“All right, thanks, Peter. We appreciate it.”

  “Yeah, hopefully, it’ll be quiet from now on. But you did the right thing by calling me. Talk later.”

  They said their goodbyes and then ended the call.

  Nate realized Kayla was no longer at the window with him and had already slipped under the blue sheet, having folded the quilt at the foot of the bed.

  Yeah, it was time to warm up the sheets. He set his phone on the bedside table, climbed into bed with her, and moved on top of her, eager to become her mate. He began kissing her, their mouths melding in synchrony.

  “This.” She pulled his lower lip gently with her teeth and licked his lip. “Is.” She nuzzled his cheek. “Nice.”

  He rubbed his body against her hot one. “Yeah, it sure is.”

  Then they were kissing, working up the heat, his fingers spearing through her silky hair. He loved the softness of her curls, the delightful smell of her—of sweet vanilla, of the wild, the woods. She excited every sense of his being and intoxicated him. Their kisses grew more persistent, deepening, desperate. She appeared to be eager to enjoy the tumult of emotions swamping them in an exhilarating way.

  Their blood was pumping hard, their breaths coming fast as he moved his mouth to her breast and kissed her, licking her aroused nipple, and sucked. She moaned softly, and he savored every bit of her as he licked a trail across her chest to the other breast and kissed her in the same manner.

  She ran her hands over his shoulders, through his hair, barely breathing before he moved back to her mouth. She eagerly kissed his mouth with raw desire, and he felt a deep connection with her. He loved her as much as she loved him.

  Then he slipped his hand over her hip, caressing her belly just above her short, curly hairs. “Oh,” she said breathlessly, “don’t tease.”

  He smiled at her and ran his fingers through her curls and found her wet bud, swollen, eager for his touch. She lifted her pelvis a little, wanting more contact, he figured, and so he gave it to her, stroking her, intensifying his stroking her. He moved his mouth to hers, and she licked his lips, then opened hers, inviting him in. He kissed her deep, all the while stroking her, working faster, harder, attempting to coax a climax out of her. She responded with eagerness, caressing his tongue with hers, stroking his. He was so pumped up, his arousal full to bursting, ready to take a deep dive between her legs once she’d come.

  She was moving under his touch, and he was certain she was going to come, as much as she was tensing, her eyes glittering with lust. Then he slid his finger into her, swirling it deep inside, and that was enough to shatter her, and he felt her contractions. She cried out with jubilation.

  Then she let out a long sigh and smiled at him, caressed his shoulders with her soft touch, and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”

  “I so love you. Are you ready?” He held his body over hers, hovering, waiting for her to say the word, eager to fulfill their destiny.

  “Past ready. We should have done this a long time ago.”

  Smiling, he so agreed. He leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers, their lips fusing in a sensuous kiss. He pushed his stiff erection into her gently, until he was seated to the max, and began to thrust. Their bodies rubbed against each other, her soft body molding to his, and she felt so good against him like this. He couldn’t believe how incredible it was to finally be deep inside her, making a new bond with her, joining with her, taking her with him to the point of no return and mated bliss.

  She was his and he was hers through and through. She squeezed her inner muscles, caressing his thrusting arousal, making the journey that much more riveting.

  Nothing else intruded on this special time with Kayla—just the two of them making love, loving each other in the same space and time, beginning their mated life in a glorious way.

  Then he was coming, and he groaned out her name, his love for all time. “We should have done this a long time ago,” he managed to get out and continued to thrust until he was completely spent.

  “Yeah, like I already said. Why did we wait so long?” She was smiling up at him, pulling him into her arms in a welcome embrace, and this felt so right.

  “An overabundance of caution on my part.”

  She sighed. “And on mine.”

  They would be together now day and night when they weren’t working. And hell, he had every intention of filling that new van up with little wolf pups, as long as she was feeling the same way.

  “Yes,” she said, as if she were thinking the same thing.

  “Yes?” He raised a brow.

  “I want kids too.”

  He chuckled. “I knew we were meant to be together from the first time I laid eyes on you.”

  “Ditto for me. And that’s why you really bought the van.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah.”

  Then he pulled out of her, but he wasn’t letting go of the closeness he craved to have with her, the unbreakable bond they had. She rested against him, cuddling, just perfect for him in every way.

  Chapter 15

  “Let’s get something to eat for lunch, and then we can go for a hike or go swimming again?” Nate asked Kayla after making love to her and taking a refreshing nap.

  “Oh, swimming. It’s so hot out that appeals. In the morning, we can take a hike after our wolf run, before the day heats up too much. But I do want to run as a wolf tonight.”

  “Okay, that works for me.”

  They made tuna fish salads, finished lunch, cleaned up, and changed into dry swimsuits.

  “We need to leave our damp ones outside. They’ll dry faster,” she said.

  “Yeah, these too after we swim. We got sidetracked what with trespassers at the lake and—”

  “Making love.”

  Looming over her, he hauled her against his chest and held her close. “Yeah, making love. The most important thing.” He kissed her thoroughly.

  Then they separated, and she ran her hands up his chest. “Yeah.”

  She pulled out some fresh beach towels while he grabbed their damp ones and bathing suits and hung them on the railing on the back deck to dry.

  Then they raced off the deck to reach the lake and dove in.

  The air was still hot, and this was refreshing. They swam out until they couldn’t touch the bottom of the lake. Then they treaded water, clinging to each other, feeling so intimate, sexy, intriguing. She just loved being with him like this.

  She pressed her lips against his mouth, wrapping her legs around his hips, savoring his kisses. “I’m glad you like the water as much as I do.”

  “When can I play with you in it? Even better.”

  They kissed each other again, their tongues sliding over each other’s, and then they finally separated and played tag with each other for about a half hour. He was so good at it, and whenever he came after her, she panicked. When she went after him, she swore he would slow down so she could catch him and then cuddle and kiss again. She loved it. Afterward, they rinsed off with a hose outside the cabin, went inside, made love, and then cooked grilled hamburgers, corn on the cob, and fries for dinner.

  After eating and cleaning up, they settled on a settee on the back porch, watching the sun set over the lake while they sipped margaritas, the orange and pink colors caressing the rippling waters. “This is sure nice sitting out here like this,” she said, snuggling against him.

  “Yeah, I’m glad we’re doing it before the storms come,” he said. “The same thing with taking a swim while it was so hot. Just perfect.”

  “I agree.”

  They listened to the cicadas and crickets singing in the woods, an owl hooting nearby, and the sound of the branches stirring in the breeze.

  He held her hand, and she was ready to return to bed with him, but she did want to run as a wolf too. It would be safer at night, especially after they had seen so many trespassers on the property of late. This would be their first mated wolf run, and she was eager to run and play with him as a wolf.

  He leaned over and kissed her mouth, and she enjoyed the sweet, tangy flavor of tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and sugar from the rim of the glass on his lips. “Hmm, you taste so sweet. Are you ready to run as wolves?”

  “You bet.” Then she and he grabbed their empty drink glasses, dry bathing suits, and beach towels and went inside. They left their bathing suits and towels in the bedroom and took their glasses into the kitchen. She kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back.

  She kissed him again, and then they quickly stripped out of their clothes, shifted, and raced out the wolf door and into the night.

  The sound of the river drew them, and they ran that way, reaching the bank finally, and sprinted into the water. Wearing their fur coats, they stayed warm despite the chillier temperature. Their outer guard hairs were wet, but the rest of them stayed dry.

  This was so much fun with Nate. Kayla couldn’t believe they were mated now. He nipped at her, and she nipped back at him. They were having a great time.

  She howled, and he howled too. They were alone out here, or other wolves would have howled in greeting.

  They licked each other’s faces, and she rubbed against him, loving being wolves. She still couldn’t believe they were actually mated, and she couldn’t be any happier. This was one change she’d been completely ready for.

  “Hmm, I could lie in bed with you all the rest of the day, but I’m hungry,” Kayla said, waking up in Nate’s arms early the next morning. She rolled over to rest her chin on his naked chest and smiled at him.

  He stroked her hair and smiled back at her. “I was feeling the same way. It’s our vacation, and we can stay in bed or play in the water or run as wolves—whatever you want to do.”

  She sighed. “I want to eat.”

  He laughed. “Okay, food it is. We need our strength too.”

  But they didn’t move from their relaxed state, her arm draped over his abdomen and her cheek against his chest. This was just too nice.

  “Man, this is going to be a lazy second day here.” Nate kissed the top of her head.

  “I know. Isn’t it great? I didn’t realize how stressed I was until I came here with you and just relaxed, putting aside all the work issues.”

  “I know what you mean. Besides, we’re going to be up late doing a wolf run, so it didn’t hurt to stay in bed a little longer this morning.” He moved the cover aside, and she and he climbed out of bed.

  She pulled on a pair of black, lacy panties and fastened the matching bra while he slipped on some boxer briefs and then they headed for the kitchen.

  “This is something I normally don’t do. Cook in my underwear,” she said.

  He smiled. “I do. I like the look on you.”

  “Huh. You’re pretty provocative.” The way his boxer briefs hugged his package and his toned butt was impressive. “That’s something I didn’t know about you.”

  He pulled out a frying pan, and she got the sausages out of the fridge. He put the sausages into the pan. “When you stayed overnight at my place, we were in a rush to get dressed and go to work the next morning. Now you can see me on my days off just like this.”

  “I like the look.” She kissed his bare shoulder. “Just be careful about splattering grease.”

  He pulled out a grease cover to place on top of the frying pan. “Have it covered.”

  She smiled and began making the pancakes. “I can’t believe the fridge and pantry are so well stocked.”

  “Yeah. Everyone contributes. Whatever we don’t use that isn’t perishable, we’ll just leave here for whoever stays here next. Though I brought a lot of the more perishable items to use during the week. Some staples are always stocked at the cabins.”

  They finished making their pancakes, sausages, coffee, and tea and sat down to eat.

  “I thought since it’s cooler this morning, we’d go on our hike first thing along Wolf Run Trail and see the two Silver Waterfalls that way. It’s a five-hour hike round trip. We’ll have a snack along the way and then enjoy both falls. Afterward, we’ll hike back in time to have lunch at the cabin, then go swimming during the heat of the day.” Nate started cutting into his pancakes.

  “That sounds great. And then we can nap.” She smiled at him and forked up one of her sausages.

  “Or do other stuff.”

  She laughed. “I’m all for doing the other stuff most of all.”

  Wolves could travel around thirty miles a day, so she was enjoying the hikes as a human and taking runs as wolves and swimming too. Working at the lodge meant she didn’t get as much exercise as she’d like to sometimes.

  After they ate, they cleaned up and put away all the food—conscious that black bears could be in the area and they didn’t want to attract them since they’d been known to break into cabins looking for food. Kayla and Nate dressed for hiking—shorts, hiking boots, light backpacks filled with bottled water, protein bars, lightweight jackets, first aid emergency blankets, flashlights, wildlife deterrent spray, cell phones and the satellite phone, and first aid kits. They were always prepared in case they came across someone who had been injured or was in distress on a hike, wolf or otherwise. Or if they ran into trouble themselves.

  During the summer months, they had to watch out for rattlesnakes, which are common in Colorado both in the woodlands and on rocky terrain. Not so in Vermont, so they had to be more vigilant here.

  Once, as a wolf running in the mountains, Kayla and her siblings had come across a yellow rattlesnake, nearly giving her a heart attack, and she’d leapt out of its path. Since then, she and her siblings had learned about the different species of venomous snakes in Colorado in case they ran into any more.

  Nate pulled a couple of hand-carved, cool wizardry walking sticks out of an umbrella stand to use in case they ran into a predator but also to aid them if they needed to cross a stream or just in general.

  They headed out then, and Kayla was glad they were hiking this morning nice and early because it was so cool. She loved immersing herself in the sounds of birds twittering and singing, the fragrance of pines and firs, and an occasional rabbit scent and even a black bear, which meant they were keeping an eye out in case they ran into one.

  “This is so nice,” she said. “I’m just thoroughly enjoying myself.”

  “It really is. And I am too.”

  “I guess we should tell everyone we’re mated.” She glanced over at him to see what he thought of the prospect.

  He chuckled. “You don’t think we should keep them guessing?”

  “Do you think they’ll believe we’ll wait, since we’ve been dating for so long already?”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “Nah. They’ll probably figure the moment we got in, we were stripping off our clothes and doing it.”

  She felt her face heat with embarrassment. The way she always blushed, she swore she had redhead genes in her makeup even if she didn’t have the red hair. “I was thinking we could go across that swinging bridge at the stream west of here and see the flowers in the meadow tomorrow morning. After that, we have the issue of rain and the full moon; I might be shifting later. But tomorrow should be good.”

  “Yeah, that sounds great.”

  They followed the trail up the east side of the river toward the waterfalls and would hike the same way on the return trip. The clear mountain streams fed into the two unique, eighty-foot and sixty-foot waterfalls and then flowed into the river snaking by the hiking trail.

  She smelled the fresh falls’ spray way off in the distance and was beginning to get hot and sweaty. She welcomed a dip underneath the falls to cool off.

  They paused beside the river where a bench sat on the bank. Some of the townsfolk had carved it from a fallen tree trunk, smoothed the top, and varnished it to give wolf hikers a place to take a moment to sit and enjoy the river. As they went farther north, they eventually would be out of pack territory and into the San Isabel National Forest.

  She and Nate sipped from their water bottles and reached into the river to splash some of the water on their arms and faces. Large rainbow trout swam just below the surface, and Kayla smiled. “I hope we’re scheduling some fishing so we can have grilled fish for a couple of meals.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking about it for sure. They have fishing poles at the cabin. We can do it in our wolf coats too.”

  “Okay, well, if one doesn’t work, we can switch to the other.”

  “That’s the great thing about being able to do either.”

  They returned to the hiking trail and continued through the woods. Nearly two hours into their trek, Kayla smelled something really awful. Whiffs of something dead. She knew it was bad news.

  She frowned at Nate. “Do you smell something foul? Dead? Human?”

  “Hell, yeah,” he said darkly. “Whoever the unfortunate victim is, he or she’s been out here for some time, if we can accurately go by the smell of the stage of decay he’s in.”

  They continued to follow the scent, which was growing more pungent the closer they got to it. That was the problem with their sensitive sense of smell. Bad odors were enhanced way too much. They didn’t want to give up the search. They had to find the body.

  “Let’s call this in.” Nate stopped and dug his satellite phone out of his backpack and handed it to her. “I’m going to keep searching until I can find where the scent is coming from. Call Peter and let him know where we are and what we’re looking for.”

  “Okay.” Following Nate, she really hoped this wasn’t a case of homicide. She didn’t know what else it would be if it wasn’t that though. Not at this time of year. In the middle of winter, someone might have gotten lost, maybe, become hypothermic, run out of water and food. Then again in summer, if the person had suffered heat stroke, a heart attack, dehydration from lack of water, or even a bear, cougar, or coyote attack or had been bitten by a rattler, he could have died purely by accident.

  She called Peter on the satellite phone. “Hey, it’s Kayla.”

  “Don’t tell me you and Nate are having trouble with more trespassers. We’re going to have to start patrolling the area from now on,” Peter said.