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She stuck out her tongue, and he met it with his own. For a while, they danced that way, tongues swiping across each other, curling together without their lips touching. Kotori seemed to grow tired of that game, though, because he reached behind her head and drove her nearer. His mouth crushed hers in a desperate kiss, forcing her to tilt it back farther. When his hand came up her side and he pinched hard at her nipple, she cried out in ecstasy. His roughness turned her on like she never imagined such a thing would. He rolled the tiny bud between his fingers and tugged at it. A flood of cream wet her panties, and he growled low in his throat. Shiya was ready right there to take off her clothes and let him have it all, but Kotori pushed her away.
She stared at him, his big chest rising and falling with his harsh breathing. He ran a hand through the midnight curls, disordering them in the sexiest way she’d ever seen. She tucked her hands into her jacket pockets.
“We should keep moving, or you’ll get cold,” he said.
The words were almost angry, and she wondered what had gone wrong.
After some time, they fell into conversation again.
“What’s your other sister’s name? Is she also named after a tree?”
Shiya laughed. “No, but my mother kept the S theme. My middle sister’s name is Shae.”
“And your brother has an S name?”
“No, he was before the crazy naming scheme took hold.” She laughed. “He’s Kasen, and I can’t imagine him soft enough to fall in line with matching names.”
After she’d blurted out all their names, she wondered if it was wise. If Kotori had heard of the Keith hunters, he might put two and two together. Kasen was her father’s name, and her brother a junior. Kasen Keith wasn’t a common moniker by any means. While she worried over it, Kotori walked behind her in silence. She stumbled over a plank, and he caught her around the waist.
“I think we’ve gone far enough,” he said. “The hike down the mountain is two hours. It might be better for you to take the tram back.”
From the look of Kotori’s powerful legs, she knew he would have no trouble, but as a city girl, hiking wasn’t normally her thing, not in chilly weather anyway. She had enjoyed herself and told him so.
“You miss Birk?”
She smiled. “A little. Hey, can we visit his clinic and see him at work?”
Kotori hesitated, and she wondered if they had something to hide there. That might be good to look into. The correct procedure was to pass the info on to her brother or one of the other leaders if he wasn’t available, but she hesitated. Things were going well between her and the guys, and that had nothing to do with her job. Maybe she needed to face the reality of the situation, but not yet.
“Okay, why not?” he agreed, and they started back.
When they were in the Bronco, Kotori called Birk, and left a message when he didn’t answer. She noted the crease between his brows, but he didn’t deny her. Tempted to tell him never mind since they didn’t get the okay from Birk, she clamped her lips together. Her dad and Kasen would rake her over the coals if she let this opportunity pass her by. Just think, what would Shae do? Her confident and capable sister would reach over and put a hand on Kotori’s thigh, giving him ideas of future pleasure, and the guy would let her lead him around by the nose, without her giving up the goodies. How the heck did one do that? Not that she wanted to hold the goodies back, of course.
The small building at the end of a side street seemed unassuming, yet cute, when they arrived. Where the slanted blue tiled roof met the eggshell wall, a sign read Rider Veterinary Hospital.
She turned to Kotori. “Wow, I thought it was a clinic, and he owns it?”
Kotori shrugged, and they walked inside. A receptionist greeted them with a smile, but when she saw Kotori, her face almost glowed. “Good morning, Kotori. Good to see you.”
“Shannon,” he murmured without enthusiasm. Shiya wondered if there was history there, but didn’t say anything.
“We’re here to see Dr. Rider. Is he in?”
Shannon’s inquisitive gaze turned to her, but it swung back to Kotori as if she looked for an explanation from him. Before Kotori could say anything further, a door beside the desk opened, and a beautiful blonde stepped through. Behind her Birk appeared. The woman laid a hand on Birk’s arm, talking to him in a low tone. From her flustered and eager bearing, she wanted Birk, and nothing in his reaction told Shiya the feeling wasn’t mutual.
Shiya was too pissed off. She forgot to look around to see if she could pick up clues. She forced her gaze off Birk and scanned the room. Several people waited with pets in the reception area—dogs, cats, even birds, but no unusual animals. Maybe there was another location for the more exotic creatures native to Alaska.
Birk ended his conversation with the woman when a technician walked up with a caged cat. Birk escorted the woman closer to where they stood. “Let’s try to avoid any more fights with porcupines, okay?”
Shiya winced. Poor kitty.
“Thanks, Dr. Rider.” The woman pushed a card into his hand. “Give me a call anytime.”
No the bitch didn’t.
Shiya realized she must have stepped forward, when Kotori’s hand flattened on her belly. His lips touched her ear. “Easy, little tigress. You can punish him later.”
She smacked his hand away, but his words calmed her and had her trying to suppress a smile. Oh yeah, she would. Then she considered the ridiculousness of the situation. Birk would freely share her with Kotori, but she got an attitude when he considered another woman. Still, he agreed to share. She didn’t, and they hadn’t even slept together yet.
