Page 17 of Knot What I Expected

Or how I know.

And I intend to keep it that way.

That’s my secret to keep, and there’s sort of an unspoken agreement among supernaturals when it comes to shit like this.

Don’t ask.

Don’t tell.

Don’t expose someone else’s secrets unless you want yours dragged into the light too.

So Wreck doesn’t know that I know he can turn into a massive fucking Bear.

And I don’t plan on telling him.

The first few times I met him, I thought he might actually eat someone. Then he mated Gia.

Now? Big fucking teddy bear.

Well. With Gia, he is.

The other day, some guy at the market looked at her ass for approximately two seconds too long, and I watched Wreck’s eyes change while a growl rolled out of him that made three people abandon the produce section.

So maybe teddy bear is stretching it.

Psychotic teddy bear?

Yeah. That works.

I smile despite myself.

Gia loves him.

You can see it. More importantly? He loves her.

Not regular love either.

Not the kind I’ve known.

It’s consuming. Instinctive. Almost frightening in its intensity.

And God help me, there’s a part of me that’s jealous. I’ll never admit it out loud, though.

Wreck watches Gia like the world begins and ends wherever she happens to be standing.

I often catch myself wondering what that would feel like.

Then I remind myself I’m Gabriella Santos.

Thirty-something. Single mother. Waitress.

Owner of a bank account that occasionally dips low enough to give me heart palpitations.

And beneath my skin—no.

I shut that thought down immediately.

My skin prickles again.