Then Maverick came back inside to join them.

  “Did you see all the lovely handcrafted signs in the shop? They are all Maverick’s handiwork, if he didn’t tell you about it. Even the signs at the ranch are his work, which is why I asked him to make some for my shop.” Brooke served them wassail and sugar cookies from the bakery across the street.

  “Oh, I love them.” Gina looked up at Maverick. “You didn’t tell me you were so artistic.”

  She swore he blushed a little, his ears tingeing red. “It’s just a hobby of mine. I usually run out of people to give them away to, so this was a great way to share the signs with others.” He ran his hand over Gina’s back in a soothing caress.

  She liked how intimate he was all the time with her.

  “They sell really well,” Brooke said, “and I don’t have to pay for the stock.”

  “Well, they’re beautiful.” Gina thought he could even make her a gnome sign: GNOMES LIVE HERE or some such thing.

  It was finally time for Gina and Maverick to leave with the reindeer calves. They’d stayed later to give Brooke’s customers more time to come to see the calves. And then they said goodbye to Josh and Brooke and drove back to the reindeer ranch.

  “We have a group tour when we get home, and then we’ll go to the dinner-dance club.”

  “That will be great. It’s been such a wonderful day already.”

  “It has been, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it with you.”

  “Same for me.”

  “You haven’t had any urge to shift during the day?” he asked.

  “Not yet. Not at night that I know of either. Is that unusual? What if I can only shift in my sleep?”

  “Well, for everyone, it’s a different experience.”

  At the reindeer ranch, a couple of ranch hands were taking care of a tour bus of people asking them questions about the reindeer. Gina and Maverick put the calves in one large stall, the reindeer happily worn out.

  Three other calves were in the WHERE THE MAGIC BEGINS corral where kids were petting them.

  She listened to the ranch hands’ spiels, fascinated.

  Then the tour moved to the stable, and the tour group got to see each of the reindeer, Christmas music playing overhead. Everything was already lit up, and when the sun went down, the whole ranch would be even more spectacular. She couldn’t wait to see it and for her parents to visit with the reindeer to see just how magical it was.

  The lights inside the barn made it look just like Christmas. Little colorful lights twinkled over each of the stalls, and each had a hand-carved sign with gilded letters displaying the name of the reindeer. Each stall was trimmed in gold, and the whole barn was painted red inside, including the siding and stall gates. Up above, the ceiling was blue, covered in painted stars and the full moon.

  She looked up at it, thinking she should be shifting out of control by now.

  Everyone coming into the barn was in awe. She loved it. What a fun place for visitors and how neat it would be to work here on a regular basis—with Maverick.

  After the tour group ate a variety of cinnamon, chocolate, and Christmas cookies, drank hot cocoa topped with whipped cream, and took pictures with the adult reindeer and calves, they left.

  “We’ll have another tour group after sunset, but we’ll see the Christmas lights even better when we return,” Maverick said.

  “I look forward to it. I’m going to grab the dress I brought to wear to the club and change.”

  “I’m going to change too.”

  When they reached the house, they went inside and peeled off their parkas. “I’ll show you to your suite. My brother and I both had master bedrooms with baths when we built the house and a couple of extra guest bedrooms to spare.”

  Then they each changed into their dressier clothes, her in the guest room and him in his master bedroom. They finally met in the living room. He smiled at her. “Beautiful.”

  “I could say the same about you.” She frowned then, having forgotten all about her brother and hoping he hadn’t caused trouble for the ranch hands while she and Maverick had been in town. “My brother didn’t show up here while we were at the schools, did he?”

  “No. The ranch hands were aware of the problem, and Leidolf sent extra ranch hands just in case we had issues. We have two dedicated hands who will serve as ‘wolf dogs’ at a moment’s notice.”

  “Okay, good. Maybe Weston and his friends will quit believing that werewolves run this ranch and Leidolf and Cassie’s.”

  “Do you think they will?” he asked, helping her into her dressier coat.

  “No. Once they believe something, they’ll exhaust all avenues to explore the notion.”

  “Then we’ll remain on guard. Are you ready to go?”

  “I sure am.”

  They drove off in his pickup, though she wanted to ride in his Corvette—then she’d feel like a ’50s-era princess being escorted to the ball. They finally arrived at Forest Club, which lived up to its name. She studied the building covered in a thatched roof, giant maples towering over the parking lot at irregular intervals making it appear like a dwelling in a forest, the whole surrounding area forested.

  “I love it already,” she said.

  “It’s a real hot spot for wolves.” He guided her into the club, where dark oak tables set under fake trees covered in real bark and mossy-green chairs and booths made her feel as though she was in a real forest.

  Each of the booths had tree-bark walls separating it from the other booths for privacy, and the tables were also secluded from each other by a stand of trees or massive tree trunks, though most had a view of the open dance floor.

  “This is really fun.”

  The club’s ceiling was painted black as night, and sparkling white lights made it appear as though the stars were overhead. The music beat a rhythm made for dancing, and she was ready. She saw several of the wolves she’d seen at the Christmas party, and she really was feeling like she was part of the pack.

  A waitress seated them, gave them menus, smiled, and left the table so they could choose what they wanted for dinner.

  “She’s a wolf,” Gina said, looking at the menu.

  “Right. The whole staff is. Everyone who dines and dances here is a wolf. The restaurant is known for its excellent steaks,” Maverick said.

  “Okay, then I’ll get the petite filet.”

  “I’m going to get the rib eye. Would you like a cocktail or wine?”

  “I think I’ll get a cocktail after we dance and when our meals are served.”

  “That sounds good.” Then the waitress returned, and Maverick ordered their meals and waters, then reached out his hand to Gina, and escorted her to the dance floor.

  She loved dancing with Maverick. He was so sexy. And this time, no one seemed to be coming up to dance with her, and she was glad for that. Not that she didn’t want to meet other wolves, but she wanted to be with Maverick like this, bodies pressed together, no one else intruding on their time. Lost to each other. Whispered words. Sweet and sizzling kisses. She could dance with him like this all night long.

  But after four dances, they saw their meals delivered to their table, and she realized just how hungry she was.

  “Let’s go eat so we can dance some more afterward,” he said.

  “Yes, I’m hungry.” If she had shifted last night and had gotten it out of her system until she went to bed tonight, she was glad for it because she wasn’t feeling any urge to do so. And she wanted to do a whole lot more dancing with Maverick tonight.

  Chapter 8

  Maverick was having a great time with Gina, glad she liked to dance with him just as much as he enjoyed dancing with her, but man, their pheromones were on fire. He motioned to the waitress. Gina ordered a marzipan dream cocktail, and the description sounded so good—amaretto, vanilla, and bourbon, drizzled with chocolate syrup, and dark-chocolate sprinkles floating on the foamy top—he decided to order one for himself.

  The waitress said, “Be right back with them.”

  “Do humans ever come here?” Gina asked, cutting into her steak.

  “You have to have a reservation, and the way that works, the place is only open by word of mouth, no online reservation numbers available.”

  “Wow, okay.”

  Then their cocktails were served, and Gina took a sip of hers. “This is delicious. I wondered why no one else is asking me to dance.”

  He smiled. “We’re on a date. At the Christmas party, the bachelor males figured it was a safe bet I’d be willing to let them dance with you. But on a date?” He shook his head and then took a sip of his cocktail. “Unless of course you want to dance with someone else.”

  She smiled. “No way. You have way hotter wolf moves than any guy I’ve ever danced with.”

  He laughed. “I feel the same way about you.”

  “You mean if any woman tried to steal you away from me—”

  He patted her hand. “You’re stuck with me.”

  “Good thing. This drink is totally dreamy.”

  He agreed. “Yeah, that was a super choice.”

  He was glad she was staying with him after this, since he worried she would have more trouble with shifting. He couldn’t believe she’d shifted last night, didn’t recall anything about it, and had been barking like a dog, getting herself in trouble with her neighbors and her apartment manager. He was concerned about making a good impression on her parents tomorrow night too. He seemed to be doing everything right with Gina so far though, and for that, he was grateful.

  Then they heard a commotion near the entrance to the club.

  He could see three men and two women had arrived at the club, and the hostess said, “I’m sorry, you have to have a reservation. We don’t have any tables available.”

  The music was still in full swing, and the wolves were still dancing with each other.

  The newcomers’ voices elevated.

  “We can pay,” one man said.

  “I’m sorry. We’re booked. You have to call ahead for reservations,” the hostess insisted.

  “How much is it going to take to get a damn seat here?” one of the human males asked, pulling out a credit card.

  He appeared to be used to getting his way. He wouldn’t get his way here.

  “We’re full,” the manager said, coming to the hostess’s rescue.

  “What about that table?” the man persisted, pointing to an empty table.

  “It’s reserved,” the manager said.

  Then another couple arrived, and Maverick smiled to see it was Leidolf and Cassie. A table was always set aside for them in recognition of their pack leader status.

  “Is there some trouble here?” Leidolf asked, smelling the tension in the air like the rest of the wolves could and knowing the humans were causing problems.

  The five humans glowered at Leidolf, the man in charge of the group staring him down. Leidolf was a total alpha wolf, and he waited for the man to say anything further before he did anything.

  “Okay”—the man turned to the manager, losing the stare- down with Leidolf—“so I’ll make reservations.” He gave Leidolf a cutting glare, acting as though Leidolf couldn’t be as important as he was.

  “We’re booked. You’ll have to make a reservation online. We don’t do that here.”

  Waiting for this to be resolved, Leidolf and Cassie stood their ground. Everyone in the club was tense; several of the men, including Maverick, were ready to leave their seats quickly to force the humans out of the club if they needed to.

  The guy finally conceded. “Fine. We’ll make a reservation. Online.” Under his breath as he and the others in his party turned to leave, he muttered, “And leave a bad review for this place.”

  Before they exited the club, they gave Leidolf and the manager one last cutting glare and finally left.

  Cheers went up, amusing Maverick. Gina smiled. “Wow, that was intense.”

  “Yeah, Leidolf allowed Weston and your friends to come to the Christmas party last night because they’re your brother and friends, you’re one of us, and we’ll probably end up turning them, but we don’t have to allow non-wolf types into one of our wolf-only establishments.”

  “What about them leaving a bad review for the restaurant?”

  “It’s not listed anywhere online. Everyone knows about the restaurant by word of mouth. The wolves don’t share about the place with humans. They can’t make a reservation because only the wolves have the number.”

  Gina smiled. “Very clever.”

  “Occasionally, we get passersby who see the place, the crowd of vehicles, and drop in like that to check it out. It only happens a couple of times a year or else they’d have a bouncer checking patrons at the entrance.”

  “Well, this is a fun place, and the steaks and the rest of the food are fantastic.” She took another sip of her cocktail. “And this is divine.”

  Which was just why he’d brought her here.

  Once they finished dinner and their cocktails, they headed back to the dance floor.

  She was an accomplished dancer, and she stirred his loins on the dance floor like no one else had ever done. This had to be one of his favorite activities with her, and he fully intended to have more dance nights with her. Though he enjoyed being with her while doing just about anything.

  At the reindeer shows, she’d been letting him do all the talking, but he hoped she’d like to share about the reindeers too when she felt more comfortable doing so.

  But right at this moment, this was what he wanted, her in his arms, their bodies snug, her arms wrapped around his neck, moving to another nice, slow dance. They ended up dancing until the club closed for the night, and as late as it was, he was really glad she was staying at his place.

  They said goodnight to several couples in the parking lot, including Leidolf and Cassie, and then Maverick and Gina got into his truck.

  When they arrived home, she said, “I’m exhausted. Late night, late to bed last night, rising really early this morning, and the same the morning and night before. Who knows what I was really doing last evening all night long.”

  He wanted to sleep with her, but he figured they wouldn’t sleep much if she was in bed with him, and she needed her rest. “Then I’ll kiss you good night, and in the morning, we’ll have breakfast before we do another show.”

  “Okay, that sounds good.” She wrapped her arms around Maverick and hugged him close, her delectable body making his stir into action again. She kissed him with hot-blooded passion, and he kissed her and hugged her back with the same desire, wanting in the worst way to take her to bed with him.

  But then they ended the kiss, and he knew this was only the very beginning for them. At least he certainly hoped so.

  When he retired to his bedroom, he texted his brother: Have you ever heard of anyone who doesn’t shift for three days, except shifting in their sleep during the night?

  If she did it tonight, he wanted to know about it as soon as it happened.

  Josh texted: That’s a new one on me.

  That’s just what Maverick was worried about.

  ***

  Seven days until Christmas, Gina was thinking, as she took a quick shower, dried off, and then pulled on her red-and-green-striped pajamas and slipped into bed. She loved the guest bedroom, Josh’s master bedroom suite, all browns and tans and touches of aqua. The Western theme with the rugged oak furniture, the pictures of reindeer in the field, the Cascade Mountain range serving as a backdrop. The reindeer flannel sheets kept her warm, and the embroidered patchwork quilt was really pretty. She turned off her bedside lamp and then closed her eyes. For a long time, she lay awake, wanting to feel the shift coming on, if it happened, trying to sense any change in her body temperature. The last thought she had before she fell asleep was hoping her parents liked Maverick as much as she did when they came to dinner.

  And then the next thing she knew she was burning up, wishing the heater would be more uniform and not so up and down. She’d been comfortable before this, and she couldn’t help it, but tossing the covers aside didn’t make any difference. She was still burning up. And then she started stripping out of her pajamas.

  Suddenly, she was comfortable again.

  When she woke that morning, she stared at her bare shoulders, realized her body was naked, and she couldn’t believe it. She pulled the covers aside and got out of bed, and this time she looked at the sheets. Telltale wolf fur was clinging to the flannel bottom sheet. Unless another wolf had slept on them and the washing machine hadn’t removed the fur, that was hers. She couldn’t imagine she was shifting at night and didn’t remember a thing about it.

  She smelled breakfast cooking—ham, hash brown potatoes, and eggs. She dressed and then headed out of the bedroom to join Maverick.

  He smiled at her, and she went into the kitchen and gave him a hug. “Did you miss me?” he asked.

  “I think I shouldn’t have slept alone.”

  “Did you…” He hesitated and frowned. “Did you shift?”

  “I think so. Unless someone else left wolf fur in the bed.”

  “The sheets have been cleaned since the last person used them. And he wouldn’t have been in the bed in his wolf coat.”

  “Sorry. I shouldn’t have been either. And you’re right. I only smelled me on the sheets.”

  “Well, hot damn. That’s good news then. It means you most likely won’t shift again until late tonight since we got in so late this morning.” Then he dished up their breakfast and frowned again. “Did you sleep at all? I tried to stay awake in case I could hear you shifting. I would have heard you bark or howl. I guess you didn’t.”

  “If I did, it sure didn’t wake me either. Just like the last time at my apartment.”