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  It was the first time she had even dared to say it to herself, but now that she had, it seemed obvious. Of course, she was in love.

  Before she could think on it any more, though, Luke leaned in close to kiss her again, and as his tongue moved inside her mouth to take possession of hers, she surrendered to him with a throaty purr. Sliding her hand up to bury her fingers in his thick hair, Heidi deepened the kiss and rolled onto her back, taking him with her. As his broad chest pressed firmly against her breasts, her nipples stiffened, straining against the thin top she wore, yearning for the touch of skin on skin.

  Luke must have read her mind, because he pulled back just enough to slide his hand under the hem of her shirt and slowly make his way up to her breasts. He gently cupped one breast through her bra, his thumb brushing tantalizingly back and forth over the satin-covered nipple, teasing it to full arousal. She let out a moan.

  “Here, let me help you with that,” she said.

  Grabbing the hem of her shirt with both hands, she pulled it up and over her head, then reached behind her to unhook her bra. Naked from the waist up, she lay back on the bearskin rug with her arms over her head and gave him a sexy look. “That makes things easier, doesn’t it?”

  Luke let his gaze lazily caress her bare breasts. “Much,” he agreed.

  Bending, he swooped down to close his mouth over hers again. Heidi lifted both hands to thread her fingers into his dark hair. Drawing her lower lip into his mouth, Luke suckled on it deliciously before leisurely kissing his way along her jaw and down her neck. She arched impatiently against him, offering her breasts to him with a sound that was almost a whimper. He didn’t keep her waiting; one large hand cupping a breast even as his mouth closed over the pert nipple he found there. She closed her eyes, a moan escaping her lips as he gently drew the stiff peak into his mouth. God, that feels exquisite. Her nipples had always been incredibly sensitive, but Luke seemed to know exactly how to touch them to really drive her wild. Only when he had her panting for breath did he turn his attention to the other breast and lavish it with just as much attention. Her already taut nipple tightened even more in his mouth, and she gasped as he suckled on the sensitive little tip.

  Flicking her nipple with his tongue, Luke lifted his head to gaze down at her. “You’re still wearing way too many clothes,” he said, his voice husky. “Take off your skirt.”

  Her pulse fluttering at the command in his voice, Heidi obediently lifted her hips to undo the zipper at the back of her skirt, then pushed it down. The skimpy bikini panties she wore were nothing more than tiny triangles held together by two pieces of string, and Luke watched hungrily as she slowly wiggled them over her hips and tossed them over her head onto the floor.

  She drew up one knee in a sexy pose and gave him a sultry look. Good heavens, when had she become such a sex-kitten? Here she was completely naked, and he still had all his clothes on. How hot was that? “Better?” she asked softly.

  The look he gave her was so hot and full of desire that she almost melted right there on the spot. “Mmm-hmm,” he agreed, bending over her again.

  Claiming her lips in another searing kiss, Luke lightly trailed his hand down her belly to find the neatly-trimmed curls at the juncture of her thighs. Sliding his hand between her legs, he swiped a finger lightly along the slick folds of her pussy lips before focusing his attention on her plump little clit. Heidi moaned against his mouth, automatically making little circles with her hips as he played with her clit.

  He teased her, moving his fingers away from her clit to run them up and down her pussy lips once more before finally sliding deep inside her. Once again, his fingers magically found her G-spot. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he had GPS coordinates for that exact location. Maybe it was a werewolf thing.

  But then all thoughts of how he found her G-spot fled her mind as he stroked it with his finger. Heidi cried out and bucked against him, her breath coming in quick little pants as he moved his finger back and forth inside her. To her dismay, however, Luke stopped what he was doing and slid his finger out of her pussy.

  Heidi was about to voice her complaint when Luke reached one arm over his head to pull off his T-shirt. Her pulse quickened at the sight of his bare, muscular chest. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure if watercolor was the best medium to capture all of that glorious muscle. Maybe she should try her hand at sculpting. She would have to decide later, though. Right now, she had more important things to focus her attention on. Like his thick, hard cock which had just sprung into view. The sight alone was enough to make her pussy quiver with anticipation.

  Taking her hand, Luke sat upright and urged her onto his lap so she was straddling him. Mesmerized by those incredible gold eyes of his, Heidi couldn’t do more than hold onto his shoulders as he slowly sheathed himself inside her.

  “God, you’re so tight,” Luke growled, sliding his hands into her long hair and covering her mouth with his in a long, drugging kiss that made her whole body tremble.

  In spite of how hot she was for him, Heidi was in no hurry to make either of them come too quickly. Instead of bouncing wildly up and down on him like she was tempted to do, she made little circular motions with her hips.

  Murmuring something unintelligible, Luke tore his mouth away from hers to trail hot kisses over her jaw and down her neck. As he moved lower, his stubble scraped against her tender skin, and Heidi shivered. While she wasn’t crazy about a guy having a beard, a little five o’clock shadow was definitely sexy.

  Finding his way to her shoulder, Luke gave her skin a gentle yet firm nip with his teeth. Heidi gasped, the sound caught somewhere between a sigh and a moan. She had no idea getting a little love-bite now and then could be such a turn-on. But every time his teeth grazed her flesh her pussy positively purred with pleasure.

  Luke slowly kissed his way back up to the curve of her neck and along her jaw before reclaiming her lips again. Releasing his hold on her hair, he slid his hands down her back to grasp her bottom. Firmly holding on to her ass, he began guiding her up and down on his cock in a slow, sexy rhythm.

  Heidi immediately started to feel her orgasm begin to crest. Wanting to make the pleasure last as long as possible, she tried to hold off. But it was useless. Luke felt too good inside her.

  Giving into the sensation, she clenched her pussy tightly around him, letting her body milk the hot cum from him even as she shuddered and trembled uncontrollably with her own release. Luke tore his mouth away from hers to groan low and deep against her neck, and she wrapped her arms tightly around him, resting her cheek against the top of his head as they came together. The feeling was so amazing that it brought tears to her eyes.

  If she’d had any doubts that she was truly in love with Luke, they were gone now. She decided right then that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

  Chapter 9

  Luke would never have believed that waking up with a woman in his arms could feel so damn good. Then again, he’d never gone out with a woman like Heidi before. She was perfect, in bed and out of it. In bed, she was passionate and loving. Out of it, she was beautiful, smart, funny, and caring, not to mention sexy as hell. And on top of all that, she was a werewolf, too. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have found her. Letting her go back to Denver was going to be pure torture.

  But he didn’t have to let her go just yet. He gazed down at her sleeping form. Reaching out, he gently brushed her long, silky hair back from her face. She moaned and snuggled deeper into the pillow, but otherwise didn’t stir at his touch. He wasn’t surprised she was sleeping so soundly. After making love in front of the fireplace last night, he had scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom for round two, so they hadn’t gotten to sleep until late. As much as he wanted to wake her up with a tender kiss on the lips and a hand between her legs, he resisted the urge. She would need the rest with her first change coming on that night.

  Lying there looking so damn beautiful, Luke knew it would be i
mpossible to resist touching her for long, and since he was determined not to wake her up, he decided to focus his attention on something else, like making breakfast. He might even bring it to her in bed.

  Wondering what it was about Heidi that brought out the romantic in him, Luke slipped out of bed as quietly as he could. After pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms, hemade his way into the kitchen.

  He had gotten the bacon started and was just whisking the eggs with a fork when his cell phone rang. Afraid it would wake Heidi, he hastily grabbed it from the counter and flipping it open, held it to his ear.

  “Yeah.”

  “Hey, Luke.”

  Luke set the bowl down on the counter. “Hey, Hunter. What’s up?”

  “Not much,” his brother said. “Eliza just wanted me to give you a call, see if you’re doing okay.”

  Luke frowned. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “No reason. You just sounded kind of distracted the other day. She worries about you.”

  “Things at work are crazy, that’s all.”

  On the other end of the line, his brother was silent, as if considering whether to believe Luke or not. Before Luke could say anything else, however, Heidi’s voice came from behind him.

  “Mmm, I thought I smelled something cooking. It was sweet of you to make breakfast, but I would rather you’d stayed in bed with me and… Oh!”

  Luke had turned halfway into her speech and he saw Heidi flush with embarrassment when she noticed the phone he held to his ear. She was probably thinking that whoever was on the other end of the line had heard everything. Considering his brother was a werewolf and had exceptional hearing, Hunter probably had. Great.

  “Sorry. I didn’t know you were on the phone,” Heidi said softly.

  Luke shook his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s just my brother. I’ll be done in a minute.”

  She smiled, her face still red. “Take your time. I’ll be outside on the deck.”

  Luke let his gaze follow Heidi as she made her way through the living room and let herself out onto the back deck. She had put on one of his button-up shirts, and the way it showed off her legs was sexy as hell.

  “Work, huh?” Hunter said teasingly. “You could have just told me that you had a girlfriend, you know.”

  Luke ground his jaw. “It’s not what you think. Heidi’s just a friend I’m helping out.”

  His brother chuckled. “Helping her do what exactly? Test out mattresses?”

  “Funny,” Luke said sarcastically, then sighed. “Look, Heidi was hiking up in the state park a couple of days ago and got bitten by a were.”

  “What?” his brother asked incredulously, all teasing gone from his voice. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything about this the other day?”

  “Because it was none of your business.”

  Hunter let out a sigh. “What about this other were?” he asked, ignoring the words. “Do you know who he is?”

  Luke shook his head. “No. I tried to track him after I chased him off, but no luck.” His gaze strayed to Heidi. She was perched on the railing that ran around the perimeter of the deck, her long, blond hair blowing in the late summer breeze. “But I think he wants Heidi,” he told Hunter.

  “For his mate, you mean?”

  Luke’s hand tightened around the phone. “Yeah.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I thought it was my arrival that had prevented him from killing her, but I realize now that the were hadn’t intended to kill her. He bit her once and backed off. I think he deliberately wanted to turn her. Then she smelled him hanging around outside her apartment building after he attacked her. And yesterday, he broke into her place when we were at the market. He’s been stalking her.”

  Hunter was silent for a moment. “Do you need some help on this? Eliza and I can be down there tonight.”

  “Thanks, but I can handle it,” Luke said. “There is something you could help with, though. Heidi’s first change is tonight. It there anything I should know? I mean, is it different for a woman?”

  “Not really,” Hunter said. “Just remember that women are naturally more emotional, so just keep her calm.”

  Luke nodded. “I will.”

  “So, this thing with Heidi,” his brother said, changing the subject. “I know you said you’re friends and that you’re just helping her, but from what I heard, it’s obvious you’re sleeping with her. Is there more than sex going on here? Are you falling for her?”

  Luke hesitated. He didn’t really want to have this conversation with his brother. “Look, the sex just kind of happened. Sure, I like her, but Heidi is just up here for the summer doing some painting. Once she learns to control her werewolf side, she’s going back to Denver . We both know that.”

  Hunter was silent for a moment. “She might not be so quick to leave if she knew you have feelings for her.”

  Luke snorted. “You’ve been watching too much Oprah or something. I don’t really think I like the idea of pouring my heart out to Heidi only to have her leave and go back to Denver anyway. I’ve never been the sharing type of guy. You, of all people, should know that.”

  “Neither was I until I met Eliza,” his brother said. “Before she knew I was a werewolf, I tried hard to fight it, but that didn’t stop me from falling in love with her. And while I was scared as hell for her to know what I was, when she inadvertently did find out—and didn’t run out of the house screaming—I knew it was time to finally open myself up and let someone in.”

  Luke said nothing for a long time. “Look, that’s you. That’s not me. And things are different between Heidi and me. She’s got a whole separate life in Denver she’s waiting to get back to.”

  On the other end of the line, Hunter let out a breath. “Okay. I won’t push you. But just think about what I said. Female werewolves don’t come along every day, you know.”

  No, they don’t.Luke looked out at Heidi again. And definitely none who are like her.

  “So, what are you going to do about this other were?” Hunter asked.

  Luke sighed. “Right now, nothing. I’ve got to get Heidi through her first change. That’s my first priority. But after that, I’m going to track him down.”

  “And then what?”

  Luke clenched his jaw. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect Heidi.”

  His brother was silent for a moment. “I understand. But if you change your mind and want some help, give me a call.”

  “I will.”

  Flipping his phone closed, Luke set it down on the counter and gazed out the French doors to where Heidi was still sitting on the railing. Part of him wanted to take his brother’s advice and tell Heidi how he felt about her. But the other part of him was afraid. He had never gone out with another woman long enough to let himself develop feelings for her, so he wasn’t even sure if what he was feeling now was love. It sure felt like it was. But all he really knew was that every time he thought of letting Heidi go it was like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room and he could barely breathe. That has to be love, doesn’t it?

  Now, if he only she felt the same way about him.

  * * * *

  After last night, Heidi wasn’t sure how she was ever going to leave Luke and go back to Denver . She was in love with him and she didn’t know what to do about it. It wasn’t like she could just come right out and tell him. Then again, she couldn’t very well announce that she had decided to move up to Alaska out of the blue, either. It would be painfully obvious that she’d done it simply to be closer to him. Considering they’d barely met a week ago, he’d probably think she was crazy. Like those psycho-obsessive girlfriends she read about in Cosmo .

  The French doors opened and she turned her head to see Luke coming out onto the deck.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt your phone call,” she said, giving him a smile.

  He returned her smile with one of his own. “You didn’t.”

  “Please tell me your brot
her didn’t hear what I said.”

  Luke chuckled as he walked over to her. “Okay, I won’t.”

  She felt herself blush. “Oh, God. I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Don’t be,” Luke said. “Hunter’s a big boy. He’s old enough to know I have a girlfriend.”

  Girlfriend. Her heart did a triple backflip with a half tuck at the word. He thought of her as a girlfriend. That is promising, isn’t it?

  Luke reached up to gently tuck her hair behind her ear. “You looked like you were deep in thought when I came out. What were you thinking about?”

  She shrugged and looked away, staring out at the lake. “Nothing really,” she said, hoping her voice sounded casual. “Just that I’m really going to miss it up here when I go home.”

  “So stay.”

  Heidi jerked her head around to look at him, sure she couldn’t have heard him right. “Wh-what?”

  He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Don’t go back to Denver . Stay here.”

  She blinked. “With you?”

  He grinned. “That was the plan.”

  Heidi gazed up at him, speechless. He was asking her to move in with him.

  Luke, however, must have taken her inability to speak for hesitation because he said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pressure you. We just met. Uprooting your life and moving up here is—”

  “Exactly what I was thinking about doing when you were on the phone with your brother,” she said before he could finish.

  His brow furrowed. “It was?”

  She slid off the railing to loop her arms around his neck. “Well, not the part about where I was going to live or anything, but moving in with you would definitely be my first choice.”

  As Luke stood there regarding her with something that could only be called wonder in his gold eyes, it occurred to Heidi that he was surprised she had agreed to stay.

  “Mine, too,” was all he said before he bent his head to kiss her.

  Heidi melted against him, her hands finding their way into his hair as her lips parted beneath his. Luke’s hands cupped her ass cheeks, pulling her tightly against him. She could feel his hard cock straining against the material of his pajama bottoms as it pressed against her belly, and her pussy quivered with need.