and caressed and held each other, she wasn’t sure. But her lips were swollen and her body boneless by the time he rolled off her and onto his side. An arm cradled her and pulled her to his chest.
She settled against him, fingers playing over the mat of hair over his pecs.
“Are you … okay?”
Her lips curled up at the corners at the question. “Better than okay.” The satisfied rumbly growl from deep within his chest made her smile. She pressed a kiss to his side and turned her head up, planting her chin on him. “Thank you for taking me up here. And for the new mattress. I like the other changes, by the way.” She noticed there was now a side table with a lamp and a clock.
His mouth actually quirked up. “I got new sheets and blankets too,” he said. “Did I hurt you?” He glanced down at her cast.
“No, not at all.” She hardly noticed it. It was probably the serotonin talking, though. “And before you ask … I’m not tired.” Not even a little bit, she thought as her fingers moved lower, over his abs and continued following the trail of dark hair.
Heat filled his eyes. “Good. Neither am I.”
Chapter Thirteen
In his travels with the Special Forces, Krieger had seen some pretty marvelous sights. The sun setting over the Gobi Desert. Colorful birds while hiking through the lush forests of South America. The crystal-clear waters of the beaches of Zanzibar.
But for the life of him, he couldn’t recall seeing anything as amazing as having his mate next to him on the bed, her brilliant coppery hair spilled over his pillows.
They’d made love for hours, until she was exhausted. Meanwhile, he hadn’t slept at all, content to just watch the rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathed and the little movements of her eyes before she settled into a deeper slumber. He couldn’t sleep, because he was afraid he would wake up alone and discover last night had all been a dream.
He didn’t set up the party to seduce her into his bed again. Her rejection had stung, but it had all the more made him want to help her. All this time, he’d been trying to woo her and coax her with gifts and things she’d like, but it occurred to him that there was one thing from her old life that was still missing—the company of her friends. And so, he set up the party, even asking Angela to help get her to The Den.
He fought every instinct, every shadow, even his own bear, to be by her side as she introduced him to the people that mattered most to her. When it got too much, he had no choice but to rush outside. His bear didn’t like the close quarters and needed to get out. It had been too crowded in there, too many people, too much noise.
It was the closest he’d been to losing control in the past couple of years. As much as he had changed on the inside, his grizzly was still feeling the scars, and having their mate so close without being able to claim her didn’t help.
Yet here they were. She sought him out. Touched him, despite her fox’s disapproval. And now that she was here, he would do anything to keep her in his arms and ensure they completed the mating bond.
A sound from the outside suddenly set his body on full alert. His bear got up on its hind legs, paws raised, ready to defend their den and mate.
Telling his animal to stand down—at least until they were able to investigate—he shifted Dutchy gently to her other side, careful that she didn’t lie down on her arm. Slipping out of the bed, he quickly donned his discarded jeans and padded outside, readying himself for a fight if necessary. However, what he found at the bottom of his porch steps wasn’t what he expected. Or rather, who.
The grizzled-looking wolf stared up at him with its one green eye, never breaking the gaze. Perhaps acknowledging Krieger’s dominance and territory, the wolf lowered its head before it began to change. Matted gray and black fur receded into human skin, limbs shortened, and the figure stood up on two legs. “Hello, John Krieger,” said the rough, accented voice of Milos Vasilakis. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Krieger stood up even straighter. “Milos,” he greeted back. “To what do I owe this visit?”
Milos stretched his neck, popping and cracking