Read The Wolf's Mate Book 4: Michael & Shyne for Free Online Page B

serious thing for Michael.
    “Do you think he’s gay?”  She sat back with a sigh and took a sip of a sweet white zin.  She swore she wasn’t going to check for a whole five minutes.
    “I don’t know.  Anything’s possible.”
    “Do you suppose that even if he is gay that he might not be out of the closet because of the ultra-male way that firefighters can be?”  She peeked at him through slit eyes.  He leaned his head on his upturned hand, his elbow planted at the back of the couch.
    “You could field him out for me.”
    Now she really did laugh.  Opening her eyes all the way, she said, “I will not confirm someone’s homosexuality for you.  And besides, if he’s not gay then I’m going to have to be mean to him, because I’m into Michael.  At any rate, I don’t date firefighters.”
    Scoffing, Trav took a sip of wine.  “Just because Brett was a dick doesn’t mean that all firefighters love the job more than they love their significant others.”
    “He didn’t love the job more; he loved the money that came with working for two houses more.”
    “I suppose you could do a lot worse than a small-town mechanic.”  He made a gesture with his head toward her laptop, and there in bold was a brand new email.  She squealed and slapped her wine glass down hard enough on the coffee table that some of the wine spilled across the scattered magazines.
    From:  Michael Garrett
    Subject:  Tomorrow
    Shyne, although I have every confidence in your navigational skills, I think it would be easier if we met at the bar in Allen.  You can leave your car there, and I’ll drive you to the lake.  Getting to Allen is easy, but the back roads to the lake can be tricky, and I’d hate for you to miss all the fun.  I’ve included a link to a map from Austin to the bar, and my cell number is below.  Please call me if anything comes up.  I’ll be waiting for you in the parking lot at 5:30.  You don’t need to bring anything except your beautiful smile.  And maybe a towel.  Drive safe.  Michael
    She read the email three times before her brain was convinced it was real.  Halle-fucking-lujah!  After doing a little happy dance with Trav and toasting what she hoped to be the start of something amazing, she crafted a carefully worded email back to Michael, entered his phone number into her cell and sat back to bask in the glow of waiting for tomorrow night.
    “You know what this means, right?” Trav said with a grin.  “You need a bikini.  We have to go shopping!”
    By the time she had cleaned her little apartment and got ready to go to the mall the next day, Trav was tapping his sandaled foot impatiently in the foyer between their apartments.  “Come on, sweetness. Let’s go find you something so sexy that wolf won’t know what hit him.”
    They skipped the department stores and went straight to the swimsuit store on the second floor of the mall.  Like a rainbow of debauchery, bathing suits hung from the walls in varying styles from simple one pieces to tiny scraps with thread holding them together.
    Right away she set the ground rules.  “No thongs, I don’t know him that well yet.  And nothing too indecent.  There might be kids there.”
    “Boo.”  He thrust his lip out.  “Fine, but I pick the color and style.”
    She trusted Trav’s sense of style more than anyone else.  He’d never steered her wrong yet, even if he did have rather expensive tastes for a guy that slung coffee all day.
    She flipped through the suits but knew her opinion only mildly mattered.  Shoving a handful of suits at her, he pushed her towards the open dressing room, and she went inside.  After stripping off all but her panties, she began to try them on.
    Too orange.
    Too leopard.
    Too tiny.
    I said no thongs!
    Standing in the open door, she popped her hip out and gave him what she hoped was a sultry smile.  “Yeah?” she asked.
    Although it looked ridiculous with her bikini panty hanging out, the sleek black