.
    “Oh, come on. You can’t possibly eat all that by yourself.”
    Laurie looked down at the large pile of bacon. She totally could eat all of this by herself. But she had already eaten two rather large helpings at the buffet.
    She looked back at her brother. Part of her, the petty part, was still angry about the day before. Most of the time, she tried not to listen to that part of her, even though sometimes it was too loud to drown out with reason.
    “Fine. But you have to thank Max when he gets back.”
    Danny, who’d been reaching for a piece, pulled his hand back.
    “I thought you said he was a keeper?”
    “No use letting him get too comfortable yet. There’s still the little matter of forcing you into a mating.” A growl rumbled from his throat.
    Laurie groaned, bending forward until her head clunked on the table. When she’d agreed to come along this weekend, albeit reluctantly, she hadn’t anticipated being such a hot mess. She never claimed to have a silver tongue, but she didn’t think her mouth would get her into this much trouble. Her tongue was like the bad kid at school that kept landing Laurie in detention.
    “I told you, he didn’t force me. You misunderstood.”
    “Then help me understand, because just thinking about it makes me mad.”
    Laurie looked up and caught a flash of Danny’s wolf enter his eyes.
    “I thought you were mad at me.” The words slipped out before she could stop it, drawn from the hurt she still carried from the day before.
    Danny tilted his head, considering her. Laurie drove the emotion from her expression, but knew she’d only been partially successful when Danny’s gaze softened.
    “No matter how mad I am, you’re still my sister. I love you. You can always count on me.” Danny sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Besides, you didn’t deserve that last night. I’m just wound up being apart from Amber.”
    Laurie considered his words. She’d known the first part, even if fighting with her family always left her feeling a little vulnerable. She considered herself a strong and independent woman, someone who could hold her own in any situation. But with someone she truly cared about, she tended to shut down in an argument.
    “I might have been a little bratty,” she finally admitted. If he could man up and admit fault, she supposed she could too.
    “A little?” He cocked an eyebrow at her, then huffed out a breath. “So you deserved some of it, but not all. I should never have said I couldn’t count on you. I know that if I ever needed you, no matter the circumstance, you’d come. And that works both ways.”
    Laurie