Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Sheriff Hudson
Mundane—that's what my life was before Kindred Cane came bursting into it, full of sweetness and a whole lot of glitter. I'd taken the job as sheriff of New Hope, retiring from being a ranger to be near her. I needed her warmth in ways I couldn't begin to fathom.
I lived in a world full of darkness for so long; now it’s like seeing light every time I lay eyes on her. I wake up and go to bed thinking about a future with her. She drives me nuts but in the best possible way.
Too bad I don't know anything about the opposite sex. I went from military school straight into the Army. Now I'm the sheriff of a small town she all but runs. My words come out in grunts and growls, always ticking her off in one way or another. But I find that I rather enjoy riling her up.
Kindred may think her antics deter me, but I only see it as foreplay.
Kindred
Growing up in a town full of love, I've been waiting for the day when I'd find mine. Lucky for me, my big brother brought him right to my doorstep. As soon as I saw him, all of me lit up like a Christmas tree, and I knew the giant, surly man was mine. But when he opened his mouth, only grunts and growls tumbled out. I seem to be the only one on the receiving end of them.
He chats up the librarians and all the ladies in the knitting club just fine. Women almost slip on the ice turning to check him out when he walks by. Trust me, I’ve seen it with my own eyes; how could I not when every time I turn around, he’s always there?
If I didn’t know better, I would think he was stalking me. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I know he’s only looking out for me out of duty.
But when a real stalker or maybe two show up, Hudson turns into more than my shadow. He’s demanding I sleep in his bed, and those grunts and growls have turned into dirty talk. This man's filthy mouth is the best hidden treasure I have ever found in my life.
Now I’m not sure which one of us is going to end up on the naughty list, but I’m going to enjoy finding out
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
SHERIFF HUDSON
Who knew glitter could be such a pain in the ass to get off you? I’ve now taken two showers since my last glitter incident. Yes, by "last," I mean it wasn’t the first time I had been assaulted by the sparkly substance. At this rate, I don’t think it’s going to be the last, either.
It should have pissed me off. In the last week, Kindred Cane has hit me with glitter twice. She is always finding places to put it. I think she gets off on thinking it pisses me off. Kindred is constantly trying to get a rise out of me.
That’s why I never let on how much I enjoy it. I’m starting to see her glitter attacks as her own personal mark on me. It’s her way of claiming me. I’m here for it. She can douse me in it night and day if that’s her way of making me hers. Hell, she’s been mine since the moment I laid eyes on her. She’s just not ready to admit it yet. If I told her any of this, it would piss her off, so I won't because I seem to be able to do that without so much as opening my mouth.
The thing is, there are all the guys out there, and I know she claimed my ass a long time ago. She’s stubborn, but I’m a patient man. Even though it's wearing thin lately when it comes to her.
I’ll never forget that first Christmas her brother Ethan practically dragged me to the small Christmas-themed town of New Hope, and I met her for the first time.
In the world of darkness I’ve always lived in, it was like seeing light when I laid my eyes on her. Kindred is everything and a whole lot more when you think of a small-town girl or, hell, the girl next door. I didn’t think that shit was real.
She is full of life and passion in everything she does. There is this sweetness that floats around her that you can almost taste. That is until you piss her off. Then she’s all fire and will scorch the earth in her revenge. I thoroughly enjoy both sides of my girl.
I grab the towel and run it through my short dark hair to dry it quickly before tossing it into the laundry basket. I didn't get much sleep last night with all that went down at the town's holiday party.
I haven't ever needed much sleep. I'm not sure if it's a skill set from my time as a Ranger or from always being on edge when I was a kid, never knowing when my next beating would be coming.
Those days are gone. I made sure of that. I’m no longer that small boy you could hit and he didn’t swing back. My father learned that real quick once puberty hit. He wasn’t so tough when he was dealing with someone his own size.
He thought sending me off to a private military school would strike fear into me. It had to be private; otherwise, that wouldn’t look so nice to the people around him. My father prettied it up in his own way, telling people I wanted a career in the Air Force one day.
As much as I enjoyed the school he was so sure I would hate, I wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. So I did the thing that would piss him off instead after graduation and entered the Army.
My father George was all about appearances. Scared that the world might get a look at the real man behind the mask. All the military school did was make me bigger and stronger. For a man as wealthy as he was, he sure as shit wasn’t that smart, but I’m sure some of his ideas came to him in one of his drunken-fueled rages.
Thankfully, he was dead before I became a Ranger. I didn't want him trying to take credit for any part of me, and he would have tried to. Becoming a Ranger changed my whole life, putting me straight on a path to Kindred.
I rub my hand down the scar on my right pec, a piece of glitter stuck on it. I smirk. See, that's Kindred, taking something dark and trying to add light to it. Even when she doesn't know she is.
George made sure to only hit where no one would be able to see. How fucked is it that I carry more scars from growing up in his home than I do from my time in the Army or as a Ranger?
I flip off the light in the bathroom as I head for my closet to get dressed for the day. I still have a shit ton of paperwork to get done after last light. I don’t bother with my sheriff’s uniform. It isn’t required as long as the badge is noticeable.