satisfaction. He opened a small door on the cabinet built into the bottom of the tub and pulled out a bottle of bubble bath, dumping in a capful before putting it back. Then he looked over his shoulder at me and caught me staring at his butt. He winked at me and added, “I wanted my mate to be comfortable in our home, so I tried to keep what you might like in mind while I was picking stuff out. My niece discovered the tub when they visited last month and took several baths each day.”
“I can see why she enjoyed it so much. You did an excellent job,” I complimented as I traced my fingertip over the marble top of the vanity, grinning at his explanation for the bubble bath since it was difficult to picture him in a bath full of bubbles.
He brushed a soft kiss against my forehead before reaching over my shoulder to open the medicine cabinet. “I’m glad you think so since I did it all for you.”
“Seriously, what did I ever do to deserve a guy like you?” Zeke seemed too good to be true.
“You don’t have to do anything other than be yourself,” he answered as he shook a couple of pain relievers out of the bottle and handed them to me. “You were born to be mine, and I’ll always treasure the gift you are.”
He had the art of the perfect answer down pat, making me swoon before I popped the pills in my mouth and swallowed them down with the glass of water he gave me. Then I handed it back and looked at him expectantly. He cocked his head to the side, and I blurted, “The tub looks like it’s just about full.”
“Good catch.” He crossed the room to turn off the faucet and returned to my side to help me off the vanity. “You should get into the water while it’s still hot, or else it won’t do much good.”
Although he’d gotten naked in front of me without blinking, my cheeks filled with heat at the thought of stripping out of my clothes in front of him. “Are you going to at least turn around while I get in?”
“Shit, sorry.” He flashed me a sexy grin as he walked over to the doorway. “Nudity isn’t as big of a deal for shifters, and I forgot it isn’t the same for humans.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what else to say since I hadn’t expected that to be his reason for wanting to see me strip.
Zeke stopped and turned to face me again. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll be a big damn deal for me from now on. No way in hell do I want anyone other than me to see your beautiful body.” He swept his hand down in front of his chest. “And I’m all yours, so I’ll be careful about who’s around me when my clothes come off before shifting.”
I grinned, happy with how he just put everything all out there. “Thank you.”
He returned my smile before walking away. The door was still open, so when he was out of my line of sight I hurriedly stripped out of my clothes and climbed into the tub. The bubbles were thick enough to cover my body, but I still let out a surprised squeak when Zeke strode back into the room. Shifters were real, I was the fated mate of a sexy wolf, and I was naked in a tub only a few feet away from him. It was a lot to take in.
“Is it like this with all fated mates?” I asked as he dropped a big T-shirt on the vanity.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I covered myself a little more. “Like what?”
I was acutely aware of the fact that I was completely naked with only the bubbles stopping Zeke from being able to see my body. My nipples pebbled, and I felt a slickness between my legs that had nothing to do with the bathwater and everything to do with my overwhelming attraction to him. “This instant connection to someone you’ve just met who seems to have been tailor-made for you.”
“For the most part, yeah,” he confirmed with a grin, his green eyes gleaming with male satisfaction. “So you think I’m perfect for you?”
“I mean...I don’t really know much about you except that you can shift into a wolf, are the sheriff, and have a niece. But from what I’ve seen so far—which has only been about