mad at him when he talked business.
“I’ll never try to force you into something again,” he said, stroking her belly. “You can drive your Civic, work late hours here, and we can live wherever you want.”
She really didn’t care where she lived, as long as it was at his side. She never wanted to leave him again. How would they work out the fact that she’d run the Knight Owl and he’d run Wilder Financial? They’d still work in different worlds, wouldn’t they? Is that what she wanted?
“I’ve already thought about that. I brought something for you that might help,” he said, sliding from beneath her. He strode to where his shredded pants lay in a heap on the floor and dug around in his pocket. “Here,” he said, straightening a piece of paper and holding it out in front of her.
What was it? She couldn’t tell.
“It’s your two-week notice. I don’t want my wife, my soul mate, and my life partner working as my personal secretary. It’s important that you see yourself how I see you: as my equal.”
Oh, Drake. She was never cut out for the secretary gig. But now, when she was faced with the concept of leaving, she wasn’t sure. It’d be nice to see him every day. To work alongside him.
“Then you will,” Drake said, addressing her concerns. “Stand beside me as you did just now. Work alongside me. Be my partner in every sense of the word. I didn’t realize it before, but if we mixed my business sense with your personal flair, we just might take Seattle by storm.”
Emelia’s heart went light. She quivered with the desire to kiss him, to feel his lips on hers. As she pinched her eyes shut, thinking about Drake and the future they’d have together, her body trembled and her skin heated sun-scorching hot. She shifted back to human form and jumped into Drake’s arms.
He dropped the paper to the ground, cradled her head against him, and spun her around. “You did it,” he said. “You figured out how to change back on your own.”
“I just thought of you.” She kissed him openmouthed and slipped her tongue past his lips. Their mouths moved in a dance she didn’t want to end. When Drake pulled back to get some air, Emelia said, “For a second there, I thought Silas was going to run from the fight. I thought he was going to back down.”
“He realized the bond between us made us stronger. It made you stronger.” Drake massaged her back, soothing away the worry and stress.
“But how’s that possible? I mean, you guys are three hundred years old and I just learned how to shift. I’m a baby, or a pup, or whatever you’d call it.”
His hand brushed her cheek. “Newly transitioned werewolves are uncharacteristically strong for the first hundred years of their life. Mesh that with being mated to me, and you’re pretty special.”
“You mean that I’m stronger because I’ve bonded with you?”
“You’re my Luminary. There’s a piece of you in me, and a piece of me in you. That gives you strength he could never understand.”
“So it’s over?” She dared to breathe deep.
“It’s over.” He kissed her. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“You’re heaven-sent.” Her heart hammered wildly. “But aren’t you even a little upset about losing your father’s estate to Silas?”
“I have you,” Drake said. “It’s all I want, and all I need. Besides, we didn’t lose everything. We still have this place and Wilder Financial.”
“Yeah,” she said, realizing that he put the Knight Owl before his own business. It was actually going to work. They’d be happy, blissfully in love. “And we’ve got seven hundred years to be together. It still won’t be long enough, but I’ll take it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
CHRISTMAS DAY, ONE MONTH LATER
“Watch your step,” Drake said, leading Emelia down the long, winding hall in the basement of his Seattle mansion.
Their home, she corrected, smiling inside.
The blindfold covering Emelia’s eyes slipped a bit, but didn’t give away whatever Drake was hiding. “The last time you blindfolded me it didn’t go over too well,” she said. “You sure you want to do this?”
“The last time I blindfolded you, I was a jackass.” Drake guided her around a corner. “Thanks to you, I’ve thoroughly learned my lesson.”
Stealing behind her, Drake looped his arms around Emelia’s waist and tugged her against him. One step at a time, he led her into a room that smelled sweetly of vanilla and wine.
The wine cellar.
“Okay,” he said, excitement lacing