Cat Scratch Fever

Jodi Redford

Dedication

To my family, for being there for me always. And the readers who make it possible for me to keep doing what I love. Last, but never least, to Sasha, for being the best editor in the world.

Chapter One

Surely fate couldn’t be so big a bitch to throw her into the middle of a heat cycle when she was minutes away from facing off against the biggest jerk-off known to werekind? Hell, probably humankind too.

The unfortunate answer to that question sucker-punched Lilly Prescott as a giant wave of prickly warmth undulated through her. Damn it, perfect timing had never been her strong suit, but this was just plain pathetic. Knuckles cramping, she gripped the leather-wrapped steering wheel of her hybrid Ford Escape and tried to focus on anything besides the lusty ripples of pleasure spiraling through every cell in her body. She squirmed in her seat. The crotch of her silk thong pulled snug, intensifying the sensations. “Oh crap.”

The road leading to Morgan’s Ridge appeared. Gritting her teeth in fierce determination, she veered left onto the private road and bumped over the snow moguls not yet cleared by the plows. Thanks to the winter storm that’d blanketed most of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula earlier in the week, several inches of fresh powder filled the tire ruts indenting the thick crust of old snow.

The cabin wasn’t far—less than a mile. Damn it, she’d ridden out longer stretches than this before. The SUV bumped over another mogul, and the thong rubbed in a taunting glide across her clit.

“Shit, shit, shit.” No way would she last. She stomped on the brake, and the vehicle fishtailed toward the side of the road. The second the SUV slid to a stop, she rammed the gears into park and unhooked her seat belt. She fumbled with the buttons on her wool trousers, her decision to forgo a skirt in favor of appearing less feminine for her upcoming showdown suddenly a huge bonehead idea. Almost as moronic as forgetting to pack the herbal supplements that helped counterbalance her chaotic hormonal shifts.

A part of her couldn’t believe she was about to get busy with herself on a deserted road in the middle of the freakin’ Michigan wilderness. Talk about one of the lowest moments of her life. Yeesh. Buttons freed, she shimmied the trousers down slightly and slipped her thong to the side. Closing her eyes against the pathetic shamefulness she’d been reduced to, she slicked her fingers over her throbbing flesh. An instantaneous orgasm crashed over her. She bit her bottom lip, smothering her relieved groan. Before the quakes even faded to a pleasant glow, the hot, sexual flush roared back with a vengeance.

Oh bloody hell.

“Lamebrain mutt is walking in circles.” Ducking his head to avoid getting jabbed in the eye by a low-hanging pine bough, Dante Morgan continued tracking the paw prints stamped in the deep snow. If Chevy—his two-hundred-pound Great Dane—kept getting lost like this, he was strapping a GPS unit on the directionally challenged dog.

The paw prints led to a fallen fir tree. On the far side of the hollowed trunk, Chevy’s tracks continued, followed by several sets of smaller tracks. Red fox cubs. Visualizing Chevy fleeing a mob of the much smaller creatures, Dante grunted. “That’s my boy, the gutless wonder.”

Flipping up the collar of his Sherpa-lined jacket, he stepped over the tree, snapping the branches beneath the heels of his insulated boots. His breath puffed in front of his face, visible proof of the lowering temps. Why the hell couldn’t Chevy decide to get lost in July or August? Or any other month that didn’t come with subzero windchill.

An arctic breeze ruffled through the pines, and Dante halted, sniffing the air. A feline was in the area. Not the standard domesticated kind possessing a collar and fluffy tail either. This was a were-cat—lynx. Or lynchat, to be more precise. He knew with all certainty he’d fingered the exact breed because the damn lynchats were a constant thorn in his side. Little surprise one of them would show up on his land. He had a good inkling which of the pain-in-the-furry-asses it was too. More than any of the others of her ilk, Lilly Prescott had elevated the art of bugging the shit out of him to a staggering level.

Grumbling, Dante stalked through the alley of pines. The scent spiking the air grew more pronounced, more…arousing. His steps faltered and saliva pooled in his mouth, his cock stiffening in interest.

Shit, maybe it wasn’t Lilly. No way in hell anyone that aggravating could smell this intoxicating. Oblivious to everything but the heady bouquet playing havoc with his supersensitive olfactory system, he edged toward the trees dotting the base of the hill. A tan SUV straddled the side of the road and a snowdrift. Vaporous exhaust billowed from the tailpipe—proof the vehicle hadn’t been abandoned.

Fuck. It was Lilly. He’d recognize that vehicle anywhere, since he made a practice of hoofing it in the opposite direction on the rare occasion he crossed its path. So why were his boots still crunching in the snow, drawing him closer to the SUV as if he were entranced?

He blamed it on her damn scent. Faced with that potent, alluring smell, there was no way he could resist. He slipped from the concealing pines and jumped the few feet to the road. Landing with predatory ease, he crouched low and eyed the idling vehicle.

A muffled shriek pierced the stillness, and his muscles tensed. What the fuck? It sounded like someone was getting tortured. Keeping low, he crept forward, staying out of range of the rearview and side mirrors. The brake lights flashed, and he froze. When the vehicle remained in place, he released his breath and moved in closer.

Not giving himself time to question the sanity of charging to the rescue of the one female responsible for a shitload of his headaches, he hunkered next to the side of the vehicle. Hoping he’d guesstimated the blind spots correctly, he lifted slightly and peered inside the window. No one in the backseat. He glanced toward the front. From this angle, he couldn’t determine who sat up there or what possible threat they provided. Ducking his head below the window line, he shuffled toward the driver’s side door.

A moan filtered through the window and squeezed like a fist around his still-rigid cock. He clenched his jaw. Christ, what kind of a perv popped a woody at the sound of another’s agony? Only the moan hadn’t seemed so much pained as…desperate. Needy.

His heart thumping wildly, he slowly lifted from his crouch and peeked inside the window. He went dead motionless at the sight greeting him. Lilly Prescott was reclined in the driver’s seat, her eyes clamped shut and one hand busy between her legs. Enthralled, he watched the frantic motion of her fingers.

A narrow strip of dark blonde fuzz arrowed low on her exposed pussy, pointing the way to treasures farther south. The delicious scent of her arousal clung heavy in his nostrils, and he battled the overwhelming urge to yank open the door and bury his face in her lap. He licked his lips when her index finger plunged inside her dripping pussy and she wiggled her ass against the seat.

Yeah, baby, stroke deep. You’re almost there. Shit, he was almost there. Two more seconds and he’d be coming right along with Lilly.

Out of nowhere, a massive weight slammed into Dante, tackling him to the ground. An exuberant woof blasted into his ear. Grunting, he wrestled with Chevy’s flailing paws and dodged a rough, wet swipe from the Great Dane’s lolling tongue. Dante’s gaze whipped to the SUV, and he spied Lilly’s wide blue eyes gaping at him in horror.

He struggled to his elbows, but before he reached a sitting position, the vehicle lurched forward, tires spinning. “Lilly, wait—”

The SUV gained traction and plowed on, pelting him with a shower of snow. By the time he managed to clear most of the cold, white powder from his face, the SUV’s taillights were distant red lights. Grimacing, he shot a look at the enormous dog rolling blissfully in the snow. “See, boy, this is why we stay clear of cats. They’re too damn prickly.” Even if they did smell like dessert.

Lilly didn’t slow down until she reached the cabin’s driveway. “I can’t believe that son of a bitch was peeping on me!”

Clearly Dante Morgan didn’t get the whole notion of privacy. Growling, she careened to a stop in front of her cabin’s small porch. After securing the parking brake, she jumped out and stomped to the front door. Fingers trembling from a combination of shock and fury, she fumbled the key into the lock. Kicking the majority of snow free of her suede boots, she trooped inside and flipped on the overhead light. She barely registered the cabin’s tidy appearance or the fresh citrus scent lingering from Melanie’s recent cleaning, and instead continued to fume.

How the hell was she going to face Dante now? Her plans of remaining cool and collected while she brokered for the millionth time for property that should rightfully belong to her had just gone up in smoke. “This is just freaking great.” She yanked her scarf off and tossed it on the leather club chair. Her white parka soon joined it.

She made it halfway across the main living area when the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony sounded. Pivoting, she stalked back to the chair and fished her cell phone from the parka’s deep pocket. She scanned the Caller ID before jabbing the talk button. “No need to send search and rescue, Kinsey, I made it up here fine.”

“I had no intention of doing any such thing.”

Lilly snorted at her sister’s innocent tone. “Who are you trying to kid? You have the fire and sheriff’s department on speed dial.”

“Lots of people do. It’s called being prepared.” Kinsey didn’t need to be in the room to deliver a proper chastisement.

“Sure, but most people don’t have the numbers for every single fire station in the damn state programmed into their phone.”

“You’re grouchier than usual. Something happen?”

Lilly bit back a soft sigh. Nothing snuck past Kinsey. Sometimes it really sucked being related to a shrink. “I had a run-in with Dante Morgan.”

A lengthy silence preceded Kinsey’s reply. “I knew I should have been the one to make the trip up there. You have no patience when it comes to Dante.”

“Yeah, well, this time it went way beyond stretching my patience.” Lilly’s grip tightened around the cell phone until it threatened to snap the device in two. “He’s a perverted peeping Tom. I’d report him to the sheriff if he weren’t related to the bastard.” That was the problem. In this neck of the woods, everyone was related to a damn Morgan.

“What happened?”

Keeping the graphic details to a minimum, Lilly filled her sister in on the incident.

It took a suspiciously long time for Kinsey to speak up. When she did, her voice sounded strained, as if she were having a hard time keeping her mirth reined in. “That must have been…um…embarrassing.”

“Yah think?” Lilly scowled. “And so help me, if the tiniest chuckle comes out of you, I’m hanging up.”

“Sis, I think you should talk this out. Leaving moments like that to fester will…” A smothered giggle trickled through the speaker.

Glaring, Lilly punched the End button and tossed the phone on top of her parka. Despite the relative coolness of the room, heat shivered across her skin. Damn it. The edginess was back full force. Of all the times to forget to pack her supplements. Hoping to track down a stray bottle somewhere in the cabin, she hurried into the small kitchen. Another flash of seductive warmth struck while she was rifling through the cupboards. Squeezing her thighs together, she tried riding it out, but the overwhelming sensation refused to be ignored.

Panting and sweating, she raced into the master bedroom. She struggled with her zipper, but before she even got a decent grip on the metal tab, an image of Dante Morgan’s annoyingly gorgeous face unexpectedly loomed onto her mental big screen. A warning tremble coursed through her clit seconds before an orgasm of magnificent proportions slammed into her. She cried out, her knees wobbling. Pinpricks of dazzling light swam in her vision as the intense waves shimmered throughout her body. She slumped on the end of the bed before her legs completely gave out.

Gasping for breath, she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Hard to say which was more disturbing—experiencing the most mind-blowing climax of her life without actually touching herself, or having it happen with Dante Morgan invading her head.

Chapter Two

Hope Falls—the closest thing resembling a town in this Hicksville, USA wilderness—consisted of a post office, a grocery store and a bowling alley with a bar attached. The one and only time Lilly had ventured inside the bar, she’d witnessed a couple of local boys going at each other with bowling pins, proving once and for all that a fifth of Jim Beam, a full moon and redneck werewolves were a recipe for disaster.

She coasted into the grocery store’s parking lot and took the first cleared parking space she came across. Winding her scarf tight, she dashed toward the sliding doors. Inside the store, the PA system still piped Christmas music. Someone needed to tell the manager it was the freakin’ end of January.

She yanked a shopping cart from the corral—hopefully not the one that’d reveal a squeaky, uncooperative wheel somewhere around aisle four—and made a beeline for the pharmacy. The selection of vitamins and herbal supplements was woefully inadequate, but she managed to find two bottles of black cohosh. It worked for hot flashes—hopefully it’d help with her damn hormones. Of course, her metabolism would easily burn through both bottles by the end of the week. If things went well, she’d be long gone by then, with the deed to sixty prime acres in hand.

This mission meant everything. She’d be contributing to the advancement of the Lynchat Foundation by single-handedly acquiring the property necessary for building their private retreat. Plus, Kinsey would be forced to eat crow and admit sometimes baby sisters knew a thing or two about wheeling and dealing. That alone was worth all those tense, unpleasant encounters with Dante Morgan.

Well, maybe not all of them.

Her cheeks burning, she recalled the unmistakable bulge tenting the fly of Dante’s jeans as he lay sprawled in the snow earlier. Great, heat was the last thing she needed her body manufacturing more of. She clutched the shopping cart’s handle and wheeled around the corner of the aisle. Her cart bumped noses with another cart exiting the canned-goods section.

“They should consider putting traffic signals in this place.” Lilly’s smile froze in place when the opposing cart’s owner leaned into view.

Dante Morgan propped an arm against the end rack of canned tomato sauce, his biceps appearing impossibly huge within the confines of his blue-and-white flannel shirt. His full, masculine lips lifted in a faint grin, bringing attention to the dimple barely discernable beneath his dark, neatly trimmed goatee. “What’s the matter, Lilly? Cat suddenly got your tongue?”

Like she hadn’t heard that one from him a few dozen times before. Digging deep to steady her nerves, she gave him her most haughty expression. “Using the same lame joke more than once is pathetically unimaginative.”

“Oh, I’ve got a ripe imagination. I just don’t waste it on useless small talk.” Dante’s gaze dipped, lingering on the slight thrust of her breasts under the baggy parka, before drifting lower. “Then again, there’re some things I don’t exactly have to imagine.”

Awareness, hot and dizzying, ricocheted through her. Yeah, she’d have to be blind not to acknowledge he was a gorgeous, sin-on-stick male, but she’d never really thought of him in a blatantly sexual way before today. Well…mostly not. The fact he was an egotistical, chauvinistic werewolf with a major alpha complex usually made it easy to overlook his limited charms—namely his hot bod.

So what made today different?

Hormones. Wrinkling her nose in self-disgust, she attempted to edge her cart past Dante’s. He stubbornly remained blocking her, and she shot him a glare. “Do you mind? I’d like to finish my shopping.”

His gaze flicked down to her cart. “You plan on staying long?”

She easily read between the lines. “What you mean is will I hound you to death while I’m here, and do you have any prayer of making a quick getaway? The answer is yes and no. Respectively.”

Irritation mixed with resignation in Dante’s dark eyes. “Don’t waste your breath. I have no intention of selling.”

“Would you stop being so bullheaded? Unloading sixty measly acres won’t kill you.” Cripes, the guy owned close to a thousand. How greedy could one person be?

His eyebrows slashed low. “No, but having a shitload of feminist lynchats invading my land will.”

“Is that your problem? You’re afraid of females?” Lilly knew she was needling the big bad wolf, but she couldn’t help herself.

Dante’s lips curled upward, revealing gleaming white incisors. “You’ve got it wrong, baby. I’m all about the ladies.”

The sight of that wicked, predatory grin almost did Lilly in. A tickle started low in her belly, and she grabbed the nearest bottle of black cohosh and wrestled the lid off. Ignoring Dante’s amused gaze, she popped several of the tablets in her mouth and gulped them down dry. She made a face when the god-awful taste didn’t immediately dissipate. “I’ll stop by your house after I drop off my groceries. We can discuss negotiations then.”

He rumbled a low growl. “We’re not negotiating anything.”

“Look, either you deal with me, or the two-hundred-plus lynchats who’ll descend on your property after I make a few well-placed calls.” Lilly cocked an eyebrow in challenge. “Choice is yours.”

A vein visibly throbbed in Dante’s forehead. “Be there by six, damn it.”

Dante slammed the sack of groceries on the kitchen counter, toppling the salt and pepper shakers in the process. He glanced down and caught Chevy’s eager expression. “Boy, you’ve got some nerve begging for treats after the stunt you pulled this morning.”

Chevy’s tail thumped.

“You really have no shame, do ya?” Snorting, Dante pulled the package of jerky from the sack and ripped it open. The loose floorboard outside the kitchen entrance creaked, and he turned as his cousin Shane sauntered inside the room.

“You talking to that mutt again? Think it’s a sign you need a wife.”

A grunt snuck from Dante. “Jesus, you’re as bad as my father with his unsubtle hints regarding Anna Gifford.” Just mentioning her name was enough to give him heartburn. Anna, eldest daughter of the Gifford pack’s leader, would love nothing more than to sink her claws into him and assert her queenly rights as top alpha bitch. He gave Shane a telling look. “Regardless, we both know as long as my father and Anna keep scaring the competition away, no way a female pack member is gonna touch me with a ten-foot pole.”

“The old man’s still trying to weasel the pack merger, eh?”

“Yep. Not gonna happen though. I’d sooner marry Satan’s daughter.” Dante indulged in a wry grimace. “Hell, what am I saying? Anna is Satan.”

“Amen to that.” Shane shook his head before straddling one of the barstools flanking the granite-topped kitchen island. He snagged an apple from the burlwood bowl and polished the fruit with the tail of his shirt. “Weatherman’s predicting a big storm this weekend. Interested in plowing with me and the crew?”

“Damn, I can’t. Got a meeting down state with my distributors first thing Saturday morning.” Morgan’s Wolf Premium Dog Foods was less than a month away from going global. Even while he was ecstatic over the growth of his company, the frequent trips he’d have to make to Ann Arbor were a whole other matter. Morgan’s Ridge was his home. His sanctuary. The one place where his father’s constant demands couldn’t penetrate. Most of the time.

“Your loss,” Shane said, breaking through Dante’s morose thoughts. “There’s nothing like freezing your balls off in subzero temps while shoveling three feet of snow.”

“Always my favorite pastime.” Dante pulled the remaining items from the grocery sack and lined them on the counter. Chevy’s nose nudged dangerously close to the rib eye wrapped inside the butcher paper, and Dante edged the steak toward safety.

“Grilling tonight? Looks like I stopped by just in time.”

“Sorry, no can do.” Dante ripped open the package of oranges and tumbled the fruit into the bowl so they could make neighborly with the apples. “Lilly Prescott is due to show up in less than an hour. Best if you’re outta here before then.” Didn’t need any witnesses if he gave in to his desire to strangle the pain-in-the-ass hellcat.

A strange gurgle popped from Shane. Dante looked up and noticed his cousin gaping at him.

“You’re having dinner with Lilly?”

The suggestion provoked Dante’s humorless laugh. “I’d rather give myself a root canal. Without Novocain.” He tracked Shane’s gaze to the rib eye resting on the counter. “That’s for me and Chevy. Lilly will only be here long enough to state her case for the thousandth time before I send her packing.” Maybe she’d listen this time and stay gone for good. Shit, a guy could hope.

“Why don’t you just sell the land? It’d keep Lilly and the rest of the lynchats off your back.”

Dante scowled. “Whose side you on?”

“Yours, you stubborn jackass.” Shane ducked when Dante lobbed an orange at his head. The fruit rolled on the tiled floor, and Shane lifted from the barstool with a chuckle. “I better scat before you start throwing cantaloupes or something.”

“Good idea.” Dante’s narrowed gaze centered on his cousin’s retreating back.

“Give Lilly a big ole wet kiss for me.” An obnoxious smooching noise shot from Shane.

Gritting his teeth, Dante eyed the bowl of oranges. Lobbing another was tempting—almost tempting as taking Shane up on his suggestion. Bad fucking idea. His lips didn’t need to be anywhere near Lilly’s mouth. Or any other part of her.

His cock stiffened when he recalled in Technicolor detail the one part of her body that’d been foremost in his thoughts for the past three hours. Without exerting much effort, he conjured the image of her wet, glistening pussy.

Jesus, it’d been too long since he’d gotten laid if he was obsessing about Lilly, of all people. Folding the grocery sack, he stalked into the pantry. After depositing the sack in the recycling bin, he grabbed Chevy’s chow bowl and scooped kibble from the bin. He drizzled gravy on top and left Chevy to gobble up the bounty.

The metallic thunk of the dog bowl banging against the baseboard provided a noisy backdrop as Dante stored the rib eye in the fridge and ambled to the woodstove. He ignited a block of fatwood and tossed a couple logs on the firebrick. Soon the earthy scent of wood smoke filled the room. Turning, he caught Chevy watching him with his big head cocked to the side. “Don’t give me that look. The fire’s not for atmosphere. It’s damn cold in here.”

Chevy’s curled lip resembled a mocking sneer. Grumbling beneath his breath at his astute and judgmental dog, Dante dropped in the chair fronting his workstation and booted his laptop. He pulled up the file with his most recent concoction and scanned the ingredient list for Chevy’s Chicken Chow. “What’d you think of the diced carrots I added to the last batch?”

A low groan snuck from Chevy before he hightailed it from the kitchen with a scurry of clicking claws.

“No carrots.” Dante deleted that item from the list. For the next twenty minutes he immersed himself in the monotonous chore of updating his recipe files. When the doorbell chimed, he actually jumped at the unexpected sound. Scraping back his chair, he strode across the kitchen and living room, stopping just long enough to nudge Chevy away from the front door. He swung it open and blinked at the sight of Lilly standing on the other side, swaddled from neck to mid-calf in an enormous, poofy silver coat. She reminded him of a Mylar balloon…or better yet, the Goodyear Blimp.

She stomped her feet on the porch, either out of impatience or lack of circulation. With Lilly, he was willing to bet on the former. She blew on her fingers and gave him a peevish look. “What’s with the surprised expression? You did say six, right?”

He glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s only ten till.”

One blonde eyebrow arched. “Look up anal retentive in the dictionary sometime. Might learn something.”

Gritting his teeth, he toed the door closer to the wall. “Fine, come in.”

“Your grudging hospitality leaves me all warm and fuzzy.”

“You’ve got a few things that leave me all warm and fuzzy too.” The words slipped free before he could lasso them.

Lilly jerked to a halt halfway across the threshold. Her icy blue stare pinned him in place. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Get in before all the hot air escapes.” He waited for her to make an appropriate crack and was slightly disappointed when she didn’t. Her sarcastic tongue was precisely the tool he needed to wipe the image of her tempting body parts out of his head.

She sailed past him, and he caught a whiff of sweet floral, underscored by the faintest hint of the intoxicating musk that’d short-circuited his brain earlier in the woods. His cock stiffened like a divining rod that’d struck pay dirt. He slammed the door shut, rattling the frame. Lilly turned, granting him another imperious lift of her eyebrow.

“Wind caught the door.” Smothering the urge to offer any further lame excuses, he stepped around her.

Fabric rustled behind him as Lilly removed her oversized coat. The imagination she’d accused him of not possessing kicked into overdrive as he pictured her dropping the garment to the floor and standing in his living room wearing nothing but stilettos and a smile.

On second thought, ditch the smile. A snarl was more Lilly’s style.

“I see you still have your Shetland pony.”

He turned and noticed Lilly eyeing Chevy warily. Oblivious of the reaction his enormous size elicited, Chevy continued snuffing Lilly’s ankle with loud, excited snorts. Dante recognized the signs. His dog was two seconds away from making Lilly’s leg his new girlfriend.

“Get your butt in the cage. Now.”

Looking slightly ashamed, Chevy skulked into the kitchen. Despite his annoyance, guilt niggled at Dante. Could he really blame the dog for his natural urges? Dante grimaced. Particularly since he’d been mighty tempted to hump Lilly himself—and not just her leg. Tightening his jaw, he held out a hand. “Here, I’ll hang your coat on the rack.”

Her shocked expression bugged the hell out of him. Christ, it wasn’t like he was some bad-mannered asshole. Yeah, but there were plenty of times you didn’t offer to take her coat, dickhead. He shook off his annoying inner voice. Hell, it shouldn’t be considered bad manners when someone showed up uninvited—like Lilly had insisted on doing in the past. She handed him the coat, and he walked to the antler rack near the front door and draped the garment over one of the points.

“Where do you want to do this?” she asked from behind him.

Something about her perfectly innocent question stirred up all sorts of wicked thoughts. He scrubbed a hand over his goatee. I need to get a fucking grip. “Kitchen.” He didn’t entirely trust Chevy to stay in his cage with the deliciously odiferous Lilly in such close proximity. Still, he trusted himself even less if they sat on the sofa.

Lilly sashayed ahead of him, and his gaze slid down the back of her white sweater, zeroing in on her heart-shaped ass. He knew the enticing sway of her hips wasn’t designed to make his mouth water—but day-um—he loved a female with curves. And Lilly had them in spades. Licking his lips, he followed her into the kitchen. She strode to the dining table and plopped in a chair.

“I’d like to get straight to business, if you don’t mind.” Lilly tucked one knee over the other and pinned him with a stare while he hunkered in the seat adjacent to her.

“Don’t mind at all. In fact, I’ll make it fast and crystal clear for you. I’m not selling.”

Her scowl slipped into place. “You know damn well the sixty acres rightfully belongs to my family.”

“Know what I think?” He leaned back in his seat and casually stacked his arms on his chest. “You’ve got a stick up your butt over the fact your grandfather didn’t know how to play a hand of poker. No one forced him to bet the land.”

Fire flashed in her eyes. “Maybe, but your father had no place egging my grandfather into doing it.”

No. But his father was a bastard that way. Any means to the end Foster Morgan wanted was fair game.

Lilly leaned into the table, drawing his gaze to her chest. “I’ve talked it over with my colleagues. We’re willing to raise our offer by fifty thousand dollars.”

Her words were a hollow drone inside his head. For the life of him, he couldn’t concentrate on anything but the soft breasts showcased above her stacked arms.

“Hello? Anyone home?” Lilly’s sarcasm sailed straight over him.

I wonder if her nipples are the same rosy pink as her—

An outraged gasp broke from Lilly, jarring him from his trance. He lifted his gaze and locked on her sizzling glare.

“Are you ogling my breasts?”

He saw no point in denying the obvious. “Yep.”

His admission seemed to rattle Lilly. It took her a minute to find her tongue. Once she did, her lips pinched together. “What sort of Neanderthal openly stares at a female’s breasts when she’s trying to conduct business with him?”

The kind who’s seen way more than your boobs and can’t get either out of his head. His jaw clenched at the reminder. “Lilly, I’m a male. It’s what we do.”

“You never did it before…” The unspoken part of her accusation hung heavy in the air.

“Honey, we both know the reason why. Don’t blame me because your pretty little sweet spot’s branded in my memory.”

Awareness, hot and thick, shimmered between them. She swallowed, and he tried not to imagine her throat muscles working the length of his cock. “First of all, don’t call me honey. Or sweet thang. Or sugar tits. And the various other sexist caveman comments that make me want to hurl. Secondly, I damn well will blame you.” She gave a pronounced tug on her sweater that did nothing to de-emphasize the tempting swells of her breasts. “You had no right to spy on me in a private moment.”

“I wasn’t spying. You were parked on a public road bordering my land. The scene looked suspicious, so I decided to check things out.” He deliberately omitted the part about charging to her rescue. Didn’t need her thinking he gave a damn.

“Exactly how long were you standing there checking things out?”

Long enough. Again, something she didn’t need to be apprised of. “Babe, I’m going to lay it out for you straight. You took the risk. If you don’t want to advertise an entertaining show, keep the self-lovin’ to the bedroom.”

Lilly’s chest lifted with a sharp intake of breath. Damn, was she trying to kill him?

“I wasn’t giving you a show. Furthermore, your logic is ridiculous.”

“It is what it is. Which happens to be right.”

Dante swore he detected steam funneling from the top of Lilly’s head. “Let me see if I’m clear on this. In your book, any private acts carried on outside the sanctity of the bedroom are fair game for prying eyes, even if uninvited?”

Of course he didn’t think that. “Yep.”

He expected her to argue. Or slap him. Storm out of his house, at the very least. Instead, she remained stubbornly planted in place. For several tense, awkward moments they glared each other down. Finally she averted her gaze and blew out a peeved breath. “The least you could do is apologize, you know.”

“For what?”

A dangerous growl crept from her throat. “For spying on me!”

“Aw shit. Are we back to that again?” He tossed up his arms. “Damn it, woman, I told you that wasn’t what I was fuckin’ doing.”

“You could have been a gentleman and left once you realized what was going on.”

Yeah, he could have. Too bad he wasn’t a gentleman. “Will it make you feel better if I apologize?”

She hesitated. “Probably not.”

Hell, he’d never understand the female race. “Then what’s the damn point of me saying it?” He tweaked the bridge of his nose. “It won’t miraculously change what happened. You did what you did, I saw what I saw. Let’s be adults about this and leave it be.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who was caught with their pants down.”

Shit and damnation. This argument was gonna be the death of him. “What do you want me to do? Drop my drawers so we’ll be even?”

She stared at him for a long moment before her lips curved upward in a cagey smile. “Okay.”

He blinked. “Okay what?”

She nodded toward his lap. “Unzip your jeans, wolfman. Time to settle the score.”

Chapter Three

Lilly tried without success to smother a grin as Dante fell off his chair and thudded flat on his gorgeous tush. His dark eyebrows slashing into a menacing V, he grasped the table’s edge and hauled himself upright. “Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?”

She tried a casual shrug before answering. “Not at all.”

Dante plowed his hands through his shaggy black hair. “You damn well are if you think I’m gonna whip my junk out and jack off in front of you.”

“Why, is there some kind of performance anxiety you’re dealing with? Or maybe you realize you’re wrong about the whole issue.”

Those whiskey-colored eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “What do you mean by performance anxiety?”

Of course he would fixate on that. Typical. “Some guys feel inadequate about the size of their…junk.” She offered a vague twirl of her fingers. “I’m just saying.”

His stare burned into her, hot enough to singe her eyebrows. “The size of my junk is fine. Better than fine.”

She gestured dismissively with her hand. “I’m sure it is. Probably gets mistaken daily for a bratwurst. Which makes those family picnics a bit dicey, eh?”

The expression on Dante’s face was too delicious for words. Want to see a pissed-off werewolf? Start baiting him about the size of his wiener.

His hand dropped to the worn buckle of his belt. “Ready? Or do you want to nuke some popcorn first before the show starts?”

Lilly blinked when the meaning behind his sarcasm registered. Holy crap. Never in a million years did she figure he’d call her bluff. “Um…no…I’m good. If you are.”

Dante’s lips curled, revealing the glint of white incisors again. “I’m going to leave that assessment for you to make, baby.”

Sweet mother of whiskers. A curl of heat flamed low in her belly, and she swallowed hard. “On second thought, we don’t have to do this now. I am kind of putting you on the spot.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

Easier said than done when her internal temperature just skyrocketed by a hundred degrees. “Really, Dante, it’s not—” Further protest stalled in her throat when he popped the hasp free on his buckle. Fascinated, she watched those strong, tanned fingers grasp the zipper and tug it down. One notch at a time. “Why are you moving so damn slow?”

“Impatient?”

“No, but I could have gone to a movie and filed my taxes in the amount of time it’s taking you to unzip.”

“Movie? Thought I was the only show interestin’ you at the moment.” His molasses drawl laid the tease on extra thick. Releasing his zipper, he stripped from his flannel shirt, revealing a crisp white T-shirt molded over acres of sculpted muscle.

Okay, this was getting weird. The idea of Dante—her sworn enemy—flirting while he prepared to masturbate for her could be material for a Twilight Zone episode. He shoved his jeans down around his hips, and suddenly she didn’t give a fig about the bizarre left turn her day had taken. It seemed Dante preferred going commando. And her crack about the bratwurst couldn’t have been more on the dollar. He wasn’t even fully erect, which made it all the more impressive.

His hand started to close around his thick shaft but stopped. “This would be a lot easier with some lube.”

Her gaze stayed riveted on his hovering hand. “Sorry, I’m fresh out.”

“No, but you’ve got the next best thing. Saliva. Care to lick me?”

Jerking her head up, she met his wicked grin. The heat riding low in her pelvis burst into an inferno. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip to keep from groaning at the sensation—at his suggestion. Her attention dropped to his straining erection.

“Baby, I was referring to my hand. But if you’ve got a better place in mind, don’t let me dissuade you.”

How could she be both aroused and irritated at the same time? Oh yeah, it was Dante standing in front of her with the mother of all woodies. Enough said. He extended his hand, palm up, and she glared at it. “There’s no way I’m licking—”

“Ah, so you do prefer the other. Can’t say I blame ya.” He stepped closer, bobbing that magnificent erection, and she grabbed his hand. Her teeth scraped his palm, and she swore he trembled. Good, she didn’t like the idea of being the only one affected.

“Get it good and wet for me.”

Oh God. The bastard was killing her with his double entendres and husky voice. Closing her eyes, she swirled her tongue. For one taboo moment, she imagined it wasn’t rough calluses she glided over. She glanced at Dante from beneath her eyelashes. His face resembled a mask of barely restrained lust. Dark, hooded gaze and flared nostrils. Flush riding high on his cheekbones. The sight of him shouldn’t have provoked her clit to throb with need, but it did. Realizing she straddled dangerously close to the red zone, she dropped his hand and scooted backward. He snagged the hem of his T-shirt with his other hand and dragged it over his chest before whipping it off.

The saliva freely pooling in her mouth seconds ago instantly dried. If there was such a thing as a citation for outrageous abuse of gorgeousness, Dante Morgan would be swimming in them. Bronzed skin stretched over his wide, muscular shoulders and chest. A sprinkling of dark hair covered his firm pectorals and arrowed farther south, marching in a narrow line down his chiseled abs. For a werewolf, he was surprisingly light in the fur department. She’d always assumed they were…well…hairy. In or out of the wolf suit.

His hand moved to his cock, distracting her.

Hoo boy, here we go. She’d never actually seen a guy pleasure himself. The voyeuristic opportunity made her feel kind of dirty—in a good way. Which made her feel a teensy bit bad for giving him a hard time for spying on her. Did that make her a hypocrite? Not that she was going to make him stop. He obviously needed to do something to appease that bad boy. Yep, this was strictly her being beneficent.

Dante’s palm kissed over the swollen head of his cock, and a forbidden thrill fluttered in her belly. She glanced up and locked stares with him, nearly combusting from the hot intensity in his brown-and-gold-flecked irises.

“Watch me.” His gruff command drew her attention back to the thick shaft in his fist. She concentrated on the firm way he stroked his cock. Who said the Discovery Channel was the only place you could learn something new and interesting?

A small teardrop of fluid wept from the slit in the plum-shaped cap. Roving his fist upward, he mingled her saliva with the fluid. It was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

“Baby, you like this? ’Cause I sure as hell liked watching you play with your pretty little sweet spot.”

Hearing his admission increased the ache between her thighs. She was tempted to relieve it right in front of him. Well, he had said he enjoyed watching her. But this wasn’t about mutual satisfaction—it was about making a point. “Will you quit talking and get the show on the road? It’s not like I’ve got all day.”

“You are one bossy broad.”

“Thanks for the compliment.” She leaned back in her seat and tapped her foot. Dante grinned at her silent challenge before getting down to business. Biting her bottom lip, she focused on the lazy, enticing drag of his fist. “You’re darn good at that.”

“That your way of asking if I beat off a lot?”

“Well, I did notice you have an inordinate amount of calluses on your palm.”

He chuckled the same instant the front door slammed. They both stared at each other. Before Dante could release his grip on his cock, Foster Morgan stormed into the kitchen.

“Why is that woman’s car…?” Foster’s irate voice trailed off. Shock held his craggy features immobilized.

Awkward. Lilly jerked to her feet, almost toppling her chair in the process. In direct contrast, Dante calmly dragged his pants up and tucked his dick away. He left his jeans unzipped—wise considering the state of his erection.

“Ever heard of knocking, old man?”

Fury flashed across Foster’s face. He stepped the rest of the way into the kitchen, his stocky frame rigid beneath his leather jacket. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Don’t believe that’s any of your business.” Dante reached for his flannel shirt and casually shrugged it on, effectively concealing his tented jeans.

Lilly observed the tense interplay between father and son, wondering how Dante could act so cool when she was about ready to leap out of her skin. Maybe it was some weird werewolf thing that they didn’t feel guilty at getting caught slapping the salami at the dining-room table.

She inched farther away from her seat. “Um, Dante, maybe we should finish this later.” Those coal-black brows of his lifted, and she coughed. “The conversation, I mean. Okay?” She glanced between the two males staring at her intently. “All righty then. I’ll just see myself out.”

Her boot heels barely touched the floor as she streaked toward the exit. At the last second she remembered her coat and grabbed it from the antler rack. Not wanting to waste precious time trying to struggle into the damn thing, she scrunched the coat over her shoulder and slipped outside. By the time she hopped into her Escape—boy, there’s an appropriate name—her teeth were chattering so hard from the cold, it sounded like a castanet troupe was practicing in her mouth.

“Great, now my body decides to lose the hot flashes.”

Dante turned his back on his father and stalked to the sink. Squirting a few drops of liquid soap into his palm, he nudged the faucet on. The entire time he was lathering up, he felt the heat of Foster’s scrutiny lasering into his skull.

“Do you have something going on with that woman?”

Swiping the dishrag from the counter, Dante dried his hands. “I’ll say it again—it’s none of your business.”

An angry sputter tumbled from Foster. “It damn well is. You’re my son. I won’t have you cavorting with loose women. Particularly a lynchat.” He spit out the last word as if it were rancid. “You’re the next head alpha in line. It’s high time you start acting like it.”

Dante pivoted, granting his father a narrow-eyed stare. “Why don’t we cut through the bullshit? What you really mean is I need to start obeying your demands and accept Anna Gifford’s mate-bond proposal.”

A spark of hope homesteaded Foster’s face. “Are you ready to consider it?”

Permanently shackle himself to that scheming wolf bitch? “Hell no.”

Foster stormed forward and pummeled his fist onto the island’s granite top. One precariously perched orange toppled from the bowl of fruit and rolled toward the counter’s beveled edge. “Do you have any idea the trouble I’ve gone to trying to make this match happen?”

“I never asked you to do any of it.” Dante grabbed the orange, his grip so fierce it was a miracle juice and pulp didn’t spray between his knuckles. “In fact, I distinctly recall plenty of times I’ve told you to knock it the hell off.”

“For once, think of someone other than yourself. The entire pack would benefit from this merger.”

The caged wolf inside Dante strained at its bindings. Tempting as it was to give his inner beast full rein, he tempered the urge. Didn’t stop him from flashing his incisors in warning though. “Don’t throw duty in my face, old man. I care more about the pack than you ever will. That’s why I’ll never allow your unholy merger to take place. You and I both know the only ones benefitting from it would be you and the Giffords.”

It was no secret that Foster’s sole reason for wanting the merger was the nice chunk of change that Lewis Gifford was ready to dole out in exchange for sealing his place amongst the more powerful Morgan pack ranks. Unlike Dante, Foster didn’t feel any responsibility to honor the excommunication decree that Silas Morgan issued against Lewis and his brethren decades ago, after it was discovered that Lewis was engaged in shady business dealings that would reflect poorly upon the pack. Dante was prepared to do everything in his power to uphold his grandfather’s wishes and ensure that the Gifford’s seedy taint didn’t touch the pack again, but with each passing day, Foster pushed harder and harder to undermine Dante’s determination.

As if he’d read Dante’s mind, Foster gave a knowing smile. “You can only hold out so long. Sooner or later, you have to decide which is more important—your personal pride or the pack.” Calculation gleamed in Foster’s eyes. “I’m giving you exactly one week to meet your mate-bond requirement. If you don’t, I’m assigning a new head alpha.” Snapping up the collar of his jacket, he strode from the kitchen.

Dante waited until he heard the front door slam before he hurtled the orange. It cracked through the drywall behind the dining-room table. “Shit.” Thunking his elbows onto the island’s granite top, he buried his face in his hands. No matter how hard he tried to pretend otherwise, he could no longer ignore it—his balls were in the wringer.

Chapter Four

Swaddled within her three layers of clothing, Lilly stood on the uppermost step of the porch and gave the snowflakes pirouetting from the sky a wary eye. Sure, the stuff was pretty to look at—from inside a toasty warm cabin while she threw back some hot toddies. She started to inch backward, toward the doorway, but a phantom voice entered her head, mocking her. Wimp. What’s a little snow?

“Little? There’s got to be three freakin’ feet of the damn stuff out there.”

The phantom voice started clucking like a chicken.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” Ashamed over caving so easily to her inner bitch, Lilly snatched her cross-country skis from where they were leaning on the porch rail and stomped down the steps. She propped the poles against the door of her SUV and lined the skis up parallel to the vehicle. Giving the cabin behind her a final longing glance, she wedged the toe of her boot into the top binding on her right ski. The stubborn clip refused to lock in place. Grinding her teeth, she wiggled her foot, trying to force the boot into the binding. The ski slid out from beneath her, knocking her flat.

Dazed, she blinked against the snowflakes drifting onto her lashes. “This is a great sign. I’m not even on the stinking skis and already I’m falling on my ass.”

It was pretty damn ironic—and pathetic—that she possessed not one iota of the grace her species was supposed to be gifted with. Anchoring her boots into the thick snow, she inched her way upward and grasped the Escape’s door handle before hoisting into a standing position. Cautiously, she dragged her boot over to the left ski and clicked it into the bindings. She let go of the door and momentarily basked in her grand achievement. Until the skis crawled forward. Flailing her arms, she made a grab for the poles and managed to wrap her fingers around their straps before the momentum of the skis plowed her halfway down the drive.

Digging the spiked ends of the poles into the snow, she wobbled to an unsteady halt, the tips of the skis touching. “Oh God, I’m going to be the first known fatality caused by cross-country skis.” Despite the certainty of her dire prediction, she tightened her grip on the poles and set her chattering teeth in determination. As head events coordinator for the Lynchat Foundation, she needed firsthand experience with all the activities they’d have at their disposal if—no, when—Dante sold his property to the organization. Even if said activity killed her. Which in all likelihood it would.

Burrowing her chin deeper into the scarf tucked around the lower portion of her face, she unlocked her knees and hesitantly glided one ski forward. When she didn’t immediately topple over, she attempted the same maneuver with the other ski. Before she knew it she was shuffling along the winding driveway. “I don’t freakin’ believe it. I’m actually doing it!” Since no force on earth would convince her to let go of the pole for even a second, she settled for mentally pumping her fist in victory.

Rather than risk a collision with any vehicles she might encounter on the main street, she decided to chart a course along the perimeter of the property line. Forking away from the drive, she shush-shushed her way through the alley of pines. Other than the fact her nose resembled a block of ice and she no longer felt her butt, she was sort of enjoying the moment. Grinning, she lengthened her strides, injecting a little more oomph in her pace. Unfortunately, she didn’t count on the pitch of the terrain suddenly taking a steep, downhill slant.

The skis adopted a will of their own as they picked up speed. She grappled desperately with her poles, but the damn skis seemed determined to hurtle her to an imminent death. Horrified, she stared at the rapidly approaching drop-off for the ridge. In one last-ditch effort at self-preservation, she speared the poles into the snow. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do.

She took off like a rocket, her scream muffled by her scarf as she flew over the side of the ridge.

“What the fuck?” Lowering the volume on his radio, Dante frowned at the skis protruding from the snow-laden branches of the giant blue spruce bordering the Prescott’s land. He slowed his pickup and peered out the passenger window. When he caught a glimpse of a fur-lined silver hood buried in the dense greenery, he shook his head and shifted into park. He jumped from the cab of his truck and ambled to the base of the spruce. “How original. A cat stuck in a tree.”

“Go to hell.”

He tucked his thumbs in the rear pockets of his jeans and chuckled. “That any way to talk to the guy who’s gonna give you a hand out of there?”

“I don’t need your help, thank you very much.” The entire tree shook, dislodging its blanket of snow as Lilly attempted to extricate herself from the spruce’s tenacious grasp. Several seconds later, her frustrated growl pierced the frigid air. “Fine, I might require some assistance.”

He was damn tempted to hoot in laughter, but he didn’t relish getting a ski cracked upside his noggin for the trouble. “Hold tight. I’ll be right with you.”

“Not like I’m going anywhere,” she huffed.

Zipping his jacket, he returned to his truck and snatched a pair of leather work gloves from the toolbox he always kept in the bed of the pickup. Satisfied he was as protected from the spruce’s scratchy needles as he’d get, he strode to the tree. Peering through the foliage overhead, he assessed the situation.

Lilly appeared to be pinned close to the tree trunk by two branches crisscrossing behind her back, near her tailbone. The angle made it impossible for her to reach her skis, which left him with the task of removing them.

Locating a sturdy branch that would afford him extra height, he climbed upward and fumbled around with one hand until he knocked into the edge of the nearest ski. He smoothed his gloved hand across the slick fiberglass and bumped into Lilly’s boot. Working his fingers lower, he encountered the top binding and pried at the toe clip until it released. He wrenched the ski off, and it plummeted to the ground. Hugging the massive trunk of the tree with one arm for balance, he switched his focus to the other ski. Less than a minute later, it sailed down to join its mate.

He slid his palm up along Lilly’s inner thigh, and he swore she hissed. Not the mean, ornery kind of hiss that usually accompanied a swipe from a sharp-clawed feline. Nope, this sound made him think of slapping body parts and the ecstatic rake of fingernails down his back.

Ignoring the sudden thickening of his cock, he reached behind her leg and snapped off the thinner twigs that impeded him getting to her backside. He discovered the culprit keeping her snared in place. A broken section of branch had poked through her bulky ski pants.

Concerned the sharp tree limb might have lodged into her skin, he pulled his glove off with his teeth and patted the back of her thigh, searching for the end of the branch. He located it—thankfully not embedded in Lilly’s flesh. “I’m gonna have to rip your pants a little more to get you freed.”

“Go ahead. Not like I plan to ever ski again in my lifetime anyway. Something all the trees in the neighborhood will be profoundly grateful for, I’m sure.”

Her dry statement earned his laugh, and she frowned at him. He tossed her a questioning look and continued grappling with the fabric bunched around the tree branch. “What?”

“Nothing. I’ve just never heard you laugh like that before. It actually makes you semi-pleasant.”

He twisted his mouth in a wry grin. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re flirting with me.”

She snorted. “Clearly all this cold air has killed off some of your brain cells.”

Probably. Too bad it was doing nothing to numb the persistent throbbing in his cock. Between the satiny flesh he glimpsed through the gaping hole in Lilly’s pants and the intoxicating aroma pouring off her in waves, his hormones were getting beat to hell.

Hormones. His fingers stalled in mid-rip. “You’re in heat.”

A sharp inhalation sounded above him, and he lifted his gaze to find Lilly staring at him with fire in her eyes. “I take it back. You’re not pleasant at all, you rude ass.”

“Christ, what’d I do now?”

“You’re not supposed to point out something intensely personal like that.”

He grunted. “You’ve got to be shittin’ me. We’ve seen each other masturbating, and your dander is up because I mentioned you’re in heat?”

She scrunched her nose in a manner he found oddly cute. Not that he’d tell her so. His luck, he’d probably earn her boot in his balls for the compliment.

“Would you like it if I went around pointing out every time you get an erection?”

Like now? This conversation sure as shit wasn’t helping in that department. “Why would it bother me? It’s not my damn problem you can’t keep your eyes off my crotch.”

She hissed. This time it definitely sounded like the kind that preceded bloodshed.

“Keep those claws of yours retracted, baby. Otherwise I just might leave you up there.”

“How very heroic of you.”

“Hell, I’m not stupid.”

“Fine. I’ll let you off the hook. But only this once.”

Taking his chances that she’d keep her word, he gripped her by the waist and tugged her forward. She yelped, her left knee swinging dangerously close to his face. He jerked his chin out of the way just in the nick of time. “Damn it, what are you trying to do, knock my teeth out?”

“You startled me. A warning would have been nice, you know.”

“How’s this for a warning—keep wiggling around like that and we’ll both end up dunked headfirst down in that bank of snow.”

“I’m stopping. Jeez.”

Tightening his hold on her, he pulled her into his arms. His hand automatically curved beneath her butt. He waited for her to smack him and was relieved when she limited her response to a slight narrowing of her eyes. “I’m going to lower you to the ground. It isn’t much of a drop.”

Nibbling the corner of her lip, she nodded. He balanced himself by grasping a nearby branch before swinging Lilly toward the thick snow at the base of the tree. She let go of him and leapt the few feet to safety, landing on her side. Pushing away from the spruce’s trunk, he dropped down beside her. He reached to give her a hand up, but when she started to stand, she winced and hobbled onto one foot.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“My ankle. I must have twisted it.”

Not giving her a chance to protest, he swept her into his arms once more. “I’ll drive you back to your house.”

“Really, that isn’t necessary. I’m sure the pain will ease in a few seconds.”

He gave her a sharp look. “You’re in no shape to walk it. The sooner we get some ice on your ankle, the better.”

“Now who’s the bossy one?” Despite her pissiness, she wrapped her arm around his neck and allowed him to carry her to his idling pickup. He reached for the handle, but she beat him to the punch and wrenched the door open. The hinges gave a rusty whine, and she cocked an eyebrow. “I hear WD-40 works great for that sort of thing.”

“Thanks for the advice.” Jesus. It made absolutely no sense why he was tempted to lean in and kiss the smirk from Lilly’s lush mouth. She was everything he steered clear of in a woman. Sassy, annoying and haughty. If he had half a brain, he’d dump her on her ass in the snow and let her take care of her own damn self. Unfortunately, his brain seemed to be currently concentrated in his dick, and it had a better idea of what it’d like to do with Lilly.

Not that he was gonna let his dick get its way. Not a chance.

He settled Lilly on the bench seat, and she scooted across the leather upholstery so he could shut the door. Leaving her to get situated, he went back to fetch her skis. After stowing them in the bed of the pickup, he crossed to his side of the vehicle and slid behind the wheel. Less than two minutes later, he coasted to a stop behind her SUV. She unlocked her seat belt. “Thank you. I can handle things from here.”

“Like hell you can.”

Moving with lightning speed, he jumped from the vehicle and hightailed it to the passenger door just as she swung it open. She granted him a dark scowl. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re stubborn.” Tuning out her protests, he scooped her against his chest and tromped through the ankle-deep snow to the cabin’s front porch. “You need to get someone out here to plow your drive.”

“Usually Melanie’s brother takes care of it.”

“I’ll have Shane stop by and do it.”

Her gaze jerked up to meet his, revealing her surprise. Christ. She really knew how to make him feel like a dickhead who went out of his way to do nothing for his neighbors. Okay, in the past he certainly hadn’t offered her or any of the lynchats anything in the way of help. Probably that made him an asshole. Considering who his father was, it was a damn miracle he knew how to be anything else.

Lilly continued staring at him for a long stretch, as if she were waiting for him to announce he’d only been joking. Finally she twitched her nose. “Thank you. That’s very…nice of you to offer.”

He grunted. “It killed you to call me nice, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

They arrived at the cabin entrance, and Lilly twisted the brass knob before nudging the door open with her elbow. He stepped inside the entry and glanced around. The cabin was much smaller than his place, but the décor was infinitely more stylish. He surveyed the pristine white slip-covered couch and imagined Chevy sprawled in the middle of it, slobbering and shedding hair all over the place. “Where do you want me to park you?”

She pointed to the oversized chair adjacent to the couch, and he obediently trekked to it and lowered her onto the cushion. He scooted the matching ottoman closer and propped her injured foot on its edge before heading to the kitchen. A little digging in the freezer produced a bag of Brussels sprouts. Seeing how he couldn’t fathom a person willingly eating Brussels sprouts, he snatched the package and carried it into the living room. Lilly had removed her coat and was reclining in the chair, trying not to look like she was experiencing the slightest bit of discomfort. He knew better.

Hunkering to one knee, he gingerly worked her ski boot and sock off so he could get a better look at her injury. Sure enough, her ankle was beginning to swell. He carefully draped the bag of sprouts in place and sat back on his haunches. It wasn’t until Lilly cleared her throat pointedly that he realized he was still cradling her foot in his palm. He glanced down and noticed the cheery flowers painted on her toenails. His mouth quirked. “Daisies on a Lilly?”

“What can I say? I live for irony.”

Almost unconscious of what he was doing, he smoothed his thumb along her instep. She sucked in a breath. He rested his finger on the pad of her foot. “Sorry, does that hurt?”

“N-no.”

He went back to massaging her lightly.

“Dante?”

He tried to ignore the sexy, husky edge her voice had taken on as she said his name. “Hmm?”

“I—I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here.”

He met her panicked stare. “Why?”

“Because I’m having…issues…right now.”

There was no need for her to clarify her meaning. The intoxicating, luscious scent wafting from her had intensified a hundredfold in the last couple of seconds. His body reacted as it would to any female in heat in such close proximity. A hot rush of lust surged straight for his cock, making him throb and thicken. His muscles tensed, the fine hairs on his forearms becoming sensitized to her touch as her calf inadvertently brushed against him. Trailing his fingertips along the arch of her foot again, he watched her shiver. His focus became fixated on the outline of her nipples beneath her sweater.

“Dante…” That one breathless word sounded like a plea.

“I want to taste you. All over.” His inner wolf gave a resounding howl of approval.

She swallowed. Hard. “Bad idea.”

“I know. But I still want to do it.” He inched closer, his free hand tracing the outer contour of her thigh. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past fifteen fucking hours.”

“We don’t even like each other.”

“The sex would be unbelievably hot.”

She gave a strained laugh. “Why? Because we can’t stand each other?”

“No, because we both desperately want to fuck each other’s brains out.”

“It’s hormones. After they wear off, then what? We go back to hating each other? Not the most brilliant plan.”

The logical half of him knew she was right, but the other half—the part that seemed to have a direct transmission to his cock—wanted to argue. Big time. “Hate is a harsh word.”

She made a scoffing noise. “You’re only saying that because you’re hoping to get laid.”

Okay, there was that. “I could grow to like you.” Especially if he was buried balls-deep inside her. Hell, his dick was all for the two of them becoming best buds in that regard.

“Please, don’t make me laugh. Besides, could you imagine trying to explain you and me tripping the mattress fantastic to your father?” She wiggled her leg out of his grasp. “He practically suffered a stroke when he walked in on us in your kitchen. No way would he be able to survive finding out we’re having sex.”

The mention of Foster Morgan managed to douse his desire better than a fire hose aimed directly at his groin. “Why the hell would my dad need to know anything about us?” Not like he would say anything to his old man. What he did with his dick wasn’t Foster’s damn business.

Lilly’s expression suggested that he’d spontaneously become retarded. “Your father knows everything that happens in this town. Before it actually happens.”

Unfortunately, that was all too true. He swiped his hand over his mouth, wishing he could so easily rid himself of the bitter aftertaste that always accompanied any conversation regarding Foster. “My dad can think whatever he wants. I don’t give two shits.”

Lilly blinked as if she was surprised by his vehemence. Likely she was. There weren’t many who knew about the tense relationship he shared with his dad. Certainly not an outsider like Lilly. She bit her lip and struggled into a sitting position. “I still think you and I getting naked together would be a massive mistake. In addition to the fact that we don’t like each other, there’s the land deal to consider. I can’t afford to complicate things between us.”

He gaped at her. “For the love of God, woman, how many damn times do I have to tell you I’m not selling?”

Her chin adopted the obstinate slant that never failed to make him long for the ability to conjure a bottle of whiskey at will. “Sooner or later, you’re going to give in.”

“Don’t count on it.” He pushed to his feet and stalked toward the exit. “I’ll call Shane and have him swing by tonight with the plow.” Just as his hand closed around the doorknob, he caught another alluring whiff of her pheromones. He clenched his jaw. “I advise staying out of Shane’s way. He might not have the same restraint when it comes to your condition as I do.” Hell, talk about a crock of shit. If she so much as crooked a finger right now, he’d lunge across the room and be buried inside her in zero seconds flat.

He let the door slam behind him and loped down the steps to his truck. Eight minutes later, he pulled into his driveway and cut the engine. As soon as he walked inside the house, Chevy came careening into the living room and leapt at him in exuberant greeting. Well, at least someone was happy to see him. After giving the dog a proper pat on the head, Dante traipsed into the kitchen and snagged a beer from the fridge. Using the hem of his shirt, he twisted the cap off and chugged down a quarter of the bottle before coming up for air.

Having Lilly safely out of reach wasn’t easing his horniness anywhere near as quick as he would have liked. He’d never been this on edge, itchy to sink inside warm, wet pussy. Despite the winter chill still tenaciously clinging to him, beads of sweat rolled beneath his collar, soaking the cotton of his shirt. He ripped his jacket off and tossed it toward the La-Z-Boy. Feeling like a caged beast, he prowled the room. Chevy jumped onto the sofa and spun in the mandatory half a dozen circles before deeming the cushions comfortable enough to lie on. Resting his muzzle on his paws, he watched Dante with droopy eyes.

Dante slashed a look toward the door, debating the feasibility of riding into town and finding a willing bed partner for the night. It usually wasn’t his style. Not that he was a damn monk or anything. Though lately, he sure as hell came close to resembling one. Thanks to the ever-lovin’ fear Anna Gifford generated in the Morgan pack’s female members, the sexual pickings for him around here were sparse. Which meant that typically when the mood struck him, he was forced to drive downstate and find a woman who was out of Anna and his father’s reach. Considering how much he hated leaving Morgan’s Ridge for any extended period of time, knocking boots for him was few and far between. Sure, he could take his chances with a non-shifter, but unlike some of his fellow pack members, he didn’t feel right getting intimate with someone he couldn’t reveal his true nature to.

So basically he was screwed. Or not, as the case were.

Growling, he kicked the side of the La-Z-Boy. Chevy took that as a sign that they were playing his favorite game—let’s attack the furniture for no damn good reason. Flying from his perch on the sofa with an excited woof, he dove at the recliner. Dante snapped his fingers and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. His expression properly dejected, Chevy moped toward his cage.

Tunneling his hand through his hair, Dante slumped on the chair. It didn’t much matter that he had no easy way of getting lucky tonight. Not when any other woman would be a poor substitute for the one that he hungered for.

Fucking unbelievable. He suffered insatiable hots for the last damn female on the planet he should be sniffing after. Lilly was right about that at least. The two of them hooking up? It’d be like the first sign of the apocalypse, for shit’s sake. He visualized the horrified expressions of his pack members…and his father. Hell, it might be worth it just to see that last part. He took a swig from his beer and scratched his sternum.

Without warning, Foster’s damning words echoed in Dante’s mind. “I’m giving you exactly one week to meet your mate-bond requirement. If you don’t, I’m assigning a new head alpha.”

Dante’s swallow of beer went down bitter. As if he didn’t have enough to deal with. Come next week, he’d have to propose to Anna. He’d fought that prospect tooth and nail for the past seven years, ever since Anna had gotten it into her evil head that he was perfect husband material for her. Of course Foster had jumped right on that opportunity, once he’d seen the potential dollar signs in his future. Having grown up his whole life with Anna, Dante knew he’d rather stay single than shackle himself to that scheming bitch, but the damn choice was being taken away from him.

The worse part was he’d be letting down his pack. By wedding and bedding Anna, the pack merger would be forced. But if he didn’t meet the mate-bond requirement, he’d lose lead alpha status, leaving it wide open for his father to induct one of his lackeys—who would go ahead and bond with Anna anyway.

Either way, he was screwed. His only hope was finding an alternative bond mate, but that was damn impossible considering Anna and Foster’s influence. No, those two had guaranteed there not being a wolf on God’s green earth who would take him, thanks to the numerous threats they’d issued to any potential competition who’d shown an interest in becoming his mate. For shit’s sake, Anna had even crashed a few of his dates in the past and picked fights with the other female. Talk about pathetic. And annoying.

He rubbed a spot of condensation from the label on his beer, morosely mulling over his lack of options. He’d sorted through his situation a million times, looking for a way out, an answer to his problems. How many more times would it take before it’d sink in that he was fucked? He rested his head back against the chair and closed his eyes, the frustration crushing his chest. There was no wolf in existence who’d be willing to risk Anna and Foster’s wrath. Hell, he could offer the potential mate a million dollars and it wouldn’t be enough. Besides, the only female who desperately needed something from him was Anna and—

His eyes snapped open. “Lilly.” He dropped the beer, and it clunked onto the floor. Ignoring the puddle of alcohol no doubt seeping into the braided rug, he shot to his feet. “Holy shit.”

He’d been coming at this all wrong. The answer to his prayer wasn’t a wolf.

It was a cat.

Chapter Five

Lilly grimaced at the package of Brussels sprouts turning her foot into a block of ice. With a slight wiggle of her leg, she dislodged the bag of frozen veggies onto the floor. A loud grumble issued from her belly, inconveniently reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since last night. She’d been so gung-ho to kill herself on a pair of skis, she’d forgotten to grab one of the breakfast bars she’d picked up from the grocery store yesterday.

She gave the bag of Brussels sprouts a considering glance before sighing. “Yeah, I’m not that hungry.” Her stomach rumbled again in audible argument. Her focus veered to the kitchen entrance. It wasn’t too much of a walk, even if she had to manage it on her bum ankle. Gripping the arms of the chair, she gingerly scooched closer to the ottoman and swung her foot to the ground. As she hobbled onto her good leg, she could almost hear Dante growling in her ear for not staying parked in the chair. It wasn’t like she had any other choice though. The stinking refrigerator wasn’t going to come waltzing out here, for crying out loud.

Squaring her shoulders, she took a cautious step forward, trying to keep as much weight off her injured ankle as possible in the process. Only the tiniest twinge of discomfort shuttled through her. Speeding up her pace a bit, she wobbled across the room and made it into the kitchen without any undue pain or falling flat on her face.

Feeling ridiculously victorious over her amazing feat, she stumbled to the counter and grabbed one of the multigrain bagels before shuffling to the fridge and snatching the cream cheese and smoked salmon. Less than a minute later, bagel sandwich in hand and taste buds salivating in anticipation, she limped back into the living room. She lifted the bagel and prepared to take a quick bite just as a loud bang sounded from outside. A second later the door opened and Dante stepped inside. His unexpected appearance startled her so much, she dropped her bagel. Ignoring the globs of cream cheese and slivers of salmon now decorating her bare toes, she gaped at Dante. “Ever heard of knocking?”

“I did.” His eyebrows slashed low. “You’re supposed to be icing that ankle.”

“I was hungry.” She plunked her hands on her hips. “Why am I explaining myself to you? And why are you here?”

Rather than answer, Dante stalked to her side and without saying a word, upended her into his arms and carried her back to the chair. Giving him an indignant look, she struggled to lift her butt from the cushion, only to be thwarted when Dante plopped the bag of Brussels sprouts back in place on her ankle. His eyes flashing a warning, he straightened. “Unless you have to pee, you’re staying put.”

“What if I do?” She huffed a peevish breath when he gave her a questioning look. “Okay, I don’t. But that mess on the floor isn’t going to clean itself up.” Figuring she’d outsmarted him on that one, she reached for the Brussels sprouts.

“I’ll take care of it.”

She blinked at him as he pivoted and made tracks for the kitchen. This was all very…weird. With the way Dante stormed out on her earlier, she’d figured she wouldn’t see him anytime soon. Or at least not until she tracked him down so she could plead her case about the land deal for the gazillionth time. She certainly hadn’t been expecting him to barge in on her and start bossing her around again. And while she appreciated his efforts at giving her a hand, she couldn’t help being suspicious at his possible motives.

Had he returned thinking he could sweet talk her into jumping into the sack with him despite her resolve not to? If so, he had a rude awakening coming his way. She could see right through his surly attempt at being neighborly and considerate. Her panties were staying firmly in place, damn it.

The wolf in question sauntered back into the room carrying the wastebasket from beneath the kitchen sink and a wad of paper towels. He placed both items on the floor next to the spilled remains of her snack before shrugging from his jacket. His muscular shoulders shifted enticingly under his flannel shirt, and a hot, prickly wave of heat shimmered through her. She bit back a whimper and wiggled uncomfortably in her seat. “Look, I appreciate you helping out and all, but in the twenty minutes since we last discussed it, I haven’t changed my mind about us having sex.”

He dropped his jacket on the couch and swept her with a penetrating look that she swore possessed the power to burn through her clothes. “I have a proposition for you.”

“If it has anything to do with whipped cream and handcuffs, I’m not interested.” Hoo boy. Was that ever a fat, hairy lie.

Dante’s eyes darkened as he licked his lips. “Not what I originally had in mind, but now that you mention it…”

She stacked her arms over her chest—as much out of frustration as to hide the perky saluting of her traitorous nipples. “Could you please keep your dirty mind on track?”

“You’re the one who brought up the whipped cream and handcuffs, kitten.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What did you just call me?”

He chuckled. “Don’t get your fur in a tizzy. I could have said pussy.”

“You would,” she grumbled.

His grin—a sight practically rarer than Bigfoot when it came to being directed at her—stoked another of those horribly delicious flutters deep in her core. Damn it, she really wished he’d amp up his usual obnoxiousness so her libido could get a much-needed break. Attempting to be as covert as possible, she pressed her thighs together in an effort to relieve the ache. Little good it did. “Can you get to the point of whatever it is you want? It’s not like I’ve got all night, you know.”

Dante offered her a droll look. “Yeah. Sitting in that chair is damn time consuming.”

Shit. The much-hoped-for irritation wasn’t nearly strong enough to combat her escalating horniness.

“I’ve thought about what you said about that land rightfully belonging to you.”

His statement was so not what she’d been expecting, it took her a moment to find her tongue. “And…?” she asked, almost too afraid to hope for the impossible. Her heartbeat quickened, pounding in her ears.

“You might be right. I’ve decided to let you have the acreage.”

The pent-up breath escaped her in a rush. Joy. Happiness. Triumph. All three were an intoxicating melody. Completely forgetting about her injury, she scrambled to jump to her feet. Worry and consternation darkening his rugged features, Dante gently pushed her back in place and settled onto the end of the ottoman, presumably to block her from moving again.

“You have no idea what this means to me, Dante. I know we’ve had our issues in the past, but I swear you won’t regret this.”

A sardonic smile tipped one corner of his mouth. “Somehow I doubt that.”

“No, I promise you won’t.” Feeling like she needed to make some offer of goodwill in return for his change of heart, she scooted closer to him and without thinking, draped her hand over his much larger one. “I’ll also make sure your cousin gets top priority when it comes time to choose a contractor for the building construction. You can count on it.”

Dante stared at their joined hands for a long moment before slowly lifting his gaze to hers. “Lilly, you haven’t heard what my asking price is for the land.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she read the wary determination in his eyes. Refusing to bow to the sinking feeling in her gut, she shook her head. “As long as it’s not an unreasonable sum, my colleagues are prepared to make it happen.”

“I don’t want money.”

She gaped at him, certain she’d misheard. “Pardon?”

“Hell, I’ve got plenty of that. What I need is a little more…complicated. And you’re the only one who can provide it. Not the lynchats.”

“I don’t understand. What could I possibly have that you suddenly need?” And why the hell couldn’t he have come to this epiphany—whatever it was—eighteen months ago? It would have saved her a mountain of trouble and endless stress-related headaches.

Dante’s hand shifted beneath hers so that they were palm-to-palm. The warmth of his work-roughened skin seeped into her, stirring her pleasurable tingles into overdrive. She tried to ignore the sensation, but it became impossible when his fingers enclosed hers.

“I need you to be my wife.”

Her eyes widened, and she choked on a series of coughs. Dante’s free hand came around and thumped her on the back. She scowled at him. “I always knew you were an asshole, but really, this is taking it too far, you son of a bitch.”

It was his turn to blink. “Why the hell are you so angry?”

She turned up her glare by several degrees. “How can you even ask that? Are you such a rat bastard you don’t see how cruel it is to lead me on the way you just did?” Shaking with fury, she poked a trembling finger in the center of his chest. “Your wife? I’m surprised that was the best punch line you could come up with.”

Wincing, he carefully pried her finger away from his sternum. “It’s not a joke, Lilly. I’m dead serious.”

She was about to deliver a blistering retort when she noticed the gleam of determination in his eyes hadn’t departed. If anything, it’d intensified. The furious words dissolved on her tongue, and she stared at him, stupefied. She almost expected Rod Serling’s voiceover to float on the air, preceded by the Twilight Zone theme. Suddenly reminded of the seductive heat of Dante’s palm beneath hers, she jerked her attention to their linked hands. An alarming sense of recognition ricocheted through her, adding to the already staggering level of insanity she’d just been dropped into the middle of. She attempted to wrench out of his hold, but he only tightened his grip. Her pulse beat in triple time. “Have you lost your freaking mind?”

“At least hear me out before you accuse me of being crazy.”

“Why? Nothing you say is going to convince me otherwise.”

“It’s strictly a business arrangement. You become my wife and get the land. I get my dad off my back about marrying Anna Gifford.”

“Who the hell is Anna Gifford? And what does she have to do with any of this?”

“She’s the top bitch of the Gifford pack. Trust me, calling her that is an insult to all bitches.”

“Why does Foster want you to marry her?”

Dante’s face tightened. “Forced pack merger.”

She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. The power dynamics of werewolves and their pack systems was pretty much a mystery to her. Other than her assuming their rituals involved something so astoundingly twenty-first century as holding belching and farting contests to choose their leaders, she had no idea what really went on. “I take it that isn’t a good thing?”

“Shit no. Why the hell do you think I’m proposing to you?”

“This is a proposal?” It took every ounce of her willpower not to laugh in hysterical disbelief. “Telling me you need to get out of marrying another chick? How romantic.”

“Lilly, I told you this is business. Nothing romantic about it.”

She met his gaze. “Oh my God. You really are serious.”

“This can be advantageous for both of us.” His eyes sparkled with temptation. “You know you want that land. So bad, you can taste it. Well, here’s your chance.”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Was it wrong to even be considering this? If she said yes, she was in essence selling herself for a piece of land. How pathetic and immoral did that make her?

Then again, there were plenty of people who got married for the wrong reasons. At least this way she knew what she was getting herself into. And really, it wasn’t like she had to worry that she was missing out on meeting the husband of her dreams if she accepted Dante’s unconventional proposal. She’d known for a long time she wasn’t exactly marriage material—which made this conversation pretty damn ironic, now that she thought about it. But the truth was she loved her independence. Embraced it with every fiber of her being. Not to mention she was far from being the June Cleaver domestic goddess that most men out there secretly desired for a wife.

She gave Dante a suspicious glance. “Hypothetically speaking, if I agreed to this ridiculous proposition, you wouldn’t expect me to be your live-in maid, right?”

“I already pay my cousin Tess to clean for me once a week.”

Okay, that answered that question. “I don’t mind cooking—once in a while—but I’m much better at dialing up takeout. Especially if it’s Thai or sushi.”

“We don’t have a damn sushi restaurant up he—” Dante must have correctly interpreted her arched eyebrows because he growled before quickly smothering it. “Fine. I’ll do most of the cooking. I enjoy it anyway.”

“I wouldn’t give up my career. Or my house downstate.”

Dante grunted. “Good. I’ll look forward to my brief reprieves from your nagging presence.”

She tossed him a saccharine smile. “Same goes here, wolfman.”

Thick silence stretched between them while he gave her a prodding look. “Is that a yes?”

She chewed her lip again. “Would it have to be permanent? Our marriage, I mean?”

“Looking to divorce me already?”

“I just want to know exactly what I’m getting into here.”

He nodded. “Or at least for as long as I’m head alpha. Once I retire and choose my replacement, you’re free to do whatever you want.”

She grimaced. “Wow. That’ll really give me something to look forward to when I’m eighty.”

Dante’s mouth twitched into a grin. “Actually, I wasn’t plannin’ to retire until ninety.”

“Even better.” She gave him another distrusting stare. “This isn’t some Victorian arrangement where you expect me to bear you an heir, is it? Because I’m drawing the line on that one, buddy. This womb is not for rent.”

Dante tweaked the bridge of his nose. “Don’t worry. I’m not looking for a brood mare.”

“Good.” She squinted. “Just so we’re clear, this marriage would be strictly in name only? You’re not thinking you’re going to get side benefits, right?”

“We’d have sex, if that’s what you’re hinting at.”

The arrogant assurance in his voice made her teeth grind. “Do I get a vote on that?”

“It’s nonnegotiable. The only way my pack will accept you as my wife and their leader is if we’re mate-bonded.”

“Mate-bonded?” It was yet another foreign term that was out of her vocabulary, but she knew enough about how wolves mated to be concerned.

Dante’s thumb brushed hers. More than likely he’d meant it to be reassuring, but it practically made her jump out of her skin. “Fortunately my pack doesn’t use the sexual act itself as part of the ceremony.”

Another choke lodged in her throat, and Dante gave her a quick thump on the back again to release it. She gaped at him, her cheeks burning. “Thank God for small miracles.” She considered herself far from being a prude, but the idea of having sex with him in front of an audience was enough to give her performance anxiety. Without warning, an image popped into her head of her straddling Dante, impaled on his fat cock while his hands massaged her jiggling breasts.

A strained noise broke loose from the back of her throat. She tried to cover it up by coughing. Dropping her arm to her lap, she fidgeted with the top button on her pants. When Dante’s focus drifted to her zipper, she jerked her hand to safer quarters. “I—I don’t understand why we wouldn’t be able to fake the mate-bond like the rest of the marriage. If your pack isn’t going to witness it, what difference does it make?”

“They don’t have to. They’ll know we didn’t do it if they don’t see my mark on you.”

“Your mark?” Oh for Pete’s sake. Could anything be more Neanderthal? “So tell them it’s in a private place that I have no intention of showing off.”

“It doesn’t work that way, Lilly. A wolf marks his mate to make it clear to all that she belongs to him.”

“Why don’t you just pee on me and get it over with?”

“You’re making more out of this than there needs to be.”

She tossed her arms up. “Sure. Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’d be marked and branded like damn cattle.”

“It doesn’t mean anything. You won’t actually belong to me.”

“Your pack will think I do. That’s just as bad.”

His eyes momentarily closed as he dragged in a deep breath and released it in a weary gust. When he looked at her again, his frustration was palpable. “Why do you have to be so mule-headed?”

“What? I’m stubborn because I think your sexist werewolf rules are stupid?”

“It’s not sexist. There are female alphas who bite their mates in the same fashion. And there are even couples who give each other matching marks.”

His pronouncement gave her pause, and she eyed him in contemplation. “Can I mark you?”

“Babe, you’re not a wolf.”

“You’re not a cat, and I’m—possibly—going to let you mark me. Fair is fair.”

She could hear his molars grind. “I’ll think about it.”

“Either you will or you won’t. That’s my terms.”

They stared each other down for an interminable time, their silent battle of the wills more epic than Custer’s last stand at Little Bighorn. She was fairly certain if she listened closely enough, she’d hear war drums in the distance.

A prominent muscle tic twitched at the corner of Dante’s eye. “Fine. But I get to be on top.”

Yeah. Definitely one hell of a romantic proposal. She gnawed her thumbnail, her heart racing at the ramifications of what she was about to commit to and the fear that she would ultimately live to regret it. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

A relieved breath gusted from Dante.

“I expect a written contract between us.” There was no way she’d be so foolish to take his verbal word about the land.

He nodded. “I’ll have it written up before we get married on Sunday.”

His easy declaration squeezed the oxygen from her lungs. “Sunday? As in four-freaking-days-from-now Sunday?”

“I know it’s last minute, but I don’t have any choice. The deed has to be done before next week.” He leaned down and squeezed her hand. “It’ll work out, Lilly, I promise.”

She stared at their linked fingers, imagining a pair of matching wedding bands. What the hell have I agreed to?

Chapter Six

After their negotiations, she fully expected Dante to shrug his jacket on and head home. Instead he surprised her—yet again—by announcing he was going to make lunch for her. Bemused, but not about to turn down his offer, she tugged a blanket over her feet to combat the icy effects of the thawing bag of Brussels sprouts. Her cell went off just as she was beginning to relax into the chair. Leaning sideways, she snatched her parka from where it’d fallen to the ground earlier and dug her phone from the pocket. A quick scan of the display announced that the caller was Kinsey.

Oh God. Kinsey. How the hell was she going to explain to her sister this business with marrying Dante for the land? She knew Kinsey would be adamantly against it and would no doubt have all kinds of unsavory ways to describe what they were doing. All of which would likely be no less than the truth. But that didn’t mean she wanted to listen to Kinsey chastise her for the next sixty years about the boneheaded mistake she was committing.

Deciding to postpone that inevitable argument, she let the call go to voicemail and stuffed the cell back in her coat pocket before dropping the garment onto the floor again. Despite her best efforts to ignore the nagging doubts building in her mind, she couldn’t completely block them out.

What the hell am I doing? This whole plan is nuts. She ran both hands down her face and smothered a groan. Dante chose that moment to walk back into the living room.

Awarding her a cautious glance, he plopped a plate loaded with a fresh bagel sandwich and chips on her lap. “Everything okay?”

She swallowed past the lump of worry lodged in her throat. “No one is going to buy this—you and I.”

“That’s why we have to make it convincing.”

“Trust me, I’m not that good of an actress.”

Dante rubbed his jaw. “Well, my old man already thinks we’ve got something going on.”

“Great. One down, a couple hundred more people to go. And that’s just counting your relatives.” She snatched a chip and nibbled its crinkled edge listlessly. The healthy appetite she’d possessed minutes ago seemed to have disintegrated. She dropped the half-eaten chip back onto the plate and exhaled heavily. “Speaking of relatives…I know my sister will never believe we’ve suddenly fallen madly in love. Crap, just yesterday I told her you were a perverted peeping Tom.”

A grunt issued from Dante, and she shrugged. “Hey, I was mad.”

He stroked his goatee. “Actually, that might work in our favor. I’m assuming you told her about what happened on the road?”

She nodded.

“So tell her I made you dinner as an apology, and one thing led to another.” His mouth tipped into another of those panty-wetting grins. “After one incredible night in the sack together, you knew you could never live without me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Puh-lease. No one’s going to believe that.”

His palm curved over her knee. “I bet I can make you believe it.”

She tried not to focus on the distracting way his fingers brushed along the inner seam of her pants. “Don’t count on it.”

“Should I take that as a challenge?” His gaze still locked with hers, he took her plate and set it next to her coat.

Planting his hands on the chair’s upholstered arms, he boxed her in and leaned so close, she easily made out the flecks of gold in his irises. Compelling as his gaze was, her attention couldn’t help straying to his mouth. Her nipples tightened as she imagined those sexy, masculine lips traveling in a slow glide across her breasts and belly. What would his goatee feel like against her skin? Would it be scratchy and irritating, or soft and ticklish?

Unconscious of her actions, she reached up and traced her fingertips over his jaw. “Hmm, definitely soft and ticklish.”

A wicked sparkle danced in Dante’s eyes. “Were you having dirty thoughts about my beard?”

“Possibly.”

“Tell me what you were thinking.”

The husky persuasion in his voice proved to be her ultimate downfall. “I was wondering what it’d feel like on certain parts of my body.”

Dante licked his lips in a way that was incredibly…wolfish. “I can show you firsthand.”

The heat simmering inside her kicked into full boil. Dante’s nostrils flared, and the intensity in his eyes sharpened. “Christ. I smell how fucking turned on you are.”

“I can’t help it.” She swallowed hard and squirmed against the cushion. “It’s the hormones.”

“No, it’s more than that. And you know it.” His face inched closer until his breath mingled with hers. “You want me, Lilly. Admit it.”

“I don’t know what’s bigger—your ego, or your self-delusions.”

He gave her a predatory grin that prompted flutters in her stomach. “Neither is any match for the size of my cock. But then you already know that.”

He would have to bring up his impressive package at a time like this. Now she couldn’t get the damn thing out of her mind. Which wasn’t helping her present condition at all. “Another check mark for your massive eg—” The remainder of her comeback fell victim to the firm, sinful pressure of his mouth on hers. A shaky whimper escaped her. Dante took that as a convenient invitation to thrust his tongue past her lips.

She’d experienced plenty of kisses in her life. Not one of them came close to competing with the consuming hunger inherent in Dante’s. She could taste his desire. Feel his single-minded focus on her. It swept her up and left her breathless. His fingers tunneled insistently in her hair, angling her head back for a deeper exploration of her mouth. His tongue coaxed hers into play, and she eagerly obliged. God, she wanted to eat him up with a spoon. And that made absolutely no sense, considering how arrogant, obnoxious… chauvinistic… and… and…

She lost her train of thought as his roving hands massaged her breasts through her top. Inspired to do her own exploring, she smoothed her palms over Dante’s broad shoulders, trying to drag him closer and tug his flannel shirt off at the same time.

He pulled back, revealing an expression dark with passion. “There’s not enough room on this chair for us both. How about if we continue this on the couch?”

“My bed is bigger.” The suggestion popped free before she could halt it. Grinding her teeth at her loud-mouthed inner slut, she waited for Dante to smirk and lob an appropriately lewd crack at her. Instead, he scooped her into his arms, knocking the bag of Brussels sprouts onto the ground. He was careful with her ankle, something she appreciated—though honestly, she didn’t even register any discomfort anymore. Likely the improvised icepack had done the trick. That, or lust had blindsided her to the point all other sensations had skulked into the farthest recesses of her consciousness.

He walked down the short hallway and paused between the two open bedroom doors. “Which one?”

She pointed to the doorway to the left of them, and he strode inside the small room. He carefully arranged her on top of the patchwork quilt before stretching out beside her. His mouth found the tender spot beneath her ear and quickly discovered how easy it was to reduce her into a quivery, gasping wreck. She tore at his shirt again, desperate to touch warm flesh rather than flannel. This time he obeyed her wishes and released the top few buttons before growing impatient and yanking the garment over his head and tossing it aside. She snuggled against him, a happy purr leaking free.

He groaned and coasted his fingers along the curve of her spine. “Fuck, that’s sexy. Do you always purr like that?”

“Usually only when I’m in the middle of a heat cycle.”

His hand slid beneath her top and cupped her breast through the thin mesh of her bra. He rubbed her nipple with his thumb, and she arched into him. A feral growl rumbled from deep in his chest. “I wanna get you nekkid.”

“Oh God, yes.” So much for keeping her inner slut out of this.

Thankfully he required no further prompting and made short work divesting her of her top and bra. The rapt way he stared at her breasts brought a fresh surge of moisture between her legs. She whimpered as his hand splayed over her mound.

“I don’t even need to touch you to know how fucking wet you are.”

She didn’t doubt it. The clear evidence of her arousal scenting the air made it pretty damn impossible to miss. With Dante’s supersensitive nose, it was probably a thousand times more noticeable. She got her verification when he buried his face in the valley of her cleavage and inhaled with a lusty moan. His pupils dilated, making his eyes look exceptionally dark and predatory.

Witnessing the raw, animalistic hunger riding his features speared a sharp spike of excitement through her, leaving her dizzy and lightheaded. Plumping her breasts with his hands, he sucked her nipple between his teeth and laved it into a stiff, turgid peak with his tongue. Gasping, she wiggled on the mattress, shamelessly undulating against the hand he’d kept wedged between her legs. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as the consuming need inside her became an agonizing torment. She tugged at his hair, panting, and he finally lifted his gaze to hers.

He must have read the desperation in her eyes because he reached for her zipper and worked it down. Repositioning himself, he gently eased her pants and bikini down her legs before spreading her thighs enough to make room for his wide shoulders. His thumbs slid through the wetness coating her labia and held her open to his hot, devouring gaze. A millisecond later, his tongue swirled over her clit. She jolted at the intense sensation, her limbs trembling, but Dante’s big hands kept her hips pinned to the mattress and her pussy available for his feasting. And oh God, that was exactly what she felt like—the main entree in a luscious, decadent werewolf Happy Meal.

Unlike some males she’d been unlucky enough to experience oral sex with, Dante clearly knew what he was doing. He savored her pussy like it was the most delicious treat he’d ever eaten. Succulent plunges of his tongue inside her soaked channel alternated with teasing flickers and lazy, wet swipes across her slippery, distended clit. Her body jerked uncontrollably with each passing lap of his tongue. The soft abrasion of his beard scruff along her sensitive tissues only drove her faster and faster toward that dazzling peak in the rapidly approaching distance. Her chest impossibly heavy, she fought for breath.

“D-Dante, I’m going to—” A strained cry ripped from her as the lush, powerful orgasm slammed into her with blinding impact. She shuddered, cradling his head in her hands as she held on for dear life.

Eventually the quakes faded to a wonderful glow that left her limp and sated. Her murmur contented, she let go of Dante. His silky hair sifting free of her fingers, he gave a final lingering suckle on her clit and lifted his head. Licking his lips, he leaned upward to kiss her. She caressed his jaw, her fingers becoming damp with her own wetness. She lowered her hand to brush it on the quilt, but Dante gripped her fingers and sucked them into his mouth. Despite the magnificent orgasm he’d just given her, a renewed tickle of need fluttered low in her belly.

He reluctantly let go of her fingers. “I could become addicted to your taste.”

She offered him a cheeky grin. “Feel free to slake your thirst whenever you’d like.”

He chuckled. “You might regret making that offer. Especially when I tie you to my bed and gorge on you for hours on end.”

“That’s okay. As long as you let me do the same to you.” She smiled when the heat in his eyes intensified. “Hmm, I do believe you like the idea of me sucking your cock all night long.” She tiptoed her nails down his sculpted chest and followed the happy trail leading toward the waistband of his jeans. With one finger, she traced the rigid length of his erection through the denim before cupping him fully. He thickened within her grasp. She angled her head and scraped her teeth on the underside of his bristly jaw. He groaned, a shiver running through him.

Excitement and heady desire heating her in decadent waves, she unbuttoned his jeans and freed his cock for her fingers to explore. The rigid veining of his shaft fascinated her, as did the way his testicles tightened when she massaged them lightly. Returning her focus to the satiny, plum-shaped cap, she encountered a weeping teardrop of his precome. Lifting her finger to her mouth, she sucked his essence from her skin with a soft moan.

“Jesus.” A ragged exhale escaped Dante before he pulled her into his arms for a deep, drugging kiss that melted her bones. Their tongues tangled, intermingling both of their tastes. He broke the kiss and stared at her. “I need to be inside you. Now.”

Whimpering in agreement, she yanked his jeans past his hips. He scooted out from between her legs so he could kick his boots and pants completely off. “I hope to fucking God you have some condoms stashed somewhere, because I sure as shit don’t.”

Being shifters, they didn’t have to worry about human STDs, so condoms were strictly to prevent pregnancy amongst their kinds. But an unpleasant allergy to latex made condoms out of the question for her. “I can do even better than that. I have an IUD.”

The expression that crossed Dante’s face reminded her of a kid who’d woken up Christmas morning to a pony in the backyard. He settled over her again and slid hot, open-mouthed kisses along her neck. The delicious, heavy weight of his shaft nudged at the slick entrance of her pussy with its own brand of kiss. She wiggled beneath him, forcing his thick cockhead inside her a fraction. A tremor ran through Dante, and he rolled his hips, thrusting deeper. His penetration was a slow, luscious glide that allowed her to feel every hard centimeter of him. The diving of his cock didn’t stop until he was buried to the hilt within her. He hesitated, his cockhead butting her cervix and his smoldering gaze locked with hers, before he retreated completely and started his lazy plunge all over again. And again.

She tilted her hips, trying to speed him up, but he only lifted farther out of reach by balancing on his outstretched arms. Not about to be thwarted, she hooked her good leg behind his ass and ground against him. A bead of sweat slid down his sternum and lines of strain furrowed his forehead. “Babe, what part of I get to be on top do you not understand?”

“But—” She broke off with an indignant gasp when Dante pulled out of her and rolled her onto her stomach. His hand settled firmly on her tailbone when she attempted to flip back over. The light dusting of hair on his thighs grazed her skin as he settled between her legs again. She snorted. “Doggie style? I should have known.”

He chuckled. “Don’t even pretend you’re not gonna love this.” With that boast hanging in the air, he lifted her hips and thrust inside her. Somehow, the new position allowed him even deeper access, which he took full advantage of as he bottomed out inside her pussy. He pumped his cock in an unhurried, steady rhythm, the whole time keeping full command of their lovemaking and her pleasure.

She had no option but to take it. And sweet mother of whiskers, did she freaking love it. Before Dante, she’d never experienced sex with a shifter who was the sheer epitome of dominant alpha. Amongst the lynchats, it was usually the females who held that title. Not that the males were pussy-whipped—no pun intended—but there was no denying that nine times out of ten, the women were the natural-born leaders and the most likely to take charge in the bedroom. She’d always assumed she preferred it that way, but she’d be a damn liar if she said she didn’t want to thoroughly submit to Dante’s mastery at the moment. Fortunately there would be plenty of time tomorrow to scold herself for usurping her feminist power. Because right now, Dante and his wonder cock were too potent to resist.

Her toes curling, she gave in to the rapturous purr tickling the back of her throat.

Dante’s rhythm faltered briefly before he thrust deeper. “Do you have any idea how much I fuckin’ loved watching you get yourself off yesterday? Later, I fantasized about doing exactly this, my cock pounding into you from behind while you played with your clit.”

“Y-you did?” Almost unconscious of what she was doing, she slipped a hand between her legs and coasted a finger over the slick bundle of nerves.

A growl issued from Dante. “Yeah, like that, baby. Stroke that pretty little clit for me.” His fingers clenching around her hips, he pulled her into his fierce thrusts. Between his pistoning cock and her rubbing motions, it took little time for the next climax to barrel down on her—this one even more powerful than the last. It tore through her, shattering her into a million brilliant fragments. Her incoherent cries rang in her own ears as her body trembled and convulsed. Her channel pulsed and spasmed around Dante, clamping down on his cock in a sucking embrace. With one last smooth thrust, he surged deep inside her and came with a long, shuddering groan.

Their limbs entangled, they collapsed into the bedding. It took several moments to chase down her breath. Once she did, she rolled onto her other side to face Dante and grinned. “Okay, I might not mind being on the bottom once in a while. But just you wait until I’m on top.”

A laughing groan rumbled through his chest. “Why do I get the feeling it’s gonna damn well kill me?”

Chapter Seven

Lilly gave an indulgent stretch as she swung her legs over the mattress. Eighteen hours had passed since Dante left her bed, and she was still sore—in all the right places. If there was one thing she’d learned from their sexy afternoon together, it was that werewolves possessed insane stamina. Honestly, it was no wonder so many damn Morgans populated this neck of the woods. Werewolves were bigger boinking machines than rabbits.

Not that she was complaining…mostly.

She gingerly tested the status of her injured ankle by resting most of her weight on that foot. Not even the tiniest twinge of pain. Pumping her fist in victory, she hurried to the bathroom and cranked on the shower to a hot enough setting to chase away the morning chill from her achy muscles. After stripping from her pajamas, she jumped beneath the spray and soaped up her washcloth. Despite her best efforts to ignore the pleasurable tingles shooting across her skin, the silky glide of the cloth brought her memories racing back to the enticing way Dante’s hands thoroughly explored every inch of her yesterday.

A hot flush of need trembled through her. The realization that Dante had the power to affect her this way was both thrilling and disturbing. The handful of lovers she’d had in the past certainly hadn’t left her this weak-kneed with desire and starving for a repeat performance between the sheets.

It must be the hormones. Soon as her heat cycle was finished, she’d be back to her normal self, thank God. It was disconcerting being a slave to her body where Dante was concerned. Just because she’d agreed to this sham of a marriage didn’t mean she could afford to grant him control of certain things that needed to stay out of this deal—like her heart. Thankfully their past history prevented the possibility of her falling for him. Sure, the sex was mind-blowing and something she could easily become addicted to, but nothing would suck more than being in a one-sided love affair. Her own mother had suffered from that unfortunate affliction. Although Rob Prescott had loved his wife before they’d ultimately divorced each other, it wasn’t exactly a secret that he’d shared his affections with other females. Seeing the silent anguish her mother had suffered throughout the years had only solidified Lilly’s decision to steer clear of marriage.

Which really made her present predicament pretty damn ironic. But as long as she kept control of the situation and her emotions out of it, everything would be fine, and her heart would remain safe.

Tossing the cloth aside, Lilly shut off the water and snagged a towel. She dressed before the shower’s warmth could abandon her bones. Releasing her hair from the clip she’d secured it with, she headed to the kitchen to get a much-needed caffeine fix. That plan became derailed when she inspected the package of coffee and realized she’d accidentally bought whole bean instead of ground. Groaning, she slumped against the counter and peered through the tiny window at the snowflakes pirouetting outside. Do I really need coffee that badly?

Her groggy brain responded with a Hell yes. She nibbled her thumbnail as she eyed the dense stand of pines separating the farthest corner of her property from Dante’s. No doubt he had plenty of coffee in that well-stocked kitchen of his. But if she went over there, he’d assume she was using the visit as an excuse to jump him. Which now that she thought about it, sounded pretty damn appealing.

No, she refused to allow her hormones to get the last word, damn it. Besides, becoming dependant on Dante for anything—even coffee—was the last thing she wanted to do.

Grumbling beneath her breath in an effort to drown out the persistent pleas of her inner slut, she stalked from the kitchen and swiped her coat and keys on the way to the front door. She paused long enough to struggle into her winter gear before braving the elements outside. Shivering, she cranked the Escape’s heater to full blast and left the vehicle to warm up while she returned to the cabin and applied some blush and lip-gloss—neither of which were intended to appeal to a certain werewolf on the off chance she ran into him in town. Keeping that pathetic lie firmly planted in her mind, she locked up the cabin and returned to her car. Fortunately the interior temperature no longer resembled that of an igloo.

Shifting into reverse, she backed toward the end of the drive. An ominous thumping noise sounded as her rear wheels sank into the large drift of snow blocking the road. She cautiously stepped on the gas pedal and gritted her teeth as the wheels spun. Was fate that dead set against her getting her caffeine fix this morning? Just as frustrated defeat settled in her belly, the tires finally found traction. Giving her giddy whoop of victory full rein, she plowed through the last of the barricade and fishtailed onto the main roadway.

She stared at the mountain of snow she’d cleared. It’d be a miracle if she tackled that monster again without getting permanently stuck until next spring’s thaw. The better option would be getting the drive plowed while she was in town. Yet another excellent excuse for her to drop by Dante’s house—which she absolutely wouldn’t do. She was a far cry from being the type of female who relied on a man to handle things she was perfectly capable of taking care of on her own—like tracking down Dante’s cousin Shane and paying him to take care of the snow. Letting Dante have his delicious way with her yesterday certainly hadn’t changed her self-reliance, and she’d make damn sure it never would.

Humming the opening bars of “I am Woman”, she stepped on the gas and headed toward town.

Dante grabbed his jacket and whistled for Chevy. The dog came galloping from the kitchen, a blur of white fur and scrabbling paws. Well acquainted with Chevy’s propensity for colliding with any solid object standing in his way, Dante yanked open the front door and stepped back as the Great Dane went streaking past. While Chevy hightailed it down the porch steps and dove into the fresh blanket of snow that’d fallen overnight so he could blissfully make dog angels, Dante shrugged into his jacket and locked up the house. He hummed to himself, feeling the best he had in months.

A good portion of the cause for that was knowing he’d found a way to beat Foster at his own game. The manipulative son of a bitch wouldn’t like having the rug pulled out from under his ambitious scheme. And that filled Dante with immeasurable triumph. But if he were to be completely honest, his good mood had an awful lot to do with the three incredible hours he’d spent in Lilly’s bed yesterday afternoon—and the prospect of whiling away another couple hours in it later this morning, after his errands were done.

To say his hunger for her hadn’t cooled would be a massive understatement. Just thinking about Lilly and how desperately he wanted to stay buried inside her all day made his cock throb and thicken.

Jesus. He’d never been this affected by a female before. The fact that it was Lilly—one of the biggest sources of his headaches all these years—only made it more surreal. And insane.

Palming his keys, he strode to his pickup and swung the door open. The rusty whine of the hinges provoked his grin as he recalled Lilly’s crack about the WD-40. Is this what getting laid reduced him to? A sappy fool who actually appreciated the little hellcat’s sarcastic barbs? He wouldn’t have believed it possible.

Leaning across the steering wheel, he keyed the ignition. The sluggish roar of the engine alerted Chevy that it was time to haul his snow-covered ass into the cab. With an effortless leap, the dog landed on the front seat and shook himself off with a full-body wiggle before jumping in the back. Grimacing, Dante swiped the snow from his seat. Satisfied he’d adequately prevented a case of soggy rear, he climbed in and slammed the door. The interior of the vehicle still carried the alluring essence of Lilly. Closing his eyes, he dragged her scent deep into his lungs. A moment later the stench of wet dog and one of Chevy’s crowd-clearing gas bombs intruded on the idyllic moment.

Cursing and hacking, Dante buzzed the window down. “You just had to wait to do that in here, didn’t ya?”

Chevy’s only response was an innocent expression as he peered around the backseat as if he was trying to figure out where the noxious smell was coming from. Shaking his head, Dante buckled his seat belt. The overwhelming urge to check in on Lilly and see how her ankle was faring got the better of him, and he turned the nose of the truck in the direction of her cabin. Five minutes later, he braked next to the large snowdrift blocking her drive. Disappointment and a heavy dose of sexual frustration washed over him as he eyed the empty spot where her SUV should have been parked.

Damn it, the stubborn cat couldn’t have waited until he called Shane and had him stop by with the plow? Not only that, she seemed bound and determined to aggravate her injury. He had half a mind to track her down and drag her back to his place so he could make good on his threat to tie her to his bed. Then maybe she’d finally stay off her bad leg. Not to mention it’d give him great pleasure to give her plenty reason to want to stay put.

Setting his jaw, he fished his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Shane’s number. His cousin’s voicemail popped on, and Dante left him a message to swing by Lilly’s place and plow her drive. No doubt that would shock the hell out of Shane and give him plenty to speculate on. A portion of his surliness evaporating, Dante grinned and headed to the pet goods supply outside of town.

Chevy began his excited chorus of woofs before they’d even coasted to a stop in front of the barn-red building. Thanks to the free treats doled out by Dante’s cousin Jamie, the Pet Palace was akin to Doggie Disneyland—every local Fido’s favorite place on Earth.

Jamie met them at the door with a basted beef bone that was practically the length of Dante’s forearm. His tail thumping wildly, Chevy stared at the bone like he’d just fallen into a rapturous trance. A long trail of drool puddled from his mouth. Dante snorted. “Real dignified of you, boy.”

Jamie slapped him on the arm. “Be nice to my sweetie.” She offered Chevy an affectionate scratch behind the ear before handing over the treat.

While Chevy sprawled on the cement floor and gnawed contentedly on his bone, Dante headed to the back of the store, where the aisle of Morgan’s Wolf brand was stocked. He scanned the nearly empty shelves, gratified to see that the new line of gourmet canned foods he’d introduced last month seemed to be selling like hot cakes. Grabbing his notepad and pen from his jacket pocket, he jotted down a quick tally of the items. He’d compare the list with the inventory Jamie kept in storage so he’d have a better idea which products seemed to be more popular. Once that task was finished, he browsed the other dog food aisles, checking out his competition. As he passed the cat section, his lips quirked. He’d never given much serious thought to breaking into that particular market, but maybe he should give it a go in deference to his bride-to-be.

Moving on, he inspected the display of cat toys. His gaze zeroed in on a wooden wand that had a leopard-print fleece ribbon attached to it. A bundle of feathers dangled from the end of the fabric. He ran his thumb over the feathers, his mind conjuring the endless hours of fun he could have teasing Lilly’s nipples and clit with the toy. His cock stiffening in approval of that plan, he grabbed two of the wands—the leopard print one and another in hot pink.

Raised voices suddenly broke out near the front of the store. He instantly recognized Anna Gifford’s patronizing whine, and his muscles tensed. Tempted as he was to sneak through the rear exit, he couldn’t leave Jamie to deal with Satan. Biting the bullet, he stalked toward the entrance.

Anna stopped arguing with Jamie and plastered on a sweet smile that belied the poisonous viper lurking beneath her spoiled, rich-bitch exterior. “Dante, darling, there you are.” She took a step toward him, and Chevy stopped chewing on his bone long enough to deliver a menacing growl. Anna was the only person Chevy ever did that to. Just further proof that the dog was an amazing judge of character.

After granting Chevy an irritated glance, Anna returned her focus to Dante. Her attention fell to the cat toys he carried. She frowned but didn’t comment on them, instead choosing to launch into her favorite topic—their nonexistent relationship. “My father is hosting a dinner tomorrow night for a few of his investors. I just wanted to double-check that you’re still coming.”

Anna’s stubborn self-delusions were nothing new, but it didn’t lessen his annoyance. “I told you before and I’m telling you now—it’ll be a cold day in hell before I spend an evening with you. Or your dad.”

Obvious displeasure bracketed Anna’s mouth. She flicked her gaze in Jamie’s direction, her scowl deepening as she took in Jamie’s smirk. Refortifying her phony smile, Anna gazed at Dante. “I thought we were done playing these hard-to-get games. Foster—”

“Needs to mind his own damn business,” Dante cut in. “Whatever arrangement you and my old man have cooked up behind my back is dead in the water. Comprende? You’re gonna have to find another schmuck to sink your claws into.”

A snicker shot from Jamie, which only brought a flush to Anna’s cheeks and fire to her narrowed eyes. Tugging the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder, Anna tossed her curly brown hair in a defiant flick. “Sooner or later, you’ll see what’s good for you, Dante. Then you’ll come crawling to me.” With that parting shot, she pivoted and sashayed through the exit.

Jamie grunted. “God, I can’t stand that evil bitch.” Her expression suddenly turning worried, she glanced at Dante. “What if she’s right though?”

He frowned. “About me crawling to her? No damn way.”

“I know you don’t want to. But your dad wants this merger pretty badly. And we all know that Anna is a pro at getting what she wants, especially since she has her daddy’s wallet at her disposal.”

“It’s not going to happen. You and the rest of the pack have my word on that.”

Jamie gave a solemn nod. “You’ll do right by us. You always have.”

Something that no doubt chapped Foster’s ass, big time. There probably wasn’t a minute that passed when his old man didn’t regret not siring another son—one who’d show a semblance of obedience.

Pushing his father to the back of his mind, Dante whistled for Chevy to follow as he headed toward the register. He tossed the cat toys onto the checkout counter and dug for his wallet while Jamie moseyed to the other side of the register. Her eyebrows lifting, she picked up one of the wands. Her scrutiny shifted from the toy to him. “Uh, did you adopt a cat?”

“In a matter of speaking.” Before Jamie could question him further, he flipped her a twenty and waited for her to count out his change. Soon enough, Jamie—and everyone else within a thirty-mile radius of Hope Falls—would know about him and Lilly. In order not to arouse suspicions regarding his and Lilly’s newfound romance, he needed to leak the information without it looking like he was deliberately trying to draw attention to their charade of a relationship. Planting little clues like the cat toys and having Shane plow her drive would ultimately go a long way in backing up their ruse. Giving his frowning cousin a properly enigmatic smile, he strode to the entrance and held the door open for Chevy to trot outside with the giant bone clamped possessively between his teeth.

Three minutes later he pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the gas station. Judging from the amount of cars lined up at the pump, he wasn’t the only one preparing for the possibility of the power being knocked out by the big upcoming storm this weekend. He briefly debated the feasibility of topping off his gas cans for the generator during the trip back home on Saturday, but the bed of his truck would be overloaded as it was with the product samples he’d be bringing back. Not to mention he’d promised his cousin Harper the delivery of that load of firewood.

Grumbling, he braked behind an idling Jeep and flicked the heater to low so it wouldn’t continue blasting him in the face. The sound of Chevy munching on the beef bone competed with the Garth Brooks number floating through the speakers. Dante crooked his elbow on the window frame and eyed the steady flow of traffic easing through the opposing lane. I always pick the wrong damn line.

Across the street, a familiar tan SUV rolled into the Bowl ’N’ Brew’s parking lot. He sat up straighter in his seat. Craning his neck, he watched as Lilly parked near the front of the building and climbed from her car. Despite the fact she was swaddled within her body-concealing balloon coat, his cock still saluted at the sight of her.

Jesus, he had it bad. If he wasn’t careful, his hunger for Lilly could morph into something a lot more dangerous to his sanity.

Chapter Eight

Lilly tugged off her gloves and stuffed them into her coat pocket as she ventured past the threshold of the Bowl ’N’ Brew. Blowing on her numb fingertips, she surveyed the motley crew of patrons occupying the scattered tables and the stools lined up at the bar. She was pretty damn certain they were the same customers she’d seen the last time she’d visited this redneck hangout. Hell, maybe they’d never left.

Unfortunately, she didn’t spot Shane. He had to be here somewhere though, since his truck was outside. Loosening her scarf, she approached the bar. The pair of werewolves dressed in matching flannel to the left of her sniffed the air in an appreciative way that made the short hairs on the nape of her neck stand on end.

Ignoring her prickling nerves, she flagged down the bartender. The kid gave her a suspicious glance before moseying over. “Yeah?”

She decided to momentarily overlook his rudeness. “Would you know if Shane Morgan is around?”

“No idea.”

“I could have sworn that’s his truck outside.”

“Could be.”

Apparently the kid was under the impression he’d be charged for overusage of words. Biting back her frustrated retort before it could fully form, she turned on her heel and strode toward the bank of windows separating the bar from the bowling alley. The windows offered her an unimpeded view of the lanes. There were only a handful of people in there, and none of them were Shane. She pivoted—and gasped in surprise as she almost collided with the flannel twins from the bar.

The werewolf standing directly in front of her licked his chops. “You smell good.”

His dark-haired companion grinned lewdly. “Yeah, and your lips are real purty too. Bet you’re mighty talented with them.”

Despite her flicker of apprehension, she couldn’t temper her innate sarcasm. “No more so than your boyfriend Bubba, I’m sure.”

The blond werewolf frowned. “Who the hell is Bubba?”

His friend elbowed him in the ribs. “I think that was supposed to be an insult.”

“Yeah?” Blondie scowled.

Clearly these two skipped school the day they were passing out brains. “Fun as it’s been chatting with you, I’m supposed to be meeting someone.”

“Who?”

She glared at the dark-haired werewolf. “That’s none of your damn business.”

Unmistakable menace flashed in the other wolf’s eyes. “We’re making it our business.”

She tamped down her instinctual fear. These two bullies couldn’t do anything to her here without bringing trouble down on themselves. Squaring her shoulders, she attempted to push past the blond werewolf, and squeaked when he shoved her back toward the wall of windows. She opened her mouth to cry out for help just as Blondie went flying sideways.

Blinking, she stared at Dante’s tight, enraged features. He wasn’t looking at her, but rather the werewolf he’d flattened to the grungy, threadbare carpet. Dante’s lips pulled back, putting his sharp incisors on fierce display. “Touch her again and I’ll rip your fucking head off.”

The werewolf on the floor gaped at Dante stupidly. Unfortunately, his companion seemed a little faster on the uptake. He swung a meaty fist at Dante, connecting with his jaw. Unprepared for the blow, Dante staggered sideways. He shook his head before breaking from his momentary befuddlement and lunging at his attacker. For a few seconds, the soundtrack of smacks, thumps and grunts as the two of them whaled on each other competed with the Bluegrass music blaring from the jukebox. It was like watching a weird outtake from The Dukes of Hazzard.

Mystified, Lilly shot a desperate glance toward the nearby bar patrons. Everyone seemed more interested in the episode of The Price Is Right playing on the big screen than the fight breaking out in their midst.

Freaking rednecks. Her grumble turned into a yelp when the other werewolf wobbled to his feet and made a swipe at her. Dante stopped in mid-punch and directed his fist at Blondie instead. From the corner of her eye, Lilly spied Shane stepping from the hallway that led to the restrooms. Unlike the others in the room, his gaze immediately trekked to them. His eyes widened briefly as he gaped at Dante. The next instant, Shane charged in their direction and collided with the dark-haired werewolf in a flying tackle. Lilly quickly ducked out of the danger zone, flattening herself against the edge of a nearby table.

For several minutes all she could do was stand by helplessly while Dante, Shane and the two other werewolves continued pounding on each other. And to think, she’d only stopped in here because she wanted to get her damn driveway plowed. Yet one more reason for her to eternally hate snow.

After a few more exchanged blows, Dante picked up one of the chairs and knocked out his opponent with a well-placed swing. Shane employed the same trick on his guy before shooting a grin toward Dante. “Damn, been a while since you and I took care of the riffraff.” Using the back of his hand to swipe away a trickle of blood that seeped from a small gash on his forehead, Shane observed the fallen werewolves with obvious disdain. “So, what’d the Gifford brothers do this time?”

The murder hadn’t entirely abandoned Dante’s expression. “They messed with my woman.”

Shane’s dark eyebrows winged upward. “Your woman? Since when the hell have you had a…?” His voice slowly trailing off, Shane slashed his stare in her direction. Good thing there were no flies buzzing around with the way his mouth was gaping. Just when she became convinced that he’d been struck permanently mute, he belted out a laugh and slapped Dante on the back. “Good one, coz. But you know it’s a little early for April Fools’.”

“It’s not a joke.” The fierce possessiveness once again brewing in his eyes, Dante tugged her into his arms. “Lilly is mine.” Giving her no time to respond to that predatory claim, he slammed his mouth over hers.

Chapter Nine

“Was that absolutely necessary?”

Dante waited for the Bowl ’N’ Brew’s front door to completely close behind them before glancing at Lilly. The pink tinge to her cheeks matched the rosiness of her mouth. “Me kissing you? Hell yeah.”

“No. Calling me yours.”

“It made a believer out of Shane, didn’t it?” To be honest, the primal hunger that’d swept through him speaking those three words had almost made him a believer. As it was, his body still thrummed with the strong urge to bend Lilly over the tailgate of his truck and bury his cock inside her. Her intoxicating scent didn’t help matters. Unable to resist the lure of her pheromones, he hoisted her into his arms and snuffled the side of her neck.

“That tickles.” Her giggle made his balls tighten.

Damn pathetic. Suddenly recalling her injured ankle, he gentled his grip on her. “What are you doing here, anyway? You’re supposed to be staying off your leg.”

“I’m fine. If you’d set me down, I could show you firsthand.”

“Nope. I like you right where you are.” Squeezing her ass, he sucked on her earlobe.

The door to the Bowl ’N’ Brew swung open behind them, and Frank Hopkins, one of the resident old timers, walked out. His scowl adequately censorious, Frank stalked toward his beat-up station wagon.

Lilly wiggled, attempting to escape Dante’s grasp. “I don’t care how authentic you want this to look, I’m still not letting you do me doggie style in front of your pack. Or grumpy old men.”

It took a sec for his head to clear enough to remember his speech about the mate-bond ceremony. Of course she would think this was about their arrangement. After all, it was the reason for their whole charade, right? His dick was only getting caught up in the moment. Grunting at that weird thought, he let her slide back down his body.

She nibbled her lip as she looked up at him. “That’s not to say I wouldn’t let you do me doggie style someplace more private.”

His cock bobbed against the fly of his jeans. “That so?”

“Mm hmm.”

Hot damn. Act or not, there was no way in hell he’d pass that up. Lacing their fingers, he led her toward his truck. She shot a glance toward her SUV, and he gave her a squeeze. “We’ll come back for it.”

“But we’re right here. I can drive myself—” She broke off with a wispy moan when he sucked her earlobe between his teeth again.

“If I don’t end up inside you within the next two minutes, I’m gonna fucking self-combust.”

“Ooh.” Angling her head back, she offered him a cheeky smile. “Then what are you waiting for?”

He slapped her ass with one hand while he used the other to yank open his truck’s passenger door. After assisting her in, he hurried to the other side and hopped behind the wheel.

“Do you always leave your engine running while you’re off instigating bar fights?”

“Chevy’s in the backseat. Can’t get any better theft deterrent than him.” Not that his dog would do anything more lethal than lick a potential car thief to death, but the Great Dane’s intimidating size made up for his lack in other areas. Dante shifted out of park and cruised toward the farthest end of the lot, where they would be safe from prying eyes. “And for your information, I didn’t start that fight in there.”

“I know.” She hesitated for a moment before peeking at him. “Thank you for helping me out. You seem to be doing that a lot.”

“You sound like you’re not exactly happy about that.”

She fiddled with the strap of the seat belt. “I don’t like the idea of relying on anyone but myself.”

He grunted. “So I’ve noticed.”

Her silence stretched between them again before she cleared her throat and released the shoulder strap. “I guess I’ve just always found it easier that way. Less likely for me to be disappointed.”

The softness in her tone dragged his focus to her profile. “How so?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. It’s not important.”

Whenever a woman uttered those three words, the opposite proved to be true. He had enough female relatives to know the wisdom of that fact. He slipped the gear into park and turned toward her. “Tell me.”

“I was under the impression we snuck over here to fool around.” Leaning forward, she struggled out of her coat.

He wanted to press her further, but the sight of her nipples straining against her thin cable-knit sweater leached his brain of all other thought. “Jesus. You’re not wearing a bra, are you?”

“Nope.” She kicked off her snow boots before unzipping her pants and shimmying from them along with her bikini underwear.

He sat there like a dumbass moron for a full twenty seconds before snapping to his senses and fumbling with the buttons on his fly. Flipping up the padded divider that acted as a center armrest, he scooted toward the middle of the bench seat and reached for Lilly. Awarding him a saucy smile, she swung a leg over his hip and straddled his lap. “I like to call this kitty style.”

Laughing, he reached for the hem of her sweater and tugged it upward. While he divested Lilly of her top and nuzzled her cleavage, she freed his cock and stroked his length. He shifted sideways and laved her nipple, loving the way it pebbled against his tongue. Her taste was addictive. Consuming. Plumping her breasts between his palms, he rubbed her nipples with his thumbs. “Someday soon I’m gonna find out precisely how awesome it is fucking this cleavage.”

Her mouth crooked at one corner. “You think so, huh?”

“Yeah, amongst other things.”

“Sounds like a lot of empty talk to me.” Reaching between them, she guided his cockhead to the entrance of her pussy and bore down. Warm, wet heat encased him in a slow glide. She started to move faster but winced when her kneecaps banged into the seat. “This is less comfortable than I thought it’d be. Not to mention your dog is staring at me. It’s kind of giving me a complex.”

“Turn away from me, so you’re facing the windshield.”

“Ooh, good idea.” With a little maneuvering, she shifted around and leaned forward to grip the dashboard as she bobbed up and down on his shaft. The new position gifted him with a mouthwatering view of his cock tunneling through her wetness. The spike of possessive hunger he’d experienced earlier returned with a vengeance. Growling, he clasped her hips and pumped into her deeper. She gasped, her pussy fluttering around him. Never loosing his rhythm, he banded one arm across her waist and pulled her against him. His free hand slid between her legs and cupped her pussy from the front, his thumb slicking over her clit. Her head fell back against his shoulder. “Oh God, Dante.”

The way she groaned his name made him thicken inside her even more. It took a moment to realize what was happening as his cockhead swelled to the point it felt like it was ready to burst. He’d never once experienced a mating knot. The fact it was happening now—with Lilly—without even marking her with his bite, for Christ’s sake, might have freaked him out if he’d been able to concentrate on anything besides how fucking good she felt stretched tight around him.

She must have noticed the significant change in his girth because she jerked her head up. “Uh, Dante, what’s going on in there?”

It took some doing not to laugh at her choice of words. “Shh. It’s okay. Just give me a minute.”

“But—”

The last thing he wanted to have to do was explain to her what was going on, and the possible ramifications of why, so he caressed her clit again, hoping it would distract her. It seemed to do the trick. A sexy whimper escaping her, she wiggled in his lap. She arched her back suddenly, her fingers digging into his thighs. A strangled noise that sounded suspiciously like meooooow choked from her as her whole body tensed. The tiny muscles in her pussy contracted, milking him with enough force to make him come with her. Shuddering, he held her tighter as they both rode out the waves of their powerful orgasms.

A moment later she slumped on top of him, apparently content to let him stay buried inside her. Fortunate, considering the mating knot hadn’t yet diminished enough to allow him to pull out. As he listened to their heartbeats beating in perfect syncopation, he couldn’t help a chuckle from breaking loose.

She popped one eye open and squinted at him fiercely. “Don’t even say it.”

He waited for her eyes to drift back shut before allowing his grin full rein. “I made you meow.”

She pinched his thigh hard enough to earn his yelp. Her lips curved into a sleepy smile. “Yeah, but just you wait until I make you howl.”

Chapter Ten

Twenty minutes later, Dante rounded the bend in his drive and stared at the four vehicles blocking his way. He shifted his scrutiny to the front porch. Sure enough, Shane, Theo, Jamie and Tess were huddled near the door, clouds of cold air puffing from their mouths. More than likely, the only reason the rest of the Morgan clan wasn’t here was because they hadn’t been able to duck out of work.

Thank Christ for small miracles.

On the one hand, he was happy the scene back at the Bowl ’N’ Brew had done the trick, but he wasn’t such a glutton for punishment to welcome the idea of fielding all of his relatives’ incredulous demands at once.

Drawing a deep breath, he pulled next to the shed and killed the engine. Every eye was trained on him as he climbed from the vehicle and stepped aside, allowing Chevy to leap from the cab. Rather than going to greet their visitors in his typical enthusiastic fashion, the dog skulked around the corner of the house, presumably to stash his bone someplace safe before someone might steal it. Left to deal with the gang on his own, Dante approached the porch.

“What the hell, dude?” Theo demanded before anyone else had a chance to speak up.

Jamie offered Dante an accusing stare. “So you adopted a cat, huh?” She grimaced. “Oh man, I don’t even want to know what you’re planning to do with those cat toys.”

Tess’s eyebrows lifted. She opened her mouth, only to snap it shut as the crunch of tires sounded. Dante turned and watched the approach of Lilly’s SUV. Even with the distance separating them, he could clearly see the wide-eyed apprehension overtaking her face as she took in the amount of Morgans camped on his porch. He had to give her credit for not flooring it in reverse and hightailing it the fuck out of there.

Hell, it was probably what he would have done.

A weighty silence descended on the group as Lilly parked her vehicle and made the slow trek toward the porch. Dante’s gaze dipped toward her neckline, where the tag for her sweater was hanging out in plain view. She’d jumped into her clothes so fast earlier, he hadn’t noticed she’d put the sweater on backwards.

His mouth quirked, and Lilly glanced down. A groan fell from her. “Aw crap.” Her motions swift, she tugged her scarf in place to cover up her wardrobe malfunction.

Something about her obvious embarrassment stoked his protective instincts. Cupping her elbow, he pulled her close and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

The collective spell of silence that’d gripped his cousins shattered as they all began talking at once. In his typical fashion, Theo outshouted everyone else. “Holy shit, Shane wasn’t talking out of his ass.”

Shane’s eyebrows snapped low as he glared at his brother. “Why would I have been talking out of my ass?”

“’Cause you’re good at it.”

Ignoring Theo’s smartass crack, Shane transferred his scowl to Dante. “Not two days ago, you were bitching about Lilly swinging by your place. Now the two of you are doing the mattress mambo?”

Dante shrugged. “Things change.”

“That’s a big jump to make, dude,” Theo pointed out.

Tess cleared her throat. “I think everyone is just a little…shocked…right now.”

“You can say that again,” Theo groused before pinning Dante with a penetrating stare.

Theo’s suspicion was expected. As the sheriff of Highland County, Theo tended to not take things at immediate face value. Still, it didn’t stop Dante from grinding his teeth. A retort sprang to his mouth just as Foster’s black Hummer came roaring up the drive.

A grunt fell from Theo. “This is gonna be interesting.”

Hell, that was putting it mildly. Tucking Lilly closer to his side, Dante waited for his father to jump from the car. Foster’s coloring was beet red, hinting that he was seconds away from launching into apeshit crazy mode. He stomped forward, his livid gaze panning from Lilly to Dante. “You better have a damn good reason for the mess you left back in town.”

Obviously the Gifford brothers hadn’t wasted any time sniveling over getting their asses kicked. No doubt they’d phoned their dad right after the fact, who in turn called Foster. Fucking pussies. “Yeah, I’ve got a perfect reason—no one lays a hand on my fiancée.”

His bombshell did the trick of momentarily stunning Foster—and everyone else—into silence. There weren’t many occasions where his dad was caught off guard and left with his mouth gaping open. A full fifteen seconds passed before Foster found his tongue again. Eyes narrowing, he glared at Lilly. “Is this your idea of payback for your grandpap, you little slut?”

A cold, lethal rage speared through Dante. His fist connected with Foster’s face before he fully comprehended he’d thrown the punch. Foster thudded backwards into the snow as a pair of gasps sprang from Jamie and Tess.

The residual knife’s edge of anger still coiled in his gut, Dante eyed the blood trickling from his father’s nostrils. “Call her that again, and I’ll do a lot more than rearrange your nose.”

Foster struggled to his feet before spitting in the snow. “If you think I’m going to allow you to marry her, you’re dead wrong.”

“You don’t tell me what to do.”

“If you want to keep your alpha status and continue leading this pack, you damn well will do what I say.” Triumph twisted Foster’s hard features. “You’re free to fuck her all you want—it won’t satisfy your mate-bond requirement.”

“There’s nothing in our bylaws that demands it be a wolf I mate with.”

A tiny fraction of the victory sputtered in Foster’s gleeful expression. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, he glanced at the rest of the Morgans congregated behind Dante. “They won’t accept her as your mate.”

“I’d accept Lilly before I would Anna Gifford,” Jamie piped up.

A trio of harmonizing responses echoed from the others, earning a black scowl from Foster. His hands fisted at his sides. “Hardly a majority vote. Believe me, the rest of the pack won’t be so easily swayed.” With those words of warning, he spun on his heel and stalked back to the Hummer. After banging the door shut, he gunned the engine and floored it in reverse, sending up a shower of snow on either side of the vehicle.

In the wake of Foster’s irate departure, another lengthy silence filled the void. A shiver coursed through Lilly, and Dante tightened his arm around her. He turned and caught the curious speculation of his cousins.

Damn. So much for an uninterrupted repeat performance of the hot and heavy session he and Lilly had engaged in earlier. Not masking his irritation, he journeyed up the stairs and unlocked the door. Everyone trooped inside. While Theo made himself comfortable on the couch, Jamie and Tess offered Lilly awkward hugs and congratulated her on the engagement. A grunt chuffing from Theo, he stacked his feet on the coffee table. Ignoring him, Dante ventured to the kitchen to gather beer and other refreshments for his unexpected guests. Twisting the cap off a bottle of Bud, he chugged down a much-needed swallow. Now that some of the adrenaline was wearing off from the showdown with his father, a host of conflicted emotions took root. Disbelief warred with the feral satisfaction burning in his chest. Bad as things had been between him and his old man in the past, it’d never escalated to the point of outright violence.

He should probably feel guiltier about decking Foster, but the truth was he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if push came to shove. He wouldn’t stand for anyone calling Lilly a slut, much less that someone being his own father.

A scuffing noise sounded behind him, and he turned as Shane approached. His cousin eyed the bottle in Dante’s hand before grabbing another for himself from the counter and tipping it in Dante’s direction. “To your upcoming nuptials.”

Dante met the skepticism in Shane’s unwavering gaze. “You’re the one who said I need a wife.”

“Hell, I didn’t think you’d take me up on it. And you better believe I never expected the lucky lady to end up being Lilly.” Shane pointed the bottle at Dante again. “So what’s the real story here, coz?”

Dante carefully kept his expression bland. “There’s no story.”

“Bullshit. You couldn’t stand each other two days ago.”

“Maybe I was wrong about Lilly all these years.” Had he been? Truthfully, he’d been all too willing to only see what he’d perceived to be her pain-in-the-ass qualities. And mostly that’d been due to his frustration over her determination to get him to sell the land. But was Lilly’s dedication to the lynchats’ cause any different than his commitment to his pack? Not really, when you got down to it.

Shane continued to give him that shrewd look that seemed to drill right into Dante’s brain. “You haven’t mate-bonded with her yet.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not planning to.” His thoughts veered to the unexpected mating knot he’d experienced earlier in the truck. Hell, it was plenty obvious his body was five steps ahead of the game in that regard. But the damnable part was while a mating bite was merely a symbolic mark amongst his species, a mating knot was the true hallmark of an emotional bond.

Which made no sense, considering he had no intention of letting his heart fall victim to the deception he and Lilly were perpetrating.

Shane’s chuckle jogged Dante from his silent musings. “Somehow I can’t picture Lilly letting you be on top long enough to mark her.”

Dante mentally rewound to yesterday’s wild ride in her bed. His silence must have clued Shane in on his train of thought because his cousin shook his head and laughed. “Well shit. Guess I’m wrong again.” Just as quickly as it’d surfaced, Shane’s humor vanished and was replaced by a solemn look. “I’ll support you no matter what, you know that.”

“But?” Dante prompted, filling in the tangible blank suspended at the end of Shane’s declaration.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Dante took another fortifying swig from his bottle. “Don’t worry. I can handle my old man.”

“I wasn’t referring to him.” Shane’s focus drifted toward the living-room entrance. “Marriage isn’t something to play at or enter into to get out of a bad situation. You might end up in even deeper water, with no way to save yourself from sinking.”

Dante’s beer went down bitter as he stared at Shane’s profile. He didn’t know what was more disturbing—the fact his cousin had possibly seen through the charade…

Or that Shane might be right.

Chapter Eleven

The second the last of Dante’s cousins said their goodbyes and disappeared out the door, Lilly breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed into the couch cushions. Dante shot the deadbolt home. Leaning his broad shoulder against the doorframe, he offered her a wry look. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”

She snorted. “Clearly you’ve imbibed a little too much werewolf moonshine this evening.”

His incisors flashed with his grin. He strode toward her and plunked his beer bottle on the coffee table, his eyebrows cocking in challenge.

“Hmm, did your still run dry?” She bit her lip to keep her smile from slipping free.

He chuckled. “Sassy pussy. I’ll get even for that later.”

Her clit tingled at the smoky promise in his gaze. Ignoring his deliberate bait with the word pussy, she crossed her legs to ease the ache. “So do you think your cousins bought our act?”

Dante gave a negligent shrug. “For the most part. Bottom line, they’d rather you be at my side than Anna. That’s all that matters.”

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she considered his words. “You’re sacrificing a lot for them. You could have always said no to getting married and mate-bonded, period.”

“Not an option.” His tone held no trace of regret or doubt.

“It’s that important for you to be their alpha?”

“Not because I get off on a power trip, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

She scooched onto her side and tucked her knees beneath her. “Then what is it?”

Dante was quiet for a long moment. Dragging a hand through the shaggy ends of his hair, he studied the rug beneath his boots. “They need someone they can trust. Someone who will look out for the best interests of the whole pack.”

“And that can only be you?”

“It falls under the jurisdiction of my father’s bloodline. If I don’t do what’s necessary to keep the title, he has the power to overturn my rights and reassign another as my replacement.”

“Judging from your guys’ conversation earlier, I assume that by necessary, you mean you getting married and mate-bonded.”

Dante nodded. “The only reason he hasn’t revoked my title sooner is because he’s been using it as leverage to get me to wed Anna so he can get his damn merger.”

“You mentioned before that the merger wouldn’t be a good thing. Why, exactly?”

Lines of tension bracketing his mouth, Dante made a fist and dropped his hand to his side. “You know those two werewolves who got physical with you earlier? They’re Anna’s brothers. Trust me, despite being wealthier than God, the rest of the Giffords and their pack are no more enlightened or civilized than those pair of yokels.”

She shuddered at the reminder of her encounter at the Bowl ’N’ Brew. “Why in the world would your father want to invite them into your pack then?”

Dante’s mouth twisted into a travesty of a smile. “Remember me mentioning the wealthier-than-God part? It’d be a nice payday for good ole Foster.”

“That’s despicable.” She couldn’t imagine a parent using their offspring for their own selfish advancement. Dysfunctional as her upbringing had been, at least her mom and dad hadn’t tried bartering her off to the highest bidder. No, if anything, Rob and Chloe had given her every reason to back away from the sanctity of marriage like a vampire avoiding garlic. Still, she’d rather take that than what had been shoved down Dante’s throat. “Man, it must have felt pretty satisfying to deck Foster.”

“Yeah, it did,” Dante offered reluctantly.

Sympathy and compassion welled inside her. Unable to resist, she jumped to her feet and stood on tiptoe so she could kiss Dante’s cheek. “You’re a good man. Don’t ever think otherwise.”

He pulled back and their gazes locked. “Some would say what I’m doing is dishonest. Not exactly honorable or decent of me.”

“You’re doing what you think is best. That isn’t anything to beat yourself up over.”

“Maybe.”

“No maybe about it.” She offered him a cheeky grin. “If I say it’s so, it must be right.”

That earned his chuckle. Wrapping his hand behind her head, he pulled her flush against him. “I’m probably gonna regret admitting this, but your sassiness turns me on like crazy.”

“Really?” She wiggled. “And here I thought that was just a spare beer bottle in your pocket.”

Gusting a laugh, he hauled her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed suggestively against his erection. Groaning, he cupped her buttocks and massaged her flesh through the thick wool of her slacks. “I’ve been fantasizing about this ass for the past hour and a half.”

“You don’t mind that I’ve got some junk in the trunk?”

“Shit no. I love it. In fact—”

“So help me, if you quantify that with ‘more pushin’ for the cushion’, I will refuse to have sex with you.”

“Not what I was gonna say at all.”

“Yeah? Then what?”

His eyes sparkled. “It’s slipped my mind.”

“Likely story.”

“Hell, I’m no idiot.” His lips brushed hers lightly before his tongue coaxed its way inside her mouth. He teased the edges of her teeth in a slow, exploratory glide. A moment later, he gifted her tongue with the same lush treatment until she was gasping and writhing in his arms. Without warning, he broke the kiss and set her back on her feet. “I forgot to grab something from my truck.”

She gaped at him as he pivoted and strode toward the door. “What the hell could be so important to leave me hanging like this, wolfman?”

“You won’t be hanging for long, pussycat.” With that intriguing promise floating in the air, he escaped outside. Less than thirty seconds later he returned and paused just long enough to stomp the snow from his boots before moseying toward her.

She eyed the paper bag he carried. “What’s that?”

“An experiment.” Saying nothing more beyond his cryptic statement, he snatched her hand and led her toward the hallway.

Before now, she’d never made it past his living room or kitchen. He didn’t allow her much time to sightsee though, instead striding with purpose to what she assumed was the master bedroom. Dante flicked on the overhead light, and they stepped inside the large, masculine space. He placed the mysterious bag on top of the moss-green quilt covering the enormous log bed. Once he had his hands freed, he reached for her sweater and tugged it over her head. A second later, her pants, bra and panties joined it on the floor. Despite the heat beginning to purl through her bloodstream, she shivered.

Dante stroked her arms. “Do you want to take a shower to warm up before I warm you up?”

“You’ve already succeeded there, but a shower does sound nice.”

He took her hand again and walked toward a doorway that presumably opened into the attached bathroom. Her suspicions became confirmed when she crossed the threshold and spotted the commode and granite-topped sink. Dante pulled back the fabric curtain fronting the large shower stall and cranked on the faucet. Soon a comforting cloud of steam enveloped the cozy space. He unbuttoned his shirt, putting to rest her silent curiosity over whether he’d join her for some bath-time fun.

Her appreciative stare roved over the sculpted planes of his chest before her hands followed suit. “I missed getting to feel all this yummy wolf meat when we were in your truck earlier.”

His lips twitched. “Wolf meat?”

“Hey, I let you get away with the pussy crack. Deal with it.”

“Fair enough, but I think you’re neglecting the meatiest part of me.”

She coasted her palm down his chiseled abdomen, following the happy trail to the waistband of his jeans. “Hmm, how absentminded of me.”

“Not to mention cruel.”

“Can’t have that.” Dropping to her knees, she inched his zipper down and freed his cock. Its fat, rosy head bobbed enticingly. Taking advantage of the invitation, she swirled her tongue over the satiny gland, leisurely licking him as if he were a tasty ice-cream cone. Dante tunneled his fingers through her hair and moaned. Encouraged by the husky sound, she sucked more of him into her mouth, reveling in the way he thickened and lengthened even more. Gliding her fingers down the column of his shaft, she traced every ridge and vein before cupping his balls. She increased her suction as she drew back toward the crown of his cock.

A shudder trembled through Dante, and his grip in her hair reflexively clenched. Glancing upward, she watched the strain tightening his features. There was something immensely sexy about bringing an alpha like Dante to the edge of control. She bobbed her head faster, giving him no quarter. Desperate grunts and groans shook from him as his knees wobbled. “Christ. Lilly, I’m gonna come if you keep that up.”

Grinning inside, she took a slow, deep swallow that had him cursing and sweating. Her free hand traveled to his backside and traced the crease of his tensed buttocks. Unable to resist, she rubbed his puckered hole. He came with a startled shout, his hips jerking.

Once his cock finished spurting down her throat, she gently disengaged and gave him a saucy wink. “Like that, did you?”

“You have a world of payback coming your way, pussycat.”

“Promises, promises.”

Growling, he swept her into his arms and climbed into the shower. She squealed in outrage when he dunked her directly beneath the spray. Sputtering, she slicked her sopping hair away from her eyes. “Mean, wolfman.”

“What? I like getting you wet.” An evil chuckle accompanied his double entendre. Placing her on her feet, he reached for the bar of woodsy-scented soap resting on the caddy and lathered up his palms. The first area he began washing was her breasts, of course. He took considerably longer than necessary to suds and rinse her nipples before offering the same methodical devotion to her pussy.

She was slightly surprised—and disappointed—that instead of bending her against the shower wall and filling her with his cock, he dialed off the faucet and grabbed one of the large fluffy towels from the nearby hook. He took care of drying her off before seeing to his own dripping frame. She snorted when he scooped her into his arms again. “You know, I do have a pair of functioning legs.”

“Yeah, but this way I get to cop some cheap feels.” He carried her into the bedroom and stopped abruptly. She tracked his gaze to the bed and spotted his Great Dane sprawled in the middle of the mattress rooting through the bag Dante had brought in from his truck.

“Chevy!”

Dante’s thunderous growl must have spooked the dog because a startled, muffled woof came from inside the bag before Chevy leapt from the bed and skidded across the floor, streaking blindly for the exit. Somehow he managed to make it into the hallway without crashing into anything.

Grumbling, Dante lowered her to her feet again and stalked after the dog. Bemused and fighting back a giggle, she crossed to the bed and parked her butt on its edge. After a moment, Dante’s pounding footsteps and curses stopped. She strained to hear any further noise but was cut short by Dante’s sudden appearance in the doorway. He gave her a chagrined look. “I put him in the cage. Hopefully that’ll be the last interruption we’ll have tonight.”

Her focus dipped to the strange wand gripped in his hand. It took her a moment to recognize what it was. Once she did, she crossed her arms over her chest and snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding. That’s your experiment?”

“Yep. Gonna test the theory on how many ways I can make you purr.”

“I had no idea you were such a kinky bastard. Anything else in the bag I should be aware of? Catnip? Tender Vittles?”

His gait predatory, Dante prowled toward her. “You’re the only tender vittle I’m interested in, kitten.”

She eyed the cat toy with disdain. “I mean it, I’m not playing with that damn thing.”

“I know.” His expression properly wolfish, Dante scooted her farther up the bed and leaned over her. “But I am.” He ducked his head and stroked his tongue across her nipple. Just as she became distracted by the delicious rasps and whorls he was inflicting on the pebbled peak, a teasing flutter grazed her other nipple. She yelped and wiggled, trying to both escape and increase the tormenting tickle provided by the bundle of feathers.

A wicked laugh rumbled from Dante. “Like that, do you?”

The bastard would use her own taunt against her. Leaning up on one elbow, he directed the feathers in a lazy crawl down her quivering stomach. The sensation was maddening and arousing as hell. She squirmed, panting. “Dante!”

“What, precious?” The twitch of his lips belied his innocent expression.

She’d find a way to make him suffer. He had to sleep some time. Then vengeance would be hers. “Touch me.”

“I am.” He bobbed the feathers across her bellybutton, making her arch. “See?”

“You know that isn’t where I meant, you rotten jerk.”

“No? Can’t imagine what other destination you had in mind.”

“I’m going to kill you for this.”

“Before or after I give you a brain-detonating orgasm?”

She paused to consider her options. “Afterwards. But I better see damn fireworks, or there will be hell to pay.”

“Don’t get your tail in a twist, baby. I aim to please.” He flicked his wrist, sending the feathers skating across her mound. She whimpered in frustration and glared at Dante. Ignoring her incinerating gaze, he danced the toy along her inner thigh, making her shiver. The feathers floated upward again, a delicate brushstroke caressing her skin. She trembled in need as the toy hovered just out of reach of her clit before ghosting along the sensitive juncture of her groin and hip.

“Please.” She barely whispered the word, but apparently Dante still heard it.

His gaze trekked to hers. Holding her stare, he finally let the toy kiss across her clit. The soft, teasing stroke was almost enough to make her succumb to an instantaneous climax. Her fingers dug into the bedcovers, her back bowing. Dante’s thumb grazed a circle around her nipple. The combined sensations were enough to topple her over the precipice. She cried out as the orgasm crested into a million dazzling pinpoints of pleasure exploding throughout every cell in her body.

“Beautiful.” Dante’s hand moved from her breast and cupped her cheek.

She wanted to say something, at least thank him for the amazing orgasm, but the breath refused to find purchase in her lungs. Taking pity on her, he leaned down and kissed her sweetly. Murmuring in appreciation, she sifted her fingers through his hair and drew him closer. Their tongues played together nicely for a bit before growing bolder and more demanding. Within seconds, she was writhing against him again, desperately trying to devour him with kisses. Groaning, he broke away from her and flipped her onto her stomach. Her protests about being deprived access to that delicious body of his evaporated as he nudged her legs apart and entered her in one smooth glide. The quilt smothered her ecstatic cry. Bracing himself with a hand on either side of her shoulders, he rocked inside of her, pumping in deep, hard thrusts.

She’d never felt so ravaged. So…taken.

Sweet mother of whiskers, it was freaking incredible.

Without warning, Dante settled back on his haunches, dragging her up with him. His rhythm unfaltering, he arranged her until she was straddling him comfortably. Turning her head, she met his lips in a hungry kiss. His cock thickened inside her, stretching her to the limits like it had this afternoon when they’d made love in his truck. Just like then, the additional fullness increased the pressure on her G-spot, triggering a lush wave of pleasure throughout her body. She rotated her hips and gasped at the decadent friction the movement created.

It must have produced a similar affect on Dante because he growled and splayed his hand on her breast, cupping it in a way that was both arousing and possessive. His lips left hers and traveled across her cheek before sucking on her earlobe. Shifting slightly, she caught their reflection in the dresser mirror across from the bed. Dante’s gaze was already riveted on them.

That’s why the sneaky bastard changed our position, so he could enjoy the view.

Not that she was complaining. It was deliciously naughty getting to watch their lovemaking in Technicolor detail. The contrast of her fair skin next to Dante’s tanned ruggedness only made her feel ripe with femininity. No doubt this moment was what fueled plenty of women’s fantasies of being ravished by the Big Bad Wolf. Normally she’d balk at the very idea, but her body seemed determined to scream more, more, more.

Dante’s eyes glowed with a feral, carnal gleam as he snatched the cat toy and draped it over her shoulder, positioning it so that the bundle of feathers tickled her clit with his every thrust. She trembled, straining for that blissful orgasm hovering on the nearby horizon.

Close. So unbelievably—

Dante’s teeth sank into the tender flesh just behind her ear. Jagged-edged ecstasy shot right to her core, throbbing through her clit and radiating outward in unending spasms. She screamed until her throat was left a raw mess.

Several minutes later, she came to. If not for the fact she was now lying curled on her side on the bed, she might not have even realized she’d passed out. Dante’s big body cuddled her from behind, adding to the heat cocooning her like a comfortable blanket. His lips nuzzled the spot on her neck where he’d marked her, soothing the tiny sting that was already beginning to fade.

As she began to drift off to sleep again, she was struck by the enormity of what had just happened.

She’d allowed a werewolf to claim and mate her. Furthermore, she’d enjoyed it. A lot. Even the tender aftercare Dante was providing was wonderful and perfect. Which only unsettled her more. Because if she wasn’t careful, she might actually believe this was the real thing.

Chapter Twelve

Shuffling after Dante as he carried her bags to the front door of her cabin, Lilly resisted the temptation to bite her fingernails to the quick. “Is it really necessary we break the news to Kinsey now?”

Dante offered her a wry look over his shoulder. “When would you rather do it? Five years after we’re married?”

“More or less.”

“Darlin’, you survived the Morgan inquisition. Shouldn’t this be a cakewalk in comparison?”

“Obviously you don’t know my sister.”

Dante’s unhelpful response was a brief peck on her cheek. Ignoring her scowl, he turned and carried her luggage to his waiting truck. Grumbling, she fished her keys from her coat pocket and locked up the cabin before joining him. Since Shane was watching Chevy for the weekend, it would only be her and Dante making the trip downstate. While the big dog did have a tendency to intimidate her, she almost wished Chevy would be tagging along. Then at least she’d have something to distract her from Dante.

Or more to the point—the primitive claiming they’d initiated yesterday.

They hadn’t spoken about what happened. She didn’t know if Dante’s silence on the subject was out of awkwardness, or if he simply hadn’t been as affected by it as her. It probably made her a huge chickenshit that she didn’t want to be the one to broach the topic, but her pride likely wouldn’t survive finding out the act of mating her had been no more eventful to him than trimming his goatee.

Shoving her pathetic musings to the back of her mind, she let Dante help her into the passenger seat. She fastened her seat belt and sent him a narrow look. “Just so we’re clear, I’m only letting you drive because it’s more economical than taking two vehicles. Plus I don’t need your dog food samples stinking up my car.”

Rather than take her bait, Dante only smiled serenely. “Pussycat, you made that clear the first dozen times you pointed it out.”

“I wanted to make sure you were listening.” Her feminist card was getting worn thin thanks to the past couple of days. Abdicating her place behind the wheel wasn’t exactly helping matters.

Dante crossed to his side, and after buckling up, pulled out of the drive. The first fat flakes of the feared snowstorm were already beginning to fall. He set the wiper blades to intermittent and headed toward the county road that eventually led to the freeway. “You ever plannin’ to tell me why it’s so hard to let me do things for you?”

“I told you why.”

“No, you only said you didn’t like relying on others. There’s a big section missing beyond that.”

“It’s not important.”

He flicked a glance in her direction. “Yeah, you said that before too.”

“And I still mean it.”

“Lilly, we’re mates now. It’s okay to share this stuff with me.”

Finally he’d brought up the damn mate thing. Too bad it had to be during a conversation she’d rather not indulge in. She decided to make the most of the situation and use it to her advantage. “Speaking of that whole mate thing, don’t you think we should talk about it?”

Dante removed his attention from the road long enough to shoot her a blank look. “About what?”

She tossed up her arms. “Were you not listening to the beginning of my sentence?”

“Wait. You mean us being mates now?” He relaxed his grip on the steering wheel and returned to gazing out the windshield. “Didn’t realize there was anything to talk about.”

“God, you’re such a man.”

Snorting, he shifted his broad shoulders against the seat. “Yeah, guess that’s why I’ve got a dick.”

“You know what I mean. It’s always like a guy to have sex, fall asleep immediately afterwards and then not want to discuss any of it.”

“For your information, you fell asleep before me.”

“No, I didn’t. I passed out. Big difference.” She grimaced at the smug grin ghosting across his mouth. “You don’t have to look so satisfied. Sometimes that happens to me in the heat of the moment.”

“Sure.”

Great. Now his arrogance would truly know no bounds. Grumping beneath her breath, she scuffed her boot heels on the floor mat.

“What about the mating do you want to talk about?”

“Noth—”

“Lilly,” Dante prodded warningly.

“You know, most males prefer not getting into these types of conversations.”

“I’d rather we get everything out in the open now, versus you springing it on me when I’m least expecting it.”

She drummed her nails on the armrest, waiting for him to return his focus to the road. Once he did, she expelled her breath in a rush. “I’m curious if you feel weird about it. That’s all.”

“Why would I feel weird?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you bit my freaking neck and got all growly and possessive.”

His eyebrows formed a low V. “I told you what was going to happen.”

“You did not mention those last two things.”

“Lilly, I’m a werewolf. Growly and possessive is what we’re all about.”

She remained quiet for a moment while she digested his words. “Does that mean you’d be that way with anyone you mated?” From the corner of her eye, she noticed the wariness settling on his gorgeous face.

“Why do I get the feeling that anything I say might be used against me twenty years from now?”

“Fine. Forget it.” She went to adjust the volume on the radio, but Dante gripped her hand, stalling her. It was her turn to give him an uncertain look.

“No, I wouldn’t have been the same with someone else.” The heat in his eyes backed up his words.

Dante’s admission stirred a mix of happiness and trepidation in her belly. This was getting way more serious than she’d signed on for. A business arrangement was one thing. She knew how to deal with that. Anything else was terrifying territory.

The remainder of the trip passed by in an agonizingly slow drag. By the time they reached the outskirts of Rochester, Lilly’s nerves were stretched tighter than a wire.

“Which exit did you say again?”

She glanced at the dashboard clock. “I’ve changed my mind. We’ll go to Kinsey’s place first, then swing by my house.”

If Dante was surprised by her snap decision to take the bull by the horns, he didn’t let on. “Which way?”

She gave him the directions and fidgeted with the seam on the side of the seat as he took the correct off-ramp. By going to Kinsey’s now, she was in essence killing two birds with one stone. She’d be getting the dreaded speech done with. And her sister’s no-nonsense approach to things would be the perfect reminder about the reason for this entire charade.

Yes, charade. Because that was what this was, after all. Right? Hell, even the fact that Dante was here with her now was merely out of convenience. If not for the meeting with his distributors tomorrow morning, there’d be no reason for him to spend this time with her. He certainly wasn’t doing it because their relationship was real.

Less than twenty minutes later they pulled in front of Kinsey’s modest ranch house. A groan floated from Lilly when she spied her mom’s Lincoln Continental already parked in the drive.

“Something wrong?”

“I wasn’t expecting my mom to be here.”

“Look on the bright side. Now you won’t have to break the news twice.”

“Believe me, my mother won’t be the difficult one to convince. All you’ll have to do is lay on that werewolf charm, and she’ll be putty in your hands.” Unfortunately, that’d always been the case for Chloe Prescott—a detrimental weakness for hunky heartbreakers.

Lilly gave Dante a covert glance. He certainly fit hunky to a tee, but what about the heartbreaker part?

She had no intention of finding out the answer to that, if she could help it. With a determined shove, she wrenched the door open before Dante had an opportunity to dash to her side of the vehicle. Ignoring his wry look when she met him at the front end of the truck, she led the way to the porch and rang the bell.

A few seconds later Kinsey opened the door, her greeting petering into the ether when she spotted Dante. Her gaze panned between him and Lilly. A groan sprang to Kinsey’s lips. “Oh crap. What did Lilly do this time?”

Lilly scowled at her sister. “Must you always jump to that conclusion?”

“Yes, I’ve seen you in action, remember?”

Chuckling, Dante swung his arm around Lilly’s waist. “Don’t worry. She’s been behaving. Mostly.”

Kinsey’s eyebrows threatened to get lost in her hairline. Lilly wasn’t sure if that was due to Dante’s affectionate, albeit territorial hug or the possibility of Lilly actually behaving.

“Okay,” Kinsey said slowly, as if she were waiting for the punch line.

“Is it all right if we come in?” Lilly asked pointedly.

A flush crept across Kinsey’s cheeks. “Sorry, yes. Of course. Mom and I were just about to have dinner. Why don’t you join us?”

“That’s not necessary. This won’t take long.”

Dante rubbed the back of Lilly’s neck, his thumb caressing the mating mark that was concealed beneath her hair. “Actually, dinner sounds good.”

She debated stomping on his foot, both for thwarting her plan to enact a fast getaway after spilling the beans, and drawing her attention to the incriminating bite. But those steel-toed boots of his would only make the gesture useless. Not that it stopped her from shooting him a hard glare when Kinsey wasn’t looking. Ducking his head, he banished Lilly’s surliness with a kiss containing enough tongue action to be quick yet suitably hot. Unfortunately, the kiss also managed to rekindle her hormones, which had up till then been on their best behavior all day, damn it.

She broke away from Dante and licked her lips. “Well played, wolfman. But I’m still pissed at you.” She pasted on a smile just as Kinsey stepped inside the entry and turned to face them.

While Kinsey held the door aloft, Lilly and Dante trooped inside and shrugged from their coats. After storing everything on the nearby bench that acted as a catchall, Lilly took Dante’s hand and strode toward the kitchen, where the unmistakable and mouthwatering scent of Chloe’s world-famous chicken cacciatore emanated from. They stepped into the spacious room, and Lilly gazed at her mother’s profile. Garbed in her bright pink apron and humming some vaguely familiar tune, Chloe Prescott looked the picture of the domestic goddess. She was everything that Lilly wasn’t.

Lilly had worked hard the majority of her life to make sure of that. Not that she didn’t love her mom, because she did—with her whole being. Which only made her ache inside that much more every time she’d witnessed the pain and depression her mom had undergone living all those years with Rob Prescott’s tomcatting ways.

Unfortunately, Chloe had always been the exception to the typical female lynchat. She’d never been in possession of a backbone and believed that a woman stuck by her man no matter what. It’d finally taken Rob doing the right thing for the first time in his life—initiating the divorce proceedings—to make Chloe see the light. For the most part, anyway. Lilly knew Chloe still pined for her husband, despite everything he’d put her through during the rocky twenty-eight years of their marriage.

Chloe dragged in an audible breath before slapping her oven mitts on the kitchen counter and turning. She gave a startled jump when she spotted everyone clustered in the archway. “Lilly!” A beaming smile lighting up her perfect, porcelain features, Chloe clapped her hands in delight and rushed forward to offer a warm hug.

Lilly’s eyes misted as she returned her mom’s embrace. As always, Chloe’s familiar cinnamon scent brought a tidal wave of childhood memories rushing back. Most of them revolved around Chloe engaged in one of her manic baking sessions while waiting for Rob to come to his senses and leave his current mistress’s bed. To this day, Lilly couldn’t look at a chocolate-chip cookie without feeling queasy.

Chloe released Lilly and glanced at Dante expectantly. Lilly quickly made the introductions. A sly look entered Chloe’s eyes, and she playfully swatted Lilly’s arm. “You didn’t tell me you have a boyfriend.”

Kinsey cleared her throat as she stepped next to Lilly. “Mom, they’re not dating. You know who Dante is. Lilly’s mentioned him before.”

Dante slid Lilly an ironic look. She returned it with a sheepish grin. “I kept the profanity to a minimum.”

“Oh, you’re Foster’s boy,” Chloe exclaimed with another clap of her hands.

Dante winced, apparently preparing for the deluge of disparaging remarks that’d follow the associated connection to his father. Chloe—being her typical sweet self—instead veered the topic to Dante’s grandmother, who had raised him after his mother died in childbirth. Dante visibly relaxed, his mouth softening into a smile as he and Chloe shared some fond remembrances of Sara Morgan. Lilly attempted to ignore the strange little flutter that erupted in her belly while she watched the animated pleasure that brightened Dante’s face.

So she was attracted to him? What female in her right mind and possessing full vision wouldn’t be? It didn’t mean she was falling in love with him.

Because that would be just plain stupid and pathetic.

Turning her head, she caught Kinsey’s perplexed frown. Her sister’s gaze veered to Dante before shooting back to her. Giving another delicate cough, she grabbed Lilly’s arm. “Mom, Dante? Could you excuse us for a moment?”

Chloe waved her hand. “Go ahead, dear.”

Lilly shot Dante a panicked look as Kinsey dragged her through the archway. He made no move to rush to her rescue, the rat bastard. Kinsey beelined for the hallway that led toward the den. Once they were out of earshot, she slammed to a halt and stared at Lilly. “What in the hell is going on with you and Dante?”

“Nothing,” Lilly responded automatically. She grimaced. Aw cripes. Wrong answer. “Actually, if you want to know the truth, we’re having a torrid love affair and getting married on Sunday.”

Kinsey gaped at her before she burst into hysterical laughter. She wiped her eyes. “Good one.”

“I’m not joking. I love Dante and want to spend the rest of my life with him.” It was scary how easily that slipped from her tongue.

Kinsey’s smile faltered. “Lilly, please. It’s not funny to make up stuff in the hopes of making me feel stupid for falling for it.”

“That’s not what I’m doing, Kin. I really do love him.” God, I need to stop saying that so convincingly.

Kinsey gaped at her. “I figured you were sleeping with Dante, judging from the googly eyes you were giving him in the kitchen. But I had no idea it was this serious.”

Googly eyes? Really? That was disgusting and no way her style. Obviously Kinsey needed to get her vision checked. “What can I say? He’s my hunka burning love. I could stare at him all day.” Okay, that held more than a kernel of truth.

“How in the world did this miraculous feat happen?”

She blinked at Kinsey’s demand. Not because of the question—it’d been expected—but rather because there’d been a significant lack of suspicion on Kinsey’s part.

What had happened to Kinsey’s probing inquiries? The doubts and inevitable accusations?

Damn it, what did it mean that her sister had fallen for the lie so effortlessly?

Nothing. It meant nothing.

Kinsey tapped her foot. “I’m still waiting for some details. Preferably dirty ones.”

“Oh, it was the usual. You know, Dante came to the realization that I was the most awesome woman in the world, and therefore he would be only a mere shell of a man without me.”

Kinsey did her patented Spock eyebrow raise, and Lilly sighed. “I might have embellished a bit. Except for the awesome part, because I totally am.”

“Of course you are. You’re my sister, right?”

Not entirely certain if that hadn’t been some kind of backhanded compliment, Lilly gave Kinsey a narrow-eyed look. Any further discussion was ground to a screaming halt as Chloe called out that dinner was ready. They both turned in the direction of the kitchen. At the end of the hallway, Kinsey offered Lilly a telling look. “To be honest, I’d always sort of suspected you and Dante might be great together.”

It was a damn good thing she hadn’t drank something, because spraying it out in a fit of shock probably would have ruined the lovey-dovey vibe she’d been trying to perfect. “Err, yeah. I can see why you would have thought that.” When exactly had Kinsey begun to lose her mental faculties? As her sister, Lilly should have noticed it sooner.

The instant they stepped into the kitchen, Chloe rushed to Lilly and embraced her in a tight, exuberant hug that squeezed all of the air from Lilly’s lungs. Chloe’s shoulders shook with gentle sobs. “My baby is getting married.”

Lilly glanced across the way and met Dante’s sheepish expression. Hell, he thought she’d be mad about him spilling the news? Not freaking likely. At least this way Chloe had some time for it to sink in. No telling how bone-crushing her initial hug might have been otherwise.

They crossed to the kitchen table, where Chloe had already set out two extra places for Lilly and Dante. After everyone else had taken their seat, Chloe hovered like a frantic bee, seeing to any and all possible last-minute needs. Knowing full well that her mother would spend the whole evening waiting on them and ignoring her own plate, Lilly patted Chloe’s arm gently. “Mom, please sit down.”

“But—”

“We’re all good. Honestly,” Lilly said softly yet firmly.

Finally Chloe took her at her word and sat across from Dante. Her mom waited for him to take the first bite of chicken, the desperate expectation on her face almost painful to witness. Thankfully Dante was too busy lustily devouring his food to notice. He smacked his lips in appreciation. “Absolutely delicious.”

Chloe broke into a huge smile. Now that her worries had been laid to rest, she dug into her meal with a dainty gusto. Lilly sighed. Blotting the corner of his mouth with his napkin, Dante glanced at Chloe. “Any chance I can get the recipe for this before Lilly and I head out?”

“Certainly. But I’m afraid Lilly doesn’t cook. Didn’t she tell you that?” A flash of panic streaked across Chloe’s face as if it’d just occurred to her that perhaps he’d been kept in the dark regarding Lilly’s lack of domestic skills and might now rescind his marriage proposal.

“That she did.” Dante grinned. “Good thing I know my way around a kitchen.”

Chloe lowered her fork, her expression hinting that the concept of a man anywhere near a stove was more unheard of than a cow being able to fly. “Surely you’re not planning to be the cook in the house?”

Dante frowned. “Why not? I like to do it.”

“But then what will Lilly do?”

Dante was visibly confused by the question, but Lilly was all too aware what her mom was getting at. In Chloe’s eyes, if the wife didn’t bring something to the table—literally—her value was diminished and she risked having her place usurped by another. Of course, it didn’t matter that no amount of hard labor on Chloe’s part hadn’t altered her own circumstances. That was just the way things were.

“It’s okay, Mom. Dante and I have an arrangement. He cooks and I clean up.” Much as the idea of getting her fingers anywhere near a sink drain trap tested her gag reflex, she’d do it to put her mom’s fears to rest.

A lengthy silence descended, broken only by the occasional scrape of someone’s utensil. Lilly became aware of the heat of Kinsey’s penetrating gaze drilling into her forehead. Reluctantly, she lifted her focus from her plate and locked stares with Kinsey.

“Are you planning to let Dad know you’re getting married?”

“No. Why would I?”

“Lilly,” Chloe scolded. “He’s your father. He deserves to be there on Sunday.”

“Please. We both know he won’t even bother to show up.” From the corner of her eye, she noticed Dante watching her with barely restrained curiosity. He’d wanted answers from her earlier? Well no doubt he was about to get an earful, thanks to the argument she saw brewing on the horizon.

Chloe fidgeted with the edge of the tablecloth. “He might surprise you.”

“Not holding my breath.”

Her agitation steadily increasing, Chloe gripped her napkin and carefully folded it into a perfect square. “He isn’t the same man anymore, Lilly. He’s changed.”

She gaped at her mom. Anger and disbelief slowly leached into her veins. “You’ve taken him back. Again.”

Chloe’s gaze turned pleading. “It’ll be different this time.”

“No, it won’t. He’ll disappoint us. Like always. Why can’t you see that?”

“Honey, no. Your father and I love each other, just like you and Dante—”

Lilly scraped her chair back and stood. “We’re only getting married so I can get the land and he can stop his pack merger. That’s a whole lot more sensible than love in my book.”

Turning her back on Chloe and Kinsey’s incredulous stares, Lilly stalked toward the exit.

Chapter Thirteen

Dante hit the windshield defrost to high before sliding a glance in Lilly’s direction. “Everything okay over there?”

“I’m fine.” She continued to stubbornly glare out the window. “Sorry you were dragged into that. Not exactly the most auspicious first dinner with the parental unit, huh?”

He grunted. “You’re talking to the guy who decked his own father. If you’re looking to label yourself world’s worst offspring, you’ll have to arm-wrestle me for the trophy.”

That managed to coax a ghost of a smile from her. “Yeah, guess we do make quite a pair.”

“So I take it your folks had a difficult marriage?”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“What happened?”

Lilly remained quiet long enough he figured she wasn’t going to answer. But just as he was about to change the subject, she turned to face him. “He cheated on her. A lot. Despite that, she’s always stuck by his side. Believe it or not, she never wanted to get the divorce.”

“Sometimes people stay in a marriage for the wrong reasons. There’s nothing you can do to change that.”

“I know, but I don’t want to see her get hurt again.”

“If it ends up happening, you’ll just have to be there for her. It might not mean much, but I’ll be there too.”

She shot him a surprised look. Snapping her mouth shut, she shook her head. “Nice of you to offer, but I certainly don’t expect you to endure my mother’s fits of sobbing and despair. Trust me, they’re not pretty.”

“Doesn’t matter. I want to be here for you, pussycat. Anyway you need me.”

She continued to eye him skeptically. He didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking. Her dad had never been there for her and her family. Why would he be any different? He longed to assure her with his words, but he suspected they would only fall on deaf ears at the moment. The best thing he could do was give her time and show her through his actions that he meant what he said. “Now which street did you say I needed to take?”

Lilly huddled back into her seat and fired off the directions again. Several minutes later, he veered right onto an unpaved road. Fortunately the thick crust of snow had filled in the majority of potholes. After a short jog, he pulled into a long winding driveway that led to a white Cape Cod style house. “I would have taken you as more the condo type.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not enough space or privacy.”

“Amen.” He slipped off his seat belt and gave her a considering look. “I was worried you’d eventually decide my place was too remote and backwoods for your taste.”

“No, I like it. Plus it helps that I can work anywhere.” She flicked him a quick glance. “Not that I’m giving up my house anytime soon.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I believe you already mentioned that.”

“Good. Just so we’re clear.” Tucking her scarf securely within the neckline of her coat, she wrenched the passenger door open and hopped out. He was beginning to get used to her feisty stubbornness regarding her independence. Considering everything he’d learned tonight, it sort of made sense why she clung to it so tenaciously.

He climbed from the truck and unloaded their luggage. When he met her on the porch, she attempted to relieve him of her bag, but he brushed by her and strode through the doorway. Hell, she wasn’t the only one who knew how to be stubborn. “Where would you like me to put this?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

Chuckling, he left the vestibule behind and walked into the living room. The furnishings were similar to those at her cabin up north—stylish, feminine and undoubtedly expensive.

“You can drop the bags by the couch.”

He did as suggested and eyed the fireplace. “Want me to get that lit? It’ll chase some of the chill out of here.”

Surprisingly, she agreed without once balking that she could do it herself. Once he’d finished the task and pulled the screen back in place to safeguard the crackling flames, he hefted to his feet and stripped out of his jacket. Lilly stashed their winter gear in the adjacent closet before joining him in front of the fire. Shivering, she hugged her chest.

“It’ll warm up soon.”

“I think I’m mostly suffering belated tension from dinner more than anything else.”

“I have the perfect stress reliever.”

She rolled her eyes. “Jeez. I thought I was obsessed with sex.”

“I was talking about going for a run.” He grinned. “But maybe I like your idea better.”

“A run? In this weather? You’ve got to be freaking nuts.”

“Our fur is great insulation, pussycat.”

“Wait a minute. Who said anything about shifting?”

“I did. That’s state land your place is backed up to, right? Tons of wilderness to explore.”

She shuddered delicately. “Oh my God, I’m engaged to Grizzly Adams.”

“Come on, you’ll love it.” He yanked his flannel shirt off and started on the buttons of his fly.

“We can have wild nookie in here instead,” she wheedled.

“We will, believe me. Nothing gets your blood pumping and your body raring to go like a good run.”

“I have a hard time believing this data of yours.”

Laughing, he kicked his jeans and boots aside and began working her from her clothes. It was a difficult chore, considering her constant squirming as she tried to escape. Eventually he got her completely naked and herded her toward the door. He carefully kept his focus above her waistline, because staring too long at that delicious booty of hers might have sidetracked him from his mission. Which judging from the way she wiggled her butt against his groin, she knew all too well.

After securing the door behind them, he sucked in a lungful of the crisp air. He barely registered the cold as the shift into his wolf form took effect. He dropped onto his haunches, his hands morphing into paws that were covered with thick, black fur. Swishing his tail on the porch floorboards, he waited for Lilly to shift. With a put-upon sigh, she crouched in front of him. A sparkling luminescence danced across her skin as the lithe, feline form of her Lynx took shape. Giving a dainty yawn, she licked her paw before grooming the tiny tufts of white fur topping her ears.

He’d never seen her as a cat before. Probably for the better, because if he’d had the same reaction to her as he did now, he would have jumped her on the spot. Damn, there was just something incredibly sexy about those whiskers and sassy little tail. Stepping forward, he nudged her cheek before nuzzling her cute button nose. She paid him back with a flirtatious nip on his ear before dashing down the steps.

So it was a chase she wanted. He was more than happy to oblige.

Rumbling a growl, he leapt from the porch and galloped after her. For someone who bitched and moaned about going for a run, she was remarkably proficient at it. With light bounding steps, she darted through the trees, making her way deeper into the woods. The predator existing inside him took over, the thrill of the hunt like a fire in his blood. Tracking the scent of his mate ratcheted his horniness into overdrive. Drifting snowflakes melted on his lolling tongue, but the only taste he hungered for was Lilly. Keeping her trained in his sights, he leapt over a fallen log and plowed through the deeper bank of snow on the other side. She disappeared from view, and he sped up his pace until he came to a small clearing. Standing at the mouth of the ravine, he peered down into the valley.

It took a moment to spot her, thanks to the way her fur practically blended with the snow. She’d chosen a pile of old leaves to help disguise her even further. Curled into a tight ball, she peeked at him beneath her improvised pelt of leaves. He swore he detected her snicker. Little vixen was convinced she’d outsmarted him. Ha.

He slashed his gaze in the opposite direction and lifted his muzzle to the sky, pretending to sniff the air. Ducking his head low, he cantered off toward the far end of the ridge. He traversed to the bottom of the steep slope, and once out of the range of Lilly’s vision, circled back, using his own tracks to cover his reapproach. A good-sized boulder provided the ideal concealment for him to camp out and wait.

Several minutes passed before he detected the crunch of cautious footsteps. His heart pounding with excitement, he inched closer to the edge of the rock. A flash of tawny fur appeared. With a triumphant howl, he launched himself at Lilly, rolling her into the snow. She gave a yelping hiss and tried to swat him away, but he only pinned her down with his forelegs and nuzzled her neck. Her purr rumbled in his ear.

At that exact moment, he knew he was a goner. He’d gone and done the impossible—fallen head over tail in love with Lilly Prescott.

Who would have thunk it? Certainly not him. But for some odd reason, nothing made better sense. Or felt more infinitely right.

He lifted his head and stared down at her. If he could have gotten his way, he would have shifted and coaxed her to do the same so he could commemorate this historic moment by fucking her mindless in the snow.

Somehow he doubted she would appreciate that, much less go for it. Rising to his feet, he cocked his head in invitation before barreling in the direction of the house. Halfway there, Lilly bulleted past him and beat him to the porch. By the time he reached the entrance, she’d already reverted to her human form and opened the door. Shifting from his wolf, he took the steps two at a time and raced over the threshold.

The door slammed behind him, and he turned just as Lilly jumped into his arms. Sliding her fingers through his hair, she kissed him with desperate, hungry little whimpers and mewls. Her lips were cold and tasted of snow and pine-scented air. He rubbed his mouth over her frigid skin, attempting to bring the warmth back. Their tongues touched, stroked and offered the promise of more.

Clinging to him, she tugged him toward the living room. They got no farther than the rug in front of the fireplace. His need for her outshouting all else, he dropped to his knees and dragged her down with him. Before her back even met the floor, his mouth latched on to her nipple. Curling his tongue, he worked the distended nub into a stiff peak. Lilly’s breathless gasps and murmurs fired his desire into maximum drive. His sole existence became focused on pleasing his mate. Gorging on her until he was drunk and intoxicated. He coasted his lips down her belly and rubbed his cheek on the thin strip of hair covering her mound. She let her legs fall open, and he closed his mouth over her pussy, eagerly lapping up her addictive honey. She squirmed and gasped, her thighs reflexively tightening around his head.

Pride and victory sang through him when her clit pulsed beneath his tongue, signaling her climax. He wanted to keep her coming—give her at least a dozen more orgasms before he came up for air—but she nudged his shoulders, easing him away from her. The second he rolled onto his side, she scooted lower and swung her leg over his. Planting her palms in the middle of his chest, she pushed him flat and straddled him. Her wetness bathing him, she slowly sank onto his cock and closed her eyes on an ecstatic cry. The sound tripped along his spine, making him thicken inside her.

He loved watching the uninhibited pleasure washing across her face. Loved the silken clasp of her pussy muscles gripping him as she rode his shaft. If he spent the rest of his days buried within her, it still wouldn’t be long enough. He traced the feminine swells of her hips before squeezing the softness of her ass. Massaging each cheek with his hands, he countered her rocking motions and plunged deeper into her wetness. Her nails grazed his nipples. Lowering her head, she nipped his jaw. He groaned, his grip on her tightening. Her lips brushed lower an instant before her sharp little teeth sank into the side of his neck. A warning tingle shot along the base of his spine. She purred against his flesh. That was all it took to make him come. Hard.

His cock pulsing, he poured his essence and love into her. Lilly shuddered in his arms, joining him on the tail end of his orgasm. Stroking her skin tenderly, he listened to her heart beating in perfect syncopation to his.

After a moment, she lifted her head and stared at him. Her fingers moved to his neck and traced her bite mark. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why? We’re mates.”

“None of this is real, Dante.”

“It could be.”

Panic flashed in her eyes. “Don’t say that.”

“Would it be so horrible?”

“Yes.”

He caressed her cheek. “This is about your parents’ relationship, isn’t it? You’re afraid of ending up like them.”

“And with good reason. I don’t want to be my mother.”

“You’re not her. Just like I’m not your father. Or my father, for that matter, thank Christ.”

She bit her lip. “People do stupid things when they’re in love.”

He brushed the hair away from her eyes. “Do you love me?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“Well, I do. I’m madly, utterly and ridiculously in love with you, pussycat.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I wish you hadn’t said that.”

“Most women like hearing it.”

“You should know by now that I’m not like most women.” Whisking a wayward tear from the end of her nose, she climbed off him. “It was easier playacting at all this. I don’t even know how a normal marriage works, much less make it pan out for us.”

“I’m a novice at this too, sweetheart. We’ll just have to make it up as we go along.”

The doubts continued to brew in her gaze. “I…I just need some time to let this all sink in. Okay?”

Her reluctance to trust in them cramped his heart, but he saw no other choice but to be patient.

And hope that she’d want a real relationship too.

Chapter Fourteen

Saturday afternoon, after Dante finished his meeting with his distributors and they’d made the trip back up north, Lilly convinced Dante to drop her off at her cabin on the pretense of her getting some work done before their big day tomorrow. She suspected he knew the truth—that she desperately needed alone time to sort out her chaotic thoughts—but thankfully he pretended to buy her ruse and let her be.

See how pretending was so much easier? Too bad her common sense was finding it more and more difficult to cling to that theory.

Dumping her purse on the couch, she carried her bags into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. She stared at the wallpaper until the flowers in the pattern blurred into indistinct blobs.

Dante is in love with me.

Sweet mother of whiskers, she didn’t know what the hell to do with that information. What made it worse was the disturbing possibility that she loved him back.

Who was she kidding? There was no doubt in her mind that she loved Dante. Good God, she bit him like she was Vampira Kitty. It was completely mortifying and embarrassing. Sure, she’d asked during their marriage negotiations if he’d let her do that to him, but she’d never counted on enjoying it so much—or the thrill of excitement that buzzed through her at the notion he was her marked mate now. Why didn’t she just stamp him with a big red sign that said Claws off and be done with it?

Grimacing, she straightened and yanked her laptop case from her overnight bag before she carried it to the small writing desk in the corner of the room. Might as well make an honest woman of herself and work on ironing out the details for the lynchats’ annual charity fundraiser this summer. After a few frustrating attempts, she managed to get enough of a satellite connection to log on to the internet. Just as she was about to bring up her inbox, her cell phone went off. She glanced at the caller ID and exhaled heavily. Kinsey.

She’d been expecting this call for the last nineteen hours. Leave it to Kinsey to drag out the tormenting suspense. Steadying herself for the lambasting she knew she deserved, she clicked the Talk button. “Before you read me the riot act, I want you to know I’m sorry.”

“For what, exactly?”

“Can we just make this an all-purpose apology? Might be easier.”

A lengthy pause preceded Kinsey’s reply. “Are you really marrying Dante for the land?”

She gnawed her bottom lip. “Yes.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“It was.”

“And now?” Kinsey prodded gently.

She swallowed past the lump of uncertainty in her throat. “I…I don’t know.” How could something that’d started out as a crazy business proposition turn into such a confusing tangle of emotions? It didn’t make sense.

“Do you love him?”

Everything inside her wanted to lie to Kinsey—which was weird, considering that yesterday she’d been all gung-ho on convincing her family that she was madly in love with Dante. But that was completely different from confessing the true state of her heart. God, she was so fucked in the head. “Yes…I do.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“Loving him doesn’t make you weak, Lilly. You know that, right?”

“I don’t want to end up like Mom.”

“You won’t. Besides, you’re not giving our mother enough credit. Dad begged her to let him move back in, but she put her foot down about that.”

To say the news was more shocking than a two-by-four upside Lilly’s noggin would be an understatement. “Why didn’t she tell me that part?”

“Probably because you didn’t give her a chance.”

Recalling the way she’d stormed out of the house, Lilly heaved a groan. “Okay, that seals it. I’m the worse daughter ever.”

“No, you’re not. But if it makes you feel better, you can tell her that tomorrow after your wedding.”

She blinked back tears. “You guys are still going to come?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we?”

Because it’s not real. Keeping the lid closed on her pessimistic thoughts, she gave Kinsey the address for the Bowl ’N’ Brew—where the ceremony was being held. After exchanging goodbyes, Lilly hung up and eyed her laptop screen. Her enthusiasm at the prospect of getting some work done had vanished. She started to disconnect from the internet, but hesitated. Before she could change her mind, she typed bridal designs in the search field and clicked on one of the links. A second later, the page loaded, and she stared at a beautiful model decked head to toe in white silk shantung. A strange wistfulness fluttered in her belly.

Up until now, she hadn’t given much thought to the ceremony part of her and Dante’s forthcoming nuptials. Dante had taken care of everything in that regard. He’d even arranged for a no-wait marriage license—one of the many perks of being related to the county clerk.

Bottom line, she’d been all too happy not to deal with any of that stuff. Probably because it’d made it easier to delude herself that this was merely a business transaction. Adding the frippery of a Cinderella wedding had seemed silly at the time.

Her attention returned to the gorgeous dress displayed on the web page. It was without a doubt far more eye-popping than the simple ecru silk suit she’d brought from home. Sure, the haute-couture design would look ridiculously out of place at the Bowl ’N’ Brew, but damn, she’d be the most fashionable redneck bride to ever grace Hope Falls. Chewing her thumbnail, she let her focus drift to the garment bag she’d left on the bed. Anyone who’d see her in that boring suit would know this wasn’t serious. Wasn’t real.

It could be.

She shook her head to rid it of Dante’s phantom suggestion, but it didn’t do any good. She could still hear him in there, tempting her with what ifs.

Would it be so horrible?

She used to think so. Truthfully, a lot of that was because of her fear of being hurt or making the same mistakes as her mom.

But was she committing her own foolish, even bigger mistake by shoving aside the chance of real love and happiness with Dante?

Sometimes playing it safe wasn’t the answer.

Her pulse quickening, she logged off the computer and hurried from the bedroom. She needed to tell Dante that she loved him. Make the leap before cold feet got the better of her. Tossing on her coat, she grabbed her keys from the pocket and rushed outside. Her breath puffing in front of her face, she turned to lock the door. Something slammed into the back of her skull, and she fell forward with a startled cry. Dazed and winded, she staggered sideways to see what had knocked her off balance, and frowned when a woman with curly brown hair stepped into view.

“That’s for stealing my man, you whore.”

Lilly gaped at the deranged female. Self-preservation kicking in, she scrambled for the door handle behind her. Before Lilly’s clumsy fingers got a decent grip, the strange woman snatched her arm and propelled her sideways. Thanks to the porch’s snow-slick floorboards, Lilly lost traction and skidded into the rail. She grunted at the bruising contact with her kidney. The woman grabbed Lilly’s hair and gave a vicious tug. In retaliation, Lilly jabbed her assailant in the chest with an elbow, earning the female’s angry shriek.

A pair of talon-like nails tried to rake across Lilly’s cheek, but she yanked her head back in the nick of time. “What’s your problem, you crazy bitch?”

The woman’s eyes flashed fire. “Dante is mine. You have no right to take my place at that altar tomorrow.”

Finally the haze of confusion cleared from Lilly’s brain. “Anna, I presume?”

Rather than answer, Anna issued another banshee wail and lunged at Lilly. Prepared this time for the attack, Lilly countered the intended blow, taking Anna down with one of her own. Landing on top of the female werewolf, Lilly pounded a fist into Anna’s nose. Another screech rang from Anna. Satisfied she’d gotten her point across that she wasn’t a cat to be tangled with, Lilly started to push to her feet. A searing pain splintered through her rib cage and she gasped, falling sideways again. Blinking back tears of pain, she watched helplessly as Anna struggled to her knees and pocketed the taser she’d zapped Lilly with. Reaching down, Anna snagged the hood of Lilly’s coat and hauled her toward the stairway.

Lilly barely registered the additional pain as her useless limbs were carted unceremoniously down the steps and toward her SUV. Anna propped her against the side of the vehicle and used the keys she’d swiped from the cabin door to free the lock. “Mind if I drive? Walking to my car might be too much for you.” Her shrill laugh grating, Anna hoisted Lilly into the passenger seat. Anna stooped and grabbed something she’d stashed beneath the vehicle. A second later she straightened, revealing the bundle of straps and bungee cords in her arms. Her motions brisk and efficient, she secured Lilly tightly in place.

While Anna walked to the other side of the Escape and situated herself behind the wheel, Lilly tried not to let fear get the better of her. If she wanted to find a way out of this surreal situation, she needed to keep her wits about her. “Where yous taking meh?” Her tongue felt thick and useless as she slurred the weak demand.

Rather than respond, Anna cranked up the volume on the radio. They drove for roughly twenty-five minutes before Anna pulled down a deserted stretch of road that hadn’t seen a plow in recent days. Apparently unconcerned with the possibility of getting stuck, Anna continued blazing her own trail until she came to a dead end. She stopped the vehicle and swung open her door.

Fear and panic spiked Lilly’s heart rate into triple time as she watched Anna tromping through the knee-deep snow toward her. After Anna tugged her wool hat lower over her ears, she wrenched the door open and zapped Lilly again with the taser. The fresh surge of pain that exploded throughout Lilly caused her to retch, but nothing came up.

Her lips twisting into a cold, cruel smile, Anna tossed the taser onto the driver’s seat before loosening the bungees securing Lilly. “Had to make sure you wouldn’t give me a fight.”

Wrapping her arms around Lilly’s limp body, Anna hauled her from the vehicle and wrestled her toward the edge of the road. A steep embankment led down to a heavily forested valley. Anna unceremoniously dumped Lilly onto the snow and rolled her over the side. Gravity took over, and Lilly slid through the thick powder, helpless to do anything to stop her chaotic tumbling. A tree trunk finally broke her fall. Dazed and winded, she wheezed for breath, her lungs burning with pain. She willed herself to move, but her useless limbs refused to cooperate.

The steady crunch of snow announced Anna’s approach. Lilly blinked up at the female werewolf. “Yous won’t get ’s’way with thish.”

“Oh believe me, I most definitely will. No one comes out here. Especially this time of year. By the time spring comes around, there won’t be much left of you to ID, beyond the pickings the bears and wolves leave behind.” Anna caught her stare and grinned evilly. “Don’t worry. I have no interest in eating you. Though I can’t say my brothers would feel the same.”

“Dante’ll look for me… He’ll find me, and when he doesh, he’ll kill you for thish.”

“Trust me, he’ll have no reason to suspect foul play. Especially since I plan to sink your car in the Au Sable River. Everyone will just assume you lost control in the snow and ended up succumbing to an unfortunate, watery death. They’ll never find your body, of course. Not that it matters.” Stooping, Anna grabbed Lilly by the hood again and dragged her deeper into the forest. Once they reached a section of fallen evergreens, Anna stopped and bound Lilly to one of the few upright birch trees with the strap and pair of bungees. Pulling her glove off with her teeth, Anna reached into her pocket with her free hand and pulled out a clear vial filled with a murky substance. Hunkering next to Lilly, she unscrewed the cap before forcing the bottle between Lilly’s lips.

Sputtering, Lilly tried to spit the nasty-tasting concoction out, but Anna slammed a hand over Lilly’s mouth, making her choke the liquid down. Tears of frustration and anguish leaked from the corners of Lilly’s eyes, earning a taunting laugh from Anna. “Alas, I didn’t poison you. Where would be the fun in that? No, that was merely a precaution to guarantee you’ll be unable to shift and find your way to safety before either the cold or the predators do you in.”

Anna hefted to her feet and brushed the snow from her knees. “Well, I really best get going before the sun sets. It’s going to be a wickedly chilly night you know.” Her own laugh resembling splinters of ice, Anna pivoted and disappeared through the dense copse of trees.

Shivering in fear, Lilly strained against her bindings. God, she’d been so stupid. And stubborn. If she’d given in and told Dante how she felt, none of this would be happening. She could be in his arms right now, instead of waiting to die.

Alone.

Chapter Fifteen

Dante’s fingers were surprisingly steady as he knotted his tie and glanced in his bathroom mirror. If anyone told him a week ago that he’d be getting ready for his own wedding and not experiencing the typical pre-ceremony jitters, he would have labeled them certifiably nuts. Then again, he never would have guessed in his wildest dreams he’d be punch-drunk in love with Lilly Prescott.

Yeah, the world was an insane place.

Grinning to himself, he tugged on his suit jacket and stepped from the room. The clock on his nightstand confirmed that it was almost nine thirty. Thank Christ they were doing an early ceremony. No way could he survive waiting even another hour to pledge the rest of his life to Lilly.

He just hoped like hell that a good night’s sleep had banished her fears and concerns about their future.

It’d about killed him to give her the space she’d needed yesterday, but he’d understood the necessity for it. Still, staying away from his mate when he’d ached to ease her worries and prove to her that he’d remain by her side, no matter what, had been one of the toughest things he’d ever forced himself to do.

Well, after today he’d never leave her side again.

With that affirmation burning in his gut, he snatched his keys from the kitchen island and headed outside to his pickup. After scraping the fresh layer of snow from the windshield, he hopped inside the cab and drove in the direction of Lilly’s cabin.

Bafflement and consternation battled for foremost supremacy as he stared at the empty spot where her SUV was usually parked. Had she already left for the ceremony site?

Deliberately ignoring the faint stirrings of doubt creeping in, he swung out of her driveway. Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of the Bowl ’N’ Brew. Judging from the amount of vehicles congesting the lot, the majority of his pack and a few other invited wedding guests had already arrived. He didn’t spot Lilly’s SUV. The niggle of worry worming through his insides intensified a fraction. Deliberately tuning out the sensation, he climbed from his truck and strode toward the bowling alley. Inside the building, he was greeted by boisterous catcalls and bone-crushing hugs from friends and relatives.

He spied Shane sidling toward him, a grin planted on his mug. “Lookie here, it’s the man of the hour.”

Dante bumped fists with his cousin, but his gaze continued to comb the growing crowd. “Any chance you’ve seen Lilly?”

Shane thumped him on the back. “Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see your bride before the deed is done?”

“You know I don’t believe in that superstitious bullshit.”

Shane chuckled. “Sorry, can’t say I’ve seen her. But I only got here a few minutes ago myself.”

“I’m sure she’s on her way.” Dante didn’t realize how desperate he’d sounded until he caught Shane’s knowing look. He fought back a scowl. “She will.”

“Yeah, I don’t doubt it.”

Dante abandoned his cousin’s side and made his way through the sea of guests, stopping occasionally to shake a proffered hand or accept yet another hug or kiss. By the time he made it to the far end of the bowling alley where the ceremony would be held, his previously stalwart nerves had begun jumping ship.

He glanced at the enormous digital clock centered on the nearby wall. Where the hell was Lilly? She should have been here by now.

“Dante!”

He swung at the sound of Kinsey Prescott’s frazzled voice. He spotted her and Chloe weaving their way through the throng. The tension uncoiled from his gut. With everything on his mind lately, he’d forgotten that part of the Prescott clan had decided to make the trip up north. No doubt that explained where Lilly had been.

Chloe made it to his side before Kinsey. Tears of happiness glistening in her eyes, she threw her arms around him and squeezed. The woman was deceptively strong for such a little thing.

Kinsey cleared her throat. “Easy, Mom, you don’t want to kill Dante with hugs before he’s even been declared your son-in-law.”

Sniffling, Chloe eased her grip. “Oh phooey. He’s a strapping boy. He can take it.”

Dante resisted the urge to check his ribs for bruises. Chloe patted his arm. “Now where is that daughter of mine? I intend to give her a proper hug before Kinsey and I walk her down the aisle.”

He frowned. “I thought Lilly was with you.”

“No, we just got into town two minutes ago.” Kinsey grimaced. “The roads were so bad last night, we opted to stay in Gaylord rather than risk ending up in a ditch.”

His festering doubts returned to the forefront. “So you haven’t seen Lilly at all this morning?”

Kinsey and Chloe both shook their heads. Before Dante could say anything more, his uncle Wayne approached their small gathering. After Dante made the introductions and explained that Wayne would be performing the ceremony, his uncle clamped a meaty fist on Dante’s shoulder. “You want me to start rounding up this crowd so we can get the show on the road?”

Shoving his brewing worries to the back of his mind, Dante nodded. As he watched his uncle amble off, he tried not to focus on the disturbing revelation that the most important person of all had yet to make an appearance.

Chapter Sixteen

Lilly shivered and blinked against the snowflakes crusted on her eyelashes. She’d never been more cold and miserable in her life. If not for her heat cycle—which had intermittently warmed her blood off and on throughout the endless night—she probably would have frozen to death long before now. But as it was, even those little bursts of sluggish heat were coming less frequently.

It would only be a matter of time before Anna’s dire prediction of the cold killing her came to fruition.

She wanted to scream and cry at the bleak emptiness of that thought, but she didn’t possess enough energy to do either. She peered dismally at the fat snow clouds overhead. What time was it? Surely Dante would have noted her absence by now. Had he begun looking for her? For all she knew, maybe he thought she’d gotten cold feet. God, that was plenty ironic, considering they were currently blocks of ice. Regardless, thanks to her behavior yesterday, she’d given him lots of reason to believe she’d jilt him at the altar.

Then again, if that didn’t seal her fate, there was always the possibility that Anna’s nefarious plan to drive the Escape into the nearby river worked.

Lilly mentally conjured the image of Kinsey and Chloe clinging to each other as they mourned the loss of Lilly. A painful ache settled in her heart. It doubled in size as she pictured Dante’s grief-stricken face. She wasn’t sure what hurt more—the notion that he’d believe she’d ran out on him, or him thinking that she’d drowned.

How much more devastating and painful would it be losing your mate? Wouldn’t the intimate bond they’d established make it a thousand times worse to bear? If she received news that Dante was dead, how would she feel?

The cramp vising her chest was all the answer she needed. She choked back a sob. A rustling noise sounded to the right of her. Muscles too numb to tense, she jerked her focus in that direction. A tree squirrel darted from the underbrush and stared at her before dashing off. Contradicting emotions warred inside Lilly. A part of her was grateful that it hadn’t been a predator looking for a meal bigger than a stashed nut, but for one bittersweet moment, she’d held on to the hope that it might be Dante.

Of course it wouldn’t be him. Other than Anna, no one knew she was out here. More than likely they’d never discover the truth of what had happened to her.

A fresh surge of anguish heated her blood, temporarily banishing a fraction of the chills racking her body. The brief reprieve also managed to fire up her determination to find a way out of her predicament. Although she’d failed during the countless times she’d struggled to escape her bindings during the night, she renewed her efforts to wiggle her wrists enough to loosen the bungees securing them to the tree branch. They wouldn’t budge. An exhausted wave of defeat threatened to swamp her, but she beat it off before it could suck her under. Closing her eyes, she concentrated all of her energy on shifting into her lynx form. Her body stubbornly refused to cooperate. The drugs Anna had given her must still be lurking in her system.

Refusing to bow to the mocking voice of fate, she gathered her wits into a relative semblance of order. There had to be a way to free herself. Glancing upward, she inspected the branch her arms were secured to. Maybe the key wasn’t freeing her wrists from the bungees, but somehow getting the branch to snap. It looked thick and sturdy, but apply enough of her dead weight to the task, and surely it would crack. Yeah, it was a long shot, but it was better than doing nothing and waiting here to die.

Dropping her focus, she eyed the strap bound just below her knees. That was probably the easier of the bindings to work on. She wiggled her legs, scissoring them as much as the nylon cord would allow. For several agonizing and painstaking minutes, she repeated her tiny, awkward motions until she felt a noticeable give in the strap. The small victory sent a thrill of victory shooting through her trembling limbs.

Gathering every ounce of her strength, she pulled away from the tree trunk and let her body slump forward. Now that the lower strap wasn’t holding her entirely, there was nothing to protect her muscles from bearing the brunt of her weight. They screamed in protest at the additional pain being inflicted on them. Desperately blocking out the agony, she set her chattering teeth and wrenched harder until she was certain her arms were seconds away from being torn from their sockets.

A pathetic, blubbery sob escaped her just as an unmistakable crack snapped overhead. At first she thought it might be her bones producing the sound, but suddenly the branch securing her right wrist broke with an audible groan. Dazed and disbelieving, it took her a moment to realize she was now partially free. Her brain and limbs impotently sluggish, she wrestled her arm from the broken section of branch before reaching behind her to fumble with her still-trapped wrist. Loosening the bungee one-handed was no easy feat, but eventually she pried the hooks apart. Weak and limp, she fell forward into the snow.

Gasping and shaking, she fought to keep unconsciousness at bay. She slowly straightened so she could work on the remaining strap. Her fingers could barely move, but somehow she managed to inch the binding down until it slackened. She struggled out of her boots, the loss of their bulkiness making it easier to slip out of the strap’s tenacious hold.

After pulling her shoes back on, she collapsed into the snow. The desire to curl into a ball and sleep was overwhelming. Digging deep for her last reserve of energy, she crawled onto her knees. Getting any farther than that proved impossible, so she continued to drag herself onward that way.

She knew from yesterday’s drive that she was miles away from help, or signs of civilization, for that matter. Making to the nearest used road could take her hours.

Hell, days at this rate.

Refusing to cow to defeat after she’d come this far, she shuffled forward. The ground beneath her suddenly gave way. She scrambled for a hold as she fell through the loose snow and dirt before landing on her ass with a jarring thump. Half buried beneath the avalanche of snow, she tried to get her bearings. From the look of things, she’d fallen into a sinkhole, or maybe an abandoned animal’s den. She attempted to wiggle loose of the snow and dirt, but both refused to release her from their clutches.

Despite her best efforts to fend them off, tears of anguish and frustration leaked down her cheeks. One way or another, fate seemed determined to make her die in this lonely wilderness.

Bitterness and regret cramping her heart, she rested her face against the cold pillow of snow. Dante’s beloved face was the last image she clung to before unconsciousness claimed her.

Dante ignored the murmurs of speculation spreading like wildfire through the congregation seated in front of him. His calm had abandoned him over an hour ago, but he refused to show it to anyone.

Wayne cleared his throat softly. “How much longer do you want to wait?”

Dante opened his mouth but quickly snapped it shut. This was ridiculous. He wasn’t so boneheaded that he couldn’t see the writing on the wall.

Lilly wasn’t coming. His mate had left him high and dry.

A sharp spike of pain slammed through his chest. Shit, he should have listened to Shane. His cousin had warned him he’d only end up sinking in the mire of his own heartache. Unable to meet his uncle’s most likely sympathetic gaze, Dante loosened his tie and wrenched it from his neck. He raised his voice to ensure he’d be heard by everyone in the room. “I appreciate you all coming out today. Just so this isn’t a complete waste of your time, the beer is still on the house.”

Tuning out the cacophony of voices surrounding him, he strode toward the exit. Once outside, he dragged in a deep breath and willed the chaos of emotions twisting his heart to lessen. The door opened behind him, and the boisterous noise leaked from the building, disturbing the quiet solitude. Not in the mood to talk to anyone, he headed in the direction of his truck.

“Dante, wait,” Kinsey called out.

The last person he wanted to converse with was Lilly’s sister, but Kinsey’s persistence matched Lilly’s as she tailed him to his vehicle.

Hell, too bad Lilly’s stubborn doggedness hadn’t extended to making a go of their relationship. “There’s nothing for us to say to each other, Kinsey.”

“Yes, there is. I know, Lilly. There’s no way she would have willingly not shown up today.”

He offered Kinsey a wry look. “Unless she’s invisible and mute, I’m pretty damn sure I didn’t see her anywhere in there.”

“I know what it looks like, but I swear to you that she loves you. She confessed as much to me on the phone yesterday.”

Kinsey’s admission released a fraction of the tension constricting his heart. Until cold, harsh reality came rushing back to the forefront. “Apparently she doesn’t love me enough.” Before she could say anything more, he climbed into his truck and banged the door shut. Gunning the engine, he roared out of the lot.

A stiff drink sounded mighty damn fine at the moment. Thankfully he had a pint of whiskey at home perfect for the occasion. Less than fifteen minutes later, he tore down the road leading to Morgan’s Ridge. He barreled past Lilly’s cabin but got no farther than thirty yards before he stomped on the brake. Fishtailing in the snow, he slammed the gears in reverse and hauled ass back to her driveway.

The decision to pull in front of her cabin was a moronic one, particularly since the chance of her showing up was about as likely as Jimmy Hoffa’s body being buried in her backyard, but some sad, pathetic flicker of hope made him do it anyway. He’d give her half an hour. Anything longer than that would be an embarrassment to his manhood. Growling, he took over her parking space and settled back in his seat to wait. After a few minutes passed, his bladder began pitching a bitch. Shoving his door open, he jumped out and walked to the far side of the cabin so he could relieve himself. As he headed back to his truck, he noticed the smell. It was faint, but unmistakable.

Blood.

Frowning, he changed direction and went to investigate. The hairs on the nape of his neck lifting, he eyed the snow-covered porch. The coppery scent of blood was stronger here. Loping up the steps, he frantically glanced around for the source. Dropping to his knees, he swished away some of the fresh powder. His stare landed on the few scattered speckles of red he’d unearthed, and his heart knocked harder. Now that he was in closer proximity to the blood, he noticed what he hadn’t initially. It smelled of wolf.

A mix of trepidation and rage boiled inside him as he considered the implications of that discovery. Leaping to his feet, he tried the cabin door and found it unlocked. “Lilly?” Bellowing at the top of his lungs, he ran through the tiny cabin. He checked every square inch, without any luck. His fear and fury kicked up several notches, until he was practically choking on both. Without warning, the ghostly echo of Kinsey’s earlier pronouncement floated through his mind. There’s no way she would have willingly not shown up today.

Someone had deliberately kept Lilly away from the ceremony. And he had a good inkling who that someone was. He barreled down the steps and leapt into his truck. Two seconds later—foot stomped on the gas—he roared out onto the main road. Dread and rage were his constant companions as he made the short trip to his father’s house. Barely able to see straight, he rammed the gear into park. His inner wolf foaming at the mouth, he slammed from the vehicle and stormed to the front entrance. Foster—always the paranoid bastard where his worldly goods were concerned—had locked the door. Dante banged his fist on the frame until it threatened to splinter. A second later, the unmistakable slide of the deadbolt sounded.

The door swung open, revealing Foster’s livid face. “What in the devil is wrong with you?”

A haze of fury overtaking him, Dante grabbed a fistful of Foster’s shirt and hauled him outside. “What did you do to her, you son of a bitch?”

Foster’s eyes threatened to bug out. “Are you out of your damn mind? Let go of me.”

“Not until you tell me where Lilly is.”

“How am I supposed to know where your slut is?”

Dante rammed Foster against the door. “I warned you not to call her that.” He pulled his fist back and prepared to take a swing just as his cell buzzed. He considered letting it go to voicemail, but he instantly recognized Theo’s ringtone. His cousin never made a habit of calling him unless it was catastrophically important. Maybe Theo had some news about Lilly. His stomach pitching at the possible ramifications of what that news might be, Dante dug in his pocket for his phone and clicked the Talk button. “Coz?”

“I think you’ll want to come down to the station.”

Dante’s heart inched farther up his throat. “Lilly?”

“My deputy pulled her vehicle over this morning. Only she wasn’t the one driving.”

He frowned. “I don’t understand. Who had her car?”

“Anna Gifford.”

The information knocked Dante square in the solar plexus. “What?” Recalling the blood on Lilly’s porch and the unmistakable stench of wolf, he tensed. “Was Lilly with her?”

“No. And Anna refuses to explain how the hell she ended up with Lilly’s car. We’re holding Anna in lockup, but so far she’s remaining tight-lipped.”

A grim, deadly determination joined Dante’s fury. “Don’t worry. I’ll make her talk.”

Chapter Seventeen

Dante stormed in the direction of the rear holding cells of the sheriff’s station and glared at Anna Gifford through the bars separating them. It was a damn good thing she had the protection of that metal door, because no other force on earth would have prevented him from ripping her fucking throat out. “What did you do with Lilly?”

Anna gave a bored yawn. “I already explained to your incompetent cousin and his men that I didn’t do anything to her.”

“You lying bitch. You had her car.”

She shrugged. “I found it abandoned on the side of the road, with the keys still in it.”

“So you make a habit of stealing cars now?” Theo pointed out.

“No, I had every intention of driving it here and letting you handle returning it to its owner.”

“That why you tried losing my deputy on that county road, so you could get here faster?” Theo could be damn good at sarcasm when he wanted to be.

“Police lights make me nervous. Plus there’s all this talk lately about phony officers who mug and rape innocent women. A girl can’t be too careful these days.”

Dante gripped the bars and bared his teeth. “I already know you had an altercation with Lilly. I saw the proof of it on her porch and smelled your blood stinking up the place.”

Anna paled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Theo grunted. “Pretty damn stupid leaving DNA behind. That right there is enough to link you to Lilly’s disappearance and ultimately nail your ass to the wall if we discover you did something to her.” Theo leaned his hip against the cell. “Kidnapping charges carry a hefty sentence. Course, that’s nothing compared to the time you’ll be doing if she’s found dead. Best start preparing yourself for a nice long life in jail. Imagine you won’t have any problem becoming bunk buddies with some butch gal who’s got a real thing for skinny brunettes.”

Anna’s complexion went chalk white. Swallowing, she transferred her frightened stare between Theo and Dante. “I…I might have an idea where Lilly is.”

Dante leaned closer to the bars. “Then start talking, bitch. And pray that my mate is still alive. Because if she’s not, jail will be the least of your worries.”

Ten minutes later, with Anna’s directions firmly implanted in his brain, Dante raced outside to his truck. He slammed his door just as Theo hopped into the passenger seat. They exchanged a silent look before Dante keyed the ignition and stepped on the gas.

“Lilly’s been out there all night, coz.”

Dante fought back a bitter surge of bile. “I’m more than aware of that.”

“If that drug Anna gave Lilly remained in her system, she might not have survived the elements.”

“Lilly is tough. She wouldn’t let the cold get the last word on her.” Jesus, he hoped he was right. There was no way he could survive losing his mate.

They remained ominously quiet during the agonizingly long trip to Woodcreek Road. The snow that’d fallen overnight had already obscured most of the tire tracks Anna had left behind the day before. Coasting to a halt at the dead end, he rammed the gears into park and jumped from the vehicle. He bellowed “Lilly!” at the top of his lungs and waited—his heart in his esophagus—for her response.

It didn’t come.

He kicked his boots off and wrestled from his jacket. Shifting into his wolf would be the fastest and most proficient way of tracking his mate. He glanced toward Theo. “I’ll send out an alert once I’ve found her.” Safe and sound. He refused to give credence to any other outcome.

His expression somber, Theo nodded. “I’ll bring your clothes with me.”

Within seconds Dante was naked, and he crouched onto the balls of his feet. The change came over him in a flash, and he released a determined howl as he leapt over the steep embankment.

She had to be alive. Because the alternative would fucking rip him apart.

No matter how much she tried to ignore the chill creeping into her bones, Lilly couldn’t get her teeth to stop chattering. She dozed fitfully in and out of consciousness. She knew with all certainty that the next time she closed her eyes, she’d likely not open them again. Ever.

If she’d had her choices of ways to die, hypothermia wouldn’t be top of the list. The cold had never been her best friend. She’d give anything to be lying in front of a warm fire right now. Her mind immediately rewound to the other night, when she and Dante had made love on the rug in her living room. The firelight had danced across his face, making him even more beautiful than usual. It’d revealed the love in his eyes as he’d pledged to try everything in his power to make their marriage work.

God, she wished she was in his arms right now. That any minute she’d wake up and find out this was all just some psychotic nightmare. It was too bad she didn’t have the strength to pinch herself and find out if her fruitless imaginings might be real.

Not that it mattered. They weren’t.

How much longer before her body gave up the fight? Not long, from the feel of it. Her eyelids heavy, she drifted toward promised eternal sleep. Within the murky depths of her dwindling consciousness, a furious bark sounded. She struggled to determine why it seemed familiar before she admitted defeat and floated toward slumber.

The bark issued again. This time louder. Closer.

Her eyes fluttered open as the bite marks on her neck tingled.

Dante.

She fought to lift her head from the snow but barely raised her cheek. Her mate was here. He’d come for her.

Wait, this had to be a hallucination. The hypothermia was taking its final toll.

A heart-wrenching howl pierced the air. No, there was no possibility that was anything but real. She licked her dry, cracked lips and tried to call out. The only noise that escaped her mouth was a weak croak.

A lengthy silence descended, followed by a suffocating sense of defeat. Dante had left the area. With her buried underground, there was no way he’d be able to find her.

He’d been so close. The knowledge of that was enough to bring moisture to her tired eyes.

A loose drift of snow pelted down on top of her head. Was it snowing again? She’d be buried alive. Blinking, she tilted her face upward—and met glowing amber eyes. She and Dante stared at each other. Lowering his muzzle, he puffed out a breath of air and began pawing furiously at the snow and dirt blocking the entrance to the hole.

Within minutes, he’d dug his way down to her. Elation and joy filled the chambers of her heart as he morphed into his human form and gathered her into his arms. His shaking fingers combed through her hair. “Lilly, baby, Christ.”

Her limbs were too cold and sluggish to move, so she only snuggled against him. “You came for me.”

“You’re my mate, pussycat. I’d die before letting something happen to you.”

Sleep beckoned her with tempting promise, but she resisted its lure this time. She had to. The calling in her heart needed to be heard. “W-wolfman?”

Dante cuddled her tight to his big frame, his welcome heat slowly creeping into her bones and warming her from the inside out. “What, baby?”

“I—I’m madly, utterly and r-ridiculously in love with you too. I—I want the r-real thing.”

He stroked her cheek and offered her the most tender kiss known to wolf kind. Or cat kind. “I’m going to spend the rest of my days on this earth making you blissfully happy, Lilly. You have my sworn promise on that.”

She inched closer and brushed her lips over his. Maybe they’d have to spend all of those days figuring out how the real thing worked, but as long as they did it together, there was no way they could go wrong.

Content

Cat Scratch Fever
Jodi Redford

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen