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The kiss went on and on as the water supported them. The lower halves of their bodies slid against each other and she was gratified to learn that he too was naked. And ready for her. She smiled against his mouth. She loved how he was always ready for her, no matter what had come before.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, pulling back a little to look into her eyes.

“Not funny. Fantastic,” she corrected him. “I love how you feel against me. I love even more how you feel inside me.”

“Talk like that will get you in trouble,” he warned with a low growl and teasing smile. The sound and the expression on his handsome face turned her on like nobody’s business.

“I think I like your kind of trouble. In fact, I think I’m addicted to it.”

She dipped her head and kissed him again, taking him down with her into the deeps for a moment out of time. She was very aware he couldn’t breathe the way she could. He wouldn’t be able to stay underwater as long. But she’d look out for him. She’d have him back in the air before anything bad could happen to spoil the mood.

She released him and swam, giving him the option of rising for air. He didn’t. He followed immediately and she realized she’d underestimated him a bit. He could hold his breath a little longer than she’d thought. A little longer than most humans, but then she should have expected that. Being a shifter, he was exceptional in every way.

She swam to the shallow end and took a seat on the steps, half-in and half-out of the water. The night air on her wet body made her nipples pucker. She saw the way his gaze honed in on her breasts as he rose out of the water like some kind of sea god.

He really was amazing. Her own personal Poseidon come to give her anything she wanted.

And what she wanted most at the moment was him.

She spread her legs, inviting him to take his place between them, and he obliged. She smiled, but his face was hard as granite, his expression hard to read.

“Something wrong?”

“No, not for a shifter. But I have to be honest with you. You were raised human and you might feel differently once you know.”

“Once I know what?” She was growing concerned. He seemed so serious. Almost nervous about what he had to say to her.

“I feel it’s only right to tell you, we’re not alone.”

He pointed above her head and she craned her neck to look back, fearing his brothers or somebody else was watching, but all she saw was a big owl perched on the peak of his roof. And then she realized. The owl was, in all likelihood, a shifter.

But it looked like an owl. Her confused mind didn’t know what to make of its presence.

“Who is that?”

“One of my men. A guy I’ve known for a long time. He’s guarding us overnight, along with a few others, but he’s the only one who can see us right now.” Steve drew closer, coming down over her, shielding her with his body.

She hadn’t bothered to cover up. The owl was behind her and didn’t have a good angle to see much of her at the moment. Though she realized he’d probably gotten an eyeful when she’d walked into the backyard and stripped as she went.

“Nudity—even having sex—in front of others isn’t that big a deal for shifters. We have to strip to shift, so we get used to seeing each other in the buff in our teens when most of us begin to shift. It’s not that big a deal.”

“But if we continue…” She couldn’t quite put the scandalous thoughts she was having into words.

“If we continue, he’ll watch. And he’ll probably get off on it. Horny devil that he is,” Steve muttered, shooting the owl a disgusted, yet amused look.

It was clear to her that Steve didn’t mind the other man watching. In fact, she started to think about it and realized she wasn’t all that upset by the idea either. In fact, it was even a little…arousing.

Oh, wow.
The thought of being watched made her tummy clench and sent little sparks of heat coursing through her veins. Dare she?

One more look over her shoulder and she took a leap. She was living among shifters now. She was going to be learning and trying all sorts of new things. Steve had already shown her so much. She trusted him to guide her through all the discoveries she was going to make. As she would guide him through the things he would learn about her magic and abilities. They were a team. They were in this together.

And if occasionally they had a voyeur…well, that might just add a little spice to things. She’d at least give it a chance. Her body was on board with the idea, her senses lighting up like a Christmas tree at the thought of fucking in front of a stranger.

Well, not a stranger. Somebody Steve knew. A shapeshifter. An owl. A soldier and hunter. One of Steve’s
men
, he’d said. So he must be a tough guy. She liked that idea.

Trisha turned back to Steve and snaked her hand up around his neck to pull him down to meet her kiss. That was all the answer he needed. Her excitement ratcheted up another notch when he lowered himself over her, gliding through the water until there was nothing between them. He slid inside easily, beginning to rock even as the water supported them both, the rhythmic waves pushing them toward completion even as her body strained toward his.

Oh, yes.
This was what she’d wanted. Her man. Her mate. The moon, the stars, the night wind, the welcoming water…and a watcher adding a new spice to the mix.

She didn’t look at the owl again, but she knew he was there. Just knowing that made her senses fly higher, her body pushing toward a new pinnacle. She hadn’t thought she could get any hotter, but when Steve lowered his lips to her breasts, pushing her back to half-lie on the tile behind her, exposing her to view from above…well…she exploded.

The sensation rocketed through her, only to be replaced a moment later by another explosion. This one augmenting and surpassing the last. His lips tugged at her breasts as his cock pumped into her in strong beats, pounding now, claiming, driving her toward yet another climax.

She opened her eyes and saw the moon and stars above them. And the owl. His piercing topaz gaze met hers and held. She saw the intelligence there. Knew somehow that even in his owl form, the male behind those eyes was aroused, watching her, turned on by the passion between her and her mate.

Just knowing he was up there added a little extra edge she never would have expected. Trisha had never considered herself very adventurous sexually, but with Steve, she wanted to try it all. She wanted to do anything and everything for him…to him. He’d given her the confidence in herself to try just about anything.

“Come for me now,” he whispered urgently near her ear, and her body answered the call, meeting his passion with her own and sending her straight up to the moon with pleasure.

Her soul danced with his among the stars for a short moment…an eternity. The two of them entwined. Mated. Together forever.

And then the long fall back to earth…and water, through the air while the fire of spent passion ebbed inside them. They were elemental. They were timeless. Together.

The next morning, they woke before dawn, making love urgently, as if they hadn’t spent most of the night entwined, lost in each other. Each time was fresh and new. Vital.

They snuck out before the dawn kissed the sky, heading back toward the Pack house so they could have breakfast with the girls and preserve the falsehood that they were merely interested in each other. Not already mated. Not fucking like bunnies at every opportunity.

They were in a large, dark blue SUV this morning. He’d unlocked his giant garage and given her the nickel tour in the semi-darkness. He’d pointed out the sexy Italian beast he’d driven her here in last night, as well as a souped-up muscle car straight from Detroit’s heyday. There was a giant motorcycle and a few other surprises as well, but he’d chosen the SUV for the day’s work.

“I’ve arranged for the helicopter tour today.” They chatted as he drove them competently back to the Pack house. There was a car in front and one behind, but they weren’t very obvious. The approach to guarding their route was more casual since the showdown on the Strip.

“That’s awesome. Thank you for doing it.” She knew her friends were going to love it. “To be honest, though, I’m a little nervous. I’ve never been in a helicopter before.”

He reached over and took her hand. “You’ll love it. I promise. Do you trust me?”

“Of course.” She didn’t even have to think about her answer.

“Then trust me to fly you all safely around. I’ve done it a dozen times for visiting business contacts. We’re using the big chopper today. It’s a lot like the one they ferry the president around in back east. Big and roomy inside with all the amenities. There’s even a wet bar.”

“You’re kidding.”

He looked over and winked at her. His smile was as charming as ever and it took her breath away, like always. Would she ever get used to how good looking her mate was? Maybe in a century or two.

“I never kid.” His mock seriousness made her laugh and he joined in. A moment later, he pulled up in front of the Pack house and they snuck in before the sun rose.

Chapter Eleven

She knew her friends hadn’t seen her walk of shame—sneaking back into the Pack house—when they all convened for breakfast an hour or two later. She’d taken a shower in one of the guest rooms on the floor where all the girls were housed, making it her own. Steve had left just enough of her luggage to make it look like she was sleeping there and she dutifully disarranged the sheets on the bed to continue the ruse, just in case any of her friends came knocking.

One by one, they woke and got ready. Trisha went around, knocking on doors, acting as hall mother for the morning, telling them what time to meet for breakfast. They all converged in the hallway about the same time and walked downstairs as a group.

Steve met them at the foot of the stairs, making a show of wishing them all a good morning and then leading them to the dining room. A few of the girls stopped dead in their tracks when they got a look at the handsome men and equally stunning women who were already seated around the big room in various stages of breaking their fast. There were really only a few werewolves there, but they sure did make an impression.

Trisha recognized a few faces from that first night. Sure enough, the big guy who’d been flirting with Molly at the bar came across the room to meet them. He smiled at Molly and Trisha saw the way her shy friend’s pale features flamed with a betraying blush even as she smiled back at him. There was definitely some mutual attraction going on there.

“Some of you may remember Jed from the other night. He and his friends were chatting with you when the problems started at that bar.” Steve frowned and some of the girls looked away from the handsome werewolf to listen to Steve. The rest seemed fixated on the good-looking young men all around them. “He helped bring you all here.”

“Thank you, Mr. uh…” Molly uncharacteristically stepped forward to offer her hand. The big werewolf took her small hand in his and smiled at her. Molly just about swooned, but Trisha understood. The man made an impact, even when his charm wasn’t aimed directly at you.

“Robinson. But please, call me Jed. You’re Molly, right?” He asked as if he already knew the answer and Trisha saw the way Molly reacted to the fact that the hunkalicious werewolf remembered her name.

Sadly, Molly was usually forgotten among the rest of the girls because she was the shyest of them all. She wasn’t bad looking, but she didn’t really dress to bring out her best features, and her quiet nature sometimes got overwhelmed by some of the more forceful personalities in their little group. It was good to see her basking in the attention of a handsome man. She seemed to blossom before their eyes and it gave Trisha a warm feeling to see her friend so happy.

Jed took Molly’s hand and led her, and by default the rest of the gang, toward a long table. They had come downstairs ready to go, so everyone dumped their purses and bags on chairs and went to sample the buffet. Molly was escorted everywhere by Jed and he didn’t seem to want to let her out of his reach.

“You think maybe something’s going on there?” Trisha whispered to Steve when he came up beside her at the end of the food line. She nodded toward Molly and her admirer.

“Could be. He’s definitely interested and I’ve never really seen him so intense in his pursuit of a human before.” Steve watched the couple as he seemed to consider the werewolf’s body language. “I wonder if Little Miss Muffet is ready to handle the Big Bad Wolf?”

“I think you’re mixing up your fairytales. It’s Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.” She chuckled and handed him one of the plates that were stacked at the end of the table. Steve shrugged and gave her a set of silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin. It was then that she noticed the fineness of the china and the quality of the table linens. “Do you guys always go this fancy for meals, or is this special for my friends’ benefit?”

Steve looked around and shrugged again. “I don’t eat here all that often, but I think this is pretty standard for the Pack house. We make a lot of money building things. Why not enjoy it?”

Trisha considered his words and realized he was right. She also realized that Redstone Construction probably paid their employees
really
well. The sheer amount and variety of food available surprised her. It was a banquet fit for a king and the quantities the werewolves were putting on their plates was kind of amazing. Steve too, when it came his turn, filled the big plate with heaping helpings of eggs, meat and only a little toast on the side. No doubt about it. He was definitely a carnivore.