don’t know.”
The wolf in her yearned to be near him. To console him. Her voice softened. “I do. You ridiculous, brave man. I know you have an instinct to protect me, but we have to do this as a team. Every step of the way has to be you and me, okay?”
He leaned his head back and let out a long breath. She brushed her fingers against a fresh cut on the tight, stretched muscle of his neck. “Come here.” She took his hand and led him to the bed. After she had retrieved the first aid kit from the bathroom, she straddled his lap and peeled the bandages gently off to clean them. “I thought you were getting cold feet.”
He snorted. “It’s the opposite of that. I can’t wait to claim you so we don’t have to deal with the challenges anymore. They give Wolf way too much control.”
“Hmm.” She smiled. “Morgan Crawford,” she tested. “Has a ring to it, don’t you think?”
His grin was predatory. He took the cotton swab gently from her fingers and tossed it on the bed. Sliding steady hands down her thighs, he took a long drag of the air near her neck. He gripped the back of her knees and pulled her more tightly against his lap. When he nipped the sensitive spot just below her ear, she hunched into him, the closeness of his bare skin necessary.
“Say it again,” he whispered.
She tilted her head back as his kisses left a burning trail down her neck. “Morgan Crawford.”
A knock rapped loudly on the door. “Food’s on,” Dean called.
Relaxing in disappointment, she hung her head until it rested against his shoulder.
His voice held a mischievous smile. “Saved by the dinner bell. We could always ditch the meal.”
“So your suggestion is to ditch our rehearsal dinner with our friends, who are sitting right outside our window, to get a jump start on the claiming part of this relationship?”
He nibbled her lip tenderly and she pushed away. “One-track mind.”
He laughed and grabbed for her hand. “Hey, I didn’t straddle myself like some sexy nurse.”
“Shirt on, mister. We have to mingle, and my mom is not meeting you for the first time while you are half naked.” She raked her eyes across his chest. “Although, she would probably like you even more like this.”
She padded down the hallway, past rustic oil paintings of wilderness landscapes that hung on the walls. A grin stretched her face at Grey’s frustrated groan that came from the bedroom behind her. The smell of barbecue wafted through the house, bringing pangs of hunger to her middle. She entered the great room to the noise of easy conversation and dinnerware clinking. Dean hefted a huge pan of brisket into the kitchen while Rachel and Brent talked animatedly to Mom as they set up a buffet style line of side dishes.
“Mom! I didn’t know you were here already,” she said with a hug.
Her green eyes, much like Morgan’s own, lit up over a beatific smile. The light from the rustic chandelier above illuminated a hundred hues of gray in her hair. “Oh yes. I got here a while ago and I’ve been getting to know your new friends. Delightful people, honey.”
Morgan bit her bottom lip. If only she knew she was talking to a bunch of werewolves, she’d crap herself. Mom was more of a cat person.
Grey walked with a soft foot, but she had been listening for him. “Mom, this is Grey. Grey…this is my mom, Hannah.”
Mom turned wide eyes to his chest, and they got wider when she looked up to the full height of her future son-in-law. “Good lord, but they made you a big one.”
He laughed, chin tilted back until the cords of muscle in his throat stretched. His smile was relaxed and genuine when he lowered his gaze back to Mom. “Got my height from my dad’s side, ma’am.”
“Oh, none of that ma’am crap. Call me Hannah, please.” She held out her hand daintily for him to shake in true southern belle fashion. He would realize soon enough Mom was a spitfire with a mouth to match.
True to form, Mom finagled her way into sitting right next to Grey on the front porch. She’d always been admittedly enamored with big men, and they talked easily about how Lana was settling in here. Mom didn’t even seem to mind the sunglasses he wore, though the evening light had waned. Strands of white lights lit up the coming night and tiki