“It has been. I really enjoyed going to the zoo with you.”

  “I would never have thought of taking a date to the zoo, but you made it fun.” Then they began eating, and he smiled. “Wow, this is so good. I definitely want the recipe for Maddie, but since I helped you make it, I suspect she might want me to make it for everyone first.”

  Kate laughed. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying it. My mother used to make this, and I would help her. I haven’t had it in ages.”

  After dinner, they settled down to watch a fantasy film, and they both kicked off their shoes, but to her surprise, he said, “Why don’t you lie down that way, and I’ll massage your feet.”

  “Seriously?” she asked.

  “Yeah, no strings attached.”

  She was getting ready to attach strings to him all over the place! “Let me get some lotion.” With wearing sandals, her feet would get rough during the summer, and lotion helped them stay soft. She retrieved the lotion from her bedroom drawer and then returned to the living room. She handed him the lotion, set one of the couch cushions behind her head, and rested her feet on his lap. He began to massage her feet with finesse, making her feel divine, cherished, and sexy. She loved the intimacy.

  “Hmm, that feels wonderful.” She sighed, his hands working on her feet making her feel pleasantly aroused. “You know what this means, don’t you? With us spending the whole weekend together? And that on Monday we’re going to another charity dinner together?”

  “You want me to stay the night?”

  She laughed.

  “Too much, right?”

  Smiling, she said, “It means we’re officially dating.”

  “Hot damn, yes!”

  Once he was done massaging her feet, she worked on his, and they were definitely rough. He needed some lotion to soften up his skin too. She had some samples from their cosmetic line, and she would send them with him so he could use them on his feet every night, but this was too much fun, massaging his feet while he watched her, not the movie. He looked part dreamy eyed, part lustful, and she had to make a decision, right or wrong. Should she let him stay the night or not?

  They would make unconsummated love, and she hadn’t done that with a wolf ever. Making love to humans, sure, once in a blue moon, but she’d never found a wolf she wanted to be that intimate with. Kisses were all she’d allowed, and though most of the wolves were interested in going further, not a mating, she hadn’t been. Which had been a little off-putting for the wolves she had dated, but she did have her reasons.

  So tonight she wondered if she would be making a mistake by making love to him. She sighed, glanced at him, and smiled. He looked like he could fall asleep on the couch, she was making his feet feel so good. She couldn’t imagine only sleeping with him though. She wanted more. To know if he was as good with her in that department as he was about everything else so far.

  “Yeah,” she finally said.

  He raised a brow.

  “In answer to your question. I want you to spend the night. I’ll protect you in case you have any trouble.”

  He smiled. “I would love that.”

  “We both have work tomorrow, and we can’t make this a habit, but for tonight, let’s do it.” There, she’d said it. She normally made up her mind quickly, but in this case, she’d had to do it before she chickened out and changed her mind. She loved how he didn’t pressure her about it in any way, shape, or form.

  They finally finished their movie. Now it was a matter of logistics. Couch or bed? She was moving this to the bedroom. She got up from the couch and turned off the TV, and he joined her.

  “Guest room?” he asked, as if he suddenly was afraid she hadn’t meant she wanted to sleep with him.

  “My room, unless you would rather just sleep alone in the guest room.”

  He gave her a hot, sexy smile.

  “I didn’t think so.” Then she and he retired to her bedroom.

  He slipped his phone out of his pocket, set it on the bedside table, and then pulled her close and began kissing her, and she opened up to him right away, her hands resting on his lean hips. Tongues caressed and lips melded in a never-ending kiss. He was hotness personified, the way he cupped her face and got into the kiss as if nothing else mattered but making her feel the passion ignite between them. She was immersed in the sensual sensation of her tongue on his, using long, luxurious passes. His hands shifted to her shoulders. As he caressed her, she thought having a whole body massage under his capable hands would be so nice!

  She moved her hands to his buttocks and pulled him closer, wanting him pressed tight to her, to feel his growing erection. He was already fully aroused, probably from her massaging his feet! He swept his hands down her back, settled them on her buttocks, and gently squeezed.

  This was such a wonderful way to end a beautiful two and a half days of fun with him.

  She kissed his strong jaw, moved her mouth to his throat, and licked and kissed him there. She swore she heard him growl a little. A totally under-her-wolf-spell kind of growl. Then he nuzzled her temple and her hair with his face, like a wolf would.

  This was pure ecstasy and made her anticipate the rest of their lovemaking with restless desire. She wanted to go further, to strip him of all his clothes and yank her own off and rub their bodies together, to share their scents with each other, to enjoy the intimacy between two unmated wolves. Their pheromones were coming into play like they did whenever they kissed, pushing for more, for consummated sex, but they weren’t ready for that. At least not for now.

  She slid her hands up his T-shirt over his muscled abs. He was such a hunky specimen of a wolf. But it wasn’t enough to feel him and smell his wolfish desire. She wanted to see him in the flesh. All of him. That was definitely a turn-on for her. She pulled her hands out from under his shirt and began to slide it up his torso to get this show on the road.

  He smiled and kissed her mouth again, only stopping when she had to pull his T-shirt over his head and toss it to the floor. She thought about him not having a change of clothes for tomorrow. And about him going home with scraggly chin whiskers that were really sexy, she thought—totally a wolf thing. About how he was going to have to tell his staff he wasn’t coming home tonight.

  Then she was lost again in the feel of him as he kissed her and she felt his hands on the button of her shorts while her hands were skimming over all his beautiful smooth skin. He unzipped her shorts and pulled them down over her hips, and she quickly stepped out of them and pushed them aside with her foot. She worked on his shorts next, unfastening the belt. Before she could unbutton and unzip his shorts, he was sliding her shirt over her head. Then she finished removing his shorts. The kissing resumed, their hands on each other, feeling each other up with slow, gentle caresses.

  He unfastened her lavender lace bra and pulled it off. He kissed her mouth and then pressed kisses over her jaw and down her neck and breastbone until he reached one of her breasts. He kissed and licked the nipple and then the other, making her feel all tingly and needy, her nipples peaked to the max. His were too, and she took her turn kissing his and licking them.

  She swore she heard him moan slightly as he kissed the top of her head.

  He slid his hands down her waist, tucked his thumbs under her lavender lace panties, and pulled them down her legs. She only had three sets of matching bras and panties, just for a night like this, and she was so glad she had worn one of them instead of one of her old bras and panties that probably needed to be replaced. Did guys even think about things like that? Probably not! But his black boxer briefs cupped his hardness just perfectly, so he didn’t need to worry about it as far as she was concerned.

  She slowly slid his boxer briefs down his hips, eagerly watched his arousal spring free, and smiled a little, and then he shook his boxer briefs free of his feet. The next phase would be in bed with the wolf.

  She was about to turn and climb into bed, but he scooped her up against his body, set her on the bed, and then pressed his aroused body against hers. His body covering hers felt protective, hot, and comforting. She hadn’t ever felt that way about anyone before.

  He ground his body against hers in an erotic way, kissing her mouth as she deepened the kiss. Man, oh, man, she could get used to this every night. She ran her hand over his scrumptious back and buttocks. Skin to skin, he felt even better than her just seeing him naked.

  He moved off her slightly to caress her breast and then slid his hand down her tummy to her short curly hairs and what she’d been expecting since they started kissing, her nether region already aching for his touch. Then he found her nubbin and began stroking her, and she sank deeper into the mattress, her whole body thrumming with pent-up need. But he wasn’t done kissing her, and she wasn’t done either, so their tongues collided and stroked too. Except for her shallow breathing and their pounding hearts, no other sound intruded. He was coaxing her toward climax, and she was getting closer to the end, only seconds away. He didn’t let up on his strokes, which was good because she would have had a meltdown. And she wasn’t that kind of woman! But this was just too good to be true.

  He started to stroke her faster, more determinedly, smelling her need, and that was all she needed to push her over the edge. She felt she was free-falling, her whole world tilting on edge. “Aww,” she moaned, the orgasm still rippling through her body, making her feel like a billion bucks. If she hadn’t craved finishing him off next, she would have just curled up against him and slept. Instead of dreaming of him dancing with her, she might dream of this.

  She lay there for a moment, just in wonderment, thinking how much she had missed by not being with a wolf like Derek. Not any wolf really though, just him. She sighed and pushed him onto his back. His dark eyes were lust filled, and he smiled at her. She smiled back. Then she straddled his legs, took hold of his impressive erection, and began to stroke. She thought this might take a while, but before she knew it, he was coming, she’d primed him so already. He groaned aloud as she finished him off and she lay next to him for a moment, just half cuddling with him, her arm over his chest.

  “Do you want to take a shower? With me?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I sure do.” But he didn’t seem to want to move any more than she did.

  She finally chuckled. “I’ll meet you in there.”

  Her climbing over him and heading for the bathroom was enough to make him leave the bed and sprint after her.

  After washing each other, they toweled each other dry. “I’m going to dry my hair really quick.” Having a long bob helped instead of long hair like she used to have. She thought he would just return to the bedroom and call Cliff or Will to tell him he wouldn’t be home tonight.

  But when she pulled out her hair dryer, Derek said, “Here, let me do that.”

  “Oh, you are a dream come true!”

  He chuckled and combed his fingers through her hair as he dried it.

  She’d never expected that. Though she did wonder if he did that with all the women he’d been with.

  “No,” he said.

  She glanced back at him. “No, what?”

  “I’ve never dried a woman’s hair.”

  She sighed. “But you can read minds?”

  He laughed. “No, but I could just imagine what you were thinking.”

  “Well, I’ve never showered with a guy either.”

  He smiled. “Ditto for me—with a woman, I mean.”

  She was ready to melt into the floor as the tips of his fingers lightly massaged her scalp. Then he was done. She gave him a new toothbrush, they both brushed their teeth, and then returned to bed, this time to cuddle and sleep.

  ***

  Derek couldn’t believe how lucky he could get. He had hoped he could stay over at Kate’s home, but he didn’t expect the invite. God, this was great. He really couldn’t believe she was dating him. He would make it worth her while. Though just doing things like walking the dogs on the beach or watching a movie with her in her home was just as enjoyable for him as going to the zoo. She really added a lot of spice to his life.

  As blissfully satiated as he was, he still didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to feel Kate pressed lightly against his chest. Her shallow breathing indicated she had fallen fast asleep. Hell, he hadn’t let Cliff know he was staying the night.

  He reached over to the bedside table for his phone and texted Cliff: Hey, I’m staying over at Kate’s house. Sorry for the late notice.

  Cliff texted back: Good show. I already checked with Mike about twenty minutes ago and he said your car was still at Kate’s place.

  Derek was glad that Cliff was always on top of things. He texted: I’ll see you in the morning, but I’ll probably have breakfast with Kate.

  Cliff: I’ll tell Maddie to hold breakfast for you, just in case.

  Derek: I’ll let you know in the morning.

  Then Derek set his phone back on the bedside table and snuggled with Kate. He was sure damn glad he hadn’t turned down a zoo date with her!

  Early the next morning, Kate lifted her head off his chest, waking him. Her eyes were round. “Did you let Cliff or Will know you were staying the night?”

  Derek smiled.

  Chapter 13

  “Oh, I’ve got to get with Lexi,” Kate said, in a hurry to get out of bed, glad Derek had told her he had let Cliff know he had stayed the night. She was getting dressed, and Derek got out of bed to dress too. “Sorry for the early-morning wake-up, but I’ve got a meeting with Lexi first thing this morning.”

  “No problem at all.”

  Kate threw on a blue-and-white-floral summer dress over her undergarments and slipped on some sandals.

  “Do you have time for breakfast?” he asked, figuring he could even make it if she had to do anything else to get ready for work.

  “Yeah. Eggs? Bacon?” She brushed out her hair and rushed out of the bedroom.

  He chuckled. He hadn’t expected her to be a jackrabbit this morning. He finished dressing and headed into the kitchen.

  She was already cracking the eggs into a pan, and he made the coffee. “Tea for you?” he asked.

  “Yeah, thanks! Sorry for the rush, but I don’t usually have a hot wolf in bed with me, and I’m running later than I normally am. I don’t want to worry Lexi.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.” That was the nice thing about Lexi working mostly out of her home. Besides, Kate wasn’t an employee anymore but a partner in the business. He didn’t mention that Mike had seen Derek’s car still sitting at Kate’s place.

  “Um, okay, so five tonight for the dinner, right?” She served up the eggs while the bacon was still sizzling away.

  He made her tea and took the mugs of tea and coffee to the table. “Yeah.” He was hoping he could stay the night with her again tonight and take her out every night until the camping trip. He was thinking of Maddie’s comment that he could stay in Kate’s tent at the campout if he dated her and things were working out well for them. But he would talk to Kate about it tonight at the dinner. She was in too much of a rush to get out of here.

  He served up the bacon, and then they sat down to eat.

  “Is there anything in particular I should wear tonight?” she asked.

  “It’s another black-tie event. Wear whatever you would like.”

  “Okay.” She drank some of her lavender tea and smiled. “All right, five then.” She hurried to eat, which made him rush to finish his own breakfast.

  He hoped it wouldn’t always be this way between them. “I guess we can tell everyone we’re dating now.” He was sure eager to.

  “No, let’s wait until the campout.”

  He frowned. “Did you want separate tents?” He didn’t want that.

  “Uh, yes.” She finished her tea and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ve got to run. You can let yourself out whenever you’re ready to leave. The keypad locks automatically. Grab yourself another cup of coffee and anything else you would like.”

  “Okay.” Though all he really wanted was more time with Kate. He rose from his chair and gave her a hug and kiss. “See you tonight then.”

  “Yeah, can’t wait.” She hurried out through the front door, and he looked at their plates.

  He sure hoped she hadn’t changed her mind about dating him.

  He finished breakfast, texting Cliff at the same time to let him know he was eating at Kate’s this morning, though mostly without Kate. He didn’t mention that part. He sighed and was taking the dishes to the kitchen when he heard someone open the front door.

  “Just me,” she said, sounding breathless. “Sorry, I don’t have time for the dishes. I’ll take care of them at lunchtime. Bye!”

  Then she was out the door again and gone. But he wasn’t leaving the dishes for her to do later. He might have a housekeeper, but he knew how to put dishes in the dishwasher and how to clean pots and pans.

  After he cleaned up, he got into his car and drove off, not sure what was going on with Kate this morning. He really thought she was rethinking dating him for real or she would have just told the world they were.

  He tried to tell himself it was okay, but he really wanted to date her.

  ***

  Lexi hurried to get together with Kate and was a bundle of mixed emotions. At Lexi’s house, they were working on new product ideas for next spring and more promotional ideas for the fall, but the way Lexi was frowning, she seemed perturbed about something. And Kate forgot all about giving Derek some lotion for his feet. She was never late, and she didn’t want to start arriving late now. How would that look? Like she was a new partner and didn’t have to arrive on time?

  Kate hoped she hadn’t been the one to upset her. She could just imagine Lexi wishing she hadn’t made Kate a full partner in the business!

  Lexi opened up her Facebook page and did a search. “Normally, I wouldn’t pay any attention to an ex-girlfriend’s rantings, but I don’t want this to get out of hand.”