hers. He'd do it before the changes began. He'd have to or she'd suffer. Her scent still hung in the air. Rick closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Visions of tangled limbs and smooth, damp skin filled his head. He could happily spend the rest of his life with her, and he guessed he would.
Trusting or not, the female wolf hadn't been all that compliant about allowing them to stick their heads in her den. Just in case, Rick had brought along a mild sedative. The female had let him give her the drug; then they'd waited until she grew calm. Stephanie had both camera and video recorder. She took several shots of the frisky pups. Now she sat among them, cooing and lifting them, kissing each one on the head.
Despite the dark clouds gathering overhead, Rick smiled at her antics. She glanced up and smiled back at him. His heart warmed at the sight of her, wolf pups climbing all over her lap. She looked so beautiful to him in that instant, so innocent and trusting. She deserved a special man. Deserved a normal home and children of her own. She deserved all he could not give her.
"Come play with us," she urged.
Rick walked over and sat beside her. "That sedative will be wearing off soon," he warned her. He glanced up. "And it looks as if we're in for a storm tonight."
She turned her gaze on him. "I may have to take refuge at your place. I'm scared of storms."
He laughed. "You're not afraid of anything."
"We could pretend I am," she said, smiling seductively. A moment later, she sobered. "I mean, if you want me to stay."
What he wanted was forever, but he'd settle for another night with her. "Or we can pretend that storms frighten me."
It was her turn to laugh. "Okay," she agreed. "I like that better."
Thunder rumbled overhead. The female wolf resting inside the den growled.
"Time to go." Rick rose and offered Stephanie a hand up. "Come on, we'll have to run to make it back before the storm breaks."
After placing the pups inside the den with their mother, Stephanie took his hand. Rick shoved her video camera beneath his shirt and watched as she did likewise with the camera hanging around her neck.
Another loud rumble of thunder had him tugging her away from the den. They scrambled down a bluff and ran full out across the meadow where they had made love the previous evening. Large drops of rain fell from the sky. Stephanie squealed and pulled ahead of him. She ran inside the cabin, leaving the door open.
When he entered, he saw her stomping around and rubbing her arms. "That rain is freezing cold."
"Maybe I can warm you up," he said.
In answer, she quickly removed her camera from her neck, set it on the bar and began stripping. She dropped her wet shirt on the floor on her way to the bedroom. Rick growled low in his throat and followed.
Later, while the rain made drumming noises on the roof, and lightning flashed outside the windows, he held her naked and content in his arms.
"Rick?" she asked. "Do you ever think about leaving this place?"
Of course he'd thought about it. But where could he go except another remote place just like this one? A place where he could run wild during the full moon with those of his kind. "No," he answered.
"Would you consider it?" she asked after a hesitant pause.
"I can't leave, Stephanie," he said point-blank.
"It's not as if your business is thriving. And a good vet along on an expedition is always a plus."
There was nothing he could say to spare her feelings. He'd love to get out of this place, back to civilization, or to follow her around on her expeditions doing whatever he could. Anywhere she was would be fine with him. But that wasn't possible.
"I might consider leaving," he amended his earlier answer. "I'd have to get some things in order first."
"Well, of course," she said. "I didn't mean tomorrow. I meant? someday."
He kissed the top of her head, wishing he didn't have to lie to her. There was no future for them. "I'd like for you to meet my parents," he said, then realized he'd expressed the thought out loud.
Stephanie shifted so that she could see him. "I'd love to meet them."
His mother, he felt certain, would be very pleased with Stephanie. She had once complained that the women he dated seemed plastic and shallow. She'd insisted that