Safari Island Shifters: The Complete Collection(16)

“You know I’m thinking of leaving the island.” Chet didn’t mention that it would be sooner rather than later. He didn’t think Addison would want to stay on the island.

“I heard you were out with my new models,” Ward said. “Rumor has it you ran off from the show with the little blonde hottie.”

Chet shrugged. “So?”

Ward put his cup down and leaned forward. “You know we’ve been talking about making the new resort a prime honeymoon destination.”

Chet groaned. “Come on. You’re not going to pitch this to me right now.”

“Just hear me out. This girl shoots so well. She’s just a vision in pictures. And you’re a very handsome man. The two of you would make a great commercial for the island.”

“Sure. Of course we would. First, I have to get her to believe that she’s my mate. And then I’ll get right to work on convincing her to do more modeling for you. That’s exactly what she’s looking to do.”

“If I remember right, she has no real job yet. She has a college degree and a shitty part-time job at a grocery store.”

“Sounds about right. But that doesn’t mean she wants to live on the island. There are no jobs for her here.”

“Oh, but there are.” Ward leaned back in his seat, satisfied. “She’d have a ready-made job here with Safari Island. We like to keep things in the family here. What better place to raise a family than the most fun place on Earth? We have a great school in Safari Town, too.”

Chet stood up. “I’m going to be late for my first tour. I’ll talk to you later.”

“You sure will,” Ward called after him.

It was a very attractive offer. Safari Town was getting more family-friendly by the day. It was hard to get good veterinarians and doctors to join the staff without good schools and the other amenities their families would need. While the majority of the staff was single, the tides were turning—but that didn’t mean Addison would go for it. That was a lot to ask of a woman.

He would take it one step at a time. First, he had to convince her to stay with him, or at least date him long distance. He’d worry about the rest later.





Eight


“Breakfast.”

Addison set the tray down over Lily’s legs in bed, then she climbed in next to her friend and took her plate off the cart. She’d ordered every breakfast item they made. Lily loved breakfast in bed and wouldn’t be able to stay mad much longer. Most of her anger was gone as soon as they got away from the twins, but Addison still felt bad. She shouldn’t have left Lily without at least telling her first.

“Now you like Chet,” Lily said. “You hated him, but now magically you like him.”

“Yup.”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “So, how good was the sex?”

“We didn’t…I mean, I didn’t do anything. Per se.”

“Get out.” Lily shoved Addison in the arm, almost upending the tray over her lap and Addison’s plate. “You dirty girl. Nice job, lady. At least one of us will get lucky this trip.”

“Want to come with us to the bar in Safari Town tonight? I told Chet we’d meet him. It’s supposed to be a blast.”

“Will the twins be there?”

“They won’t be coming with us.”

“I’m in, then.” Lily hummed as she cut up her food. “But seriously, you changed on a dime. You’d think you were his mate or something.”

Addison laughed. “What?”

“Yeah, you know about shifter mates, right?”

“Uh, vaguely. They mate for life and basically know their true mate on sight.”

“Basically. Except it’s not on sight, really. The shifter will have an inkling, but not until they kiss their mate do they know for sure, usually. It’s all very romantic.”

“I guess. But isn’t that shifters only?”

“Oh, no. It happens to humans too. You can always tell too. The guys are all *-whipped once they get mated with a shifter female and the ladies go all gaga. Just like you with Chet now.”

“Not like me and Chet. He’s just a nice guy I feel comfortable around.”

Lily waved her fork around excitedly. “But less than twenty-four hours ago, you thought he was a meat-heated pig. I bet you’re his mate. This is so amazing. First I win this trip, and now you’re mated to a rhino. He was right, you do love him. I bet you guys can get a cheap wedding package here since he works for the company.”

“No talking about marriage. We just met. I’m not into him like that.”

Lily bounced on the bed. “I can’t wait to start planning the wedding. This is going to be so cool. An island wedding. Your colors can be tropics-inspired.”

Addison just laughed it off and let Lily continue her imaginary wedding planning, but it stayed on her mind all day. She had a great time at Safari Park, but she was distracted. Could she be Chet’s mate? This kind of change of heart was rare for her. She didn’t hold grudges, but she didn’t change her opinion of people easily. Chet hadn’t done much besides give her a mind-blowing orgasm.

When they got back to the bungalow, after she’d showered, she looked up human/shifter couples on the internet. After fifteen minutes of reading, she was properly freaked out.