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crazy or because this is all a dream. Will I wake up and be back in my
little rented house with no job, a stack of bills, and the sheriff
knocking at the door? Margot admitted softly.
Instead of answering with words, Adam ran his hand down her
spine then pinched her left ass cheek hard.
 Ow! What was that for? Margot rolled away and sat up.
 I just wanted to prove that you re not sleeping. You are wide
awake. You are the life mate of a billionaire shape shifter who loves
you more today than he did yesterday and will love you even more
tomorrow. Why don t you go back to sleep? I need to go for a run,
and I ll wake you when I come back.
62 Cooper McKenzie
 Can I go with you? No, never mind, I ll never be able to keep
up. She looked at his long legs as he climbed from the bed.
 Especially since I ll be running on four feet and not two. If you
don t want to sleep, get dressed and go down and meet Mrs. Nicholas.
I ll meet you in the kitchen for breakfast in about an hour, okay? He
leaned over the bed and brushed a kiss over her lips.
Margot paused before saying,  Does Mrs. Nicholas know about
your furry half?
 Yes, she s been taking care of me since I made my first million.
She knows all my secrets. She also knows which ones to share and
which ones to forget. Love you, mate of mine, he said with a grin as
he opened the door to the hall.
In an instant, a big black wolf looked at her with Adam s blue-
green eyes. He gave a soft woof before trotting out the door and
disappearing down the hall.
Margot shook her head before lying back down, but she couldn t
go back to sleep. Once she was awake, she was up for the day.
Throwing back the covers, she rolled from the bed and began to
explore, for the first time in her life not self-conscious that she was
naked.
Forty minutes later, she headed down the stairs. She had explored
her new bedroom, finding her clothes neatly put away on one side of a
closet that was almost as big as the bedroom in her tiny house.
Adam s filled the other side, proving he did prefer jeans to suits.
After indulging in an extra long hot shower, which soothed the
muscle aches she d discovered after starting to move, she dressed in
her favorite jeans. The old, soft fabric always made her feel braver
than she was. The plum-colored sweater she wore with them did good
things for her too-pale complexion.
As she dried her hair she decided that she would need to spend
some of Adam s money on new clothes. A moment later, she grinned
at herself in the mirror. She really was a fairy tale princess who d
fallen for the handsome prince. Only in her case, the prince had the
The Billionaire s Mate 63
ability to turn into the big, black wolf.
Once she d cleaned up the bathroom, she made the bed then
wondered if she would get in trouble for cleaning up after herself.
She d never had a housekeeper before and didn t know what the
protocol was. After slipping on her sneakers, she grabbed her purse.
She felt silly carrying it with her around the house, but she also didn t
want to have to trek up and down the stairs a dozen times because
she d left something upstairs.
Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, someone began
pounding on the front door.
Looking around, she half expected an ancient liveried butler to
pop out of the woodwork and open the door. When no one appeared
and the knock sounded again, she shrugged. After draping her purse
over the post at the bottom of the banister, she went to answer it
herself.
Opening the door, she wasn t sure who was more surprised, her or
Leigh what s-her-name. Looking the younger woman up and down,
Margot had the suspicion she was up to something. Looking past her,
she noted it was another beautiful North Carolina day with deep blue
skies and comfortable temperatures. So why was the society bitch
wrapped up tight in an ankle-length black fur coat?
 Good morning. Can I help you? Margot vowed to remain
pleasant, at least until she couldn t any longer. Then all bets were off.
She just wished Adam would show up soon.
 What the hell are you doing here? Leigh growled as she pushed
Margot aside and stalked into the foyer.
Margot counted to ten as she closed the door.  I live here. Is there
something I can do for you?
She watched as the other woman swung around to stare daggers at
her.  You ve got to be kidding. He moved you in? Her words grew
louder and sharper.
She began to stalk back and forth across the foyer in her bright red
stiletto heels, muttering to herself. She cursed her mother for her not-
64 Cooper McKenzie
so-brilliant brain fart and her friends for goading her to follow
through with the insane idea.
Margot crossed her arms and leaned back against the front door, at
a loss as what else she should do.
With Adam out for his run and not sure if anyone else was within
shouting distance, she decided to let Leigh have her tirade and get it
out of her system before she told her to get the hell out.
Problem was, Leigh didn t calm down as she ranted. Instead she
grew more and more agitated. With each pass across the foyer, her
steps grew faster and her turns more dramatic. On the last turn, she
slipped on the marble tile, squealing as her feet flew out from under
her. Her coat flew open as she landed on her ass, exposing the skimpy
red teddy she wore underneath.
Not surprised, Margot strolled over.  Are you all right?
 No, I m not all right. I m supposed to be Adam s mate, not some
backstreet, no-class old tramp who can t even dress herself properly. I
can t believe he marked you and moved you in and everything. This
was supposed to be my house.
Margot was about to offer the woman a hand to help her up when
Leigh disappeared. In her place stood a tawny-brown wolf dressed in
a red teddy.
 Oh, shit, Margot swore as she began to back away from Leigh,
the crazy shape shifting bitch.
The wolf shook off the fur coat, then stepped out of the teddy and
began to stalk Margot across the foyer.
Adam, where the hell are you?
Margot continued backing away, moving around the perimeter of
the foyer in a circle until she reached the hallway that led to the
kitchen.
The wolf continued stalking her, making grumbling, growling
sounds as if continuing her earlier tirade. Margot watched the wolf
lick her lips and knew that she was dead meat. With that, panic set in,
and she turned to run. She d taken two steps when something big and
The Billionaire s Mate 65
furry hit her between the shoulders blades, pushing her to the floor.
 Adam! she screamed as she fell.
It felt like large pins pricked her back as the beast continued
snarling and snapping just above her head. A moment later, she heard
a deeper growl, and the weight holding her down was gone. Pushing
to her knees and then to her feet, Margot ran without glancing to the
fight going on behind her.
Run to the kitchen, sweet mate. I ll deal with Leigh.
Not sure if it really was Adam s voice or just her vivid
imagination at play, Margot did as instructed. She ran. Bursting into
the kitchen, she found Sam at the kitchen table as well as an older
woman whose appearance seemed to personify the word grandmother.
Her salt-and-pepper hair was pulled back into a low bun, and she
wore a brightly flowered chef s apron over her sweater and jeans.
 Stop them, she s going to kill him, she screamed as the sounds
of animals fighting filled the silence of the room.
She made it halfway across the room before her knees gave out.
Sam caught her and helped her to a chair across the room.
 Who is it, Margot? he asked.
 Leigh something or other. The bitch who attacked me at the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]