“I guess I’ll need to move my things over to your place and then Lexi can have her house back. Mike might end up staying there,” Kate said.

  “I’ll get everyone together to help move your things. When do you want to do it?”

  “We could do some of it tomorrow night. Just my clothes. That way, I can have my clothes at your place and then we can really clean my house out next weekend.”

  He smiled. “Sure thing.” He got on his phone. “Hey, tell Will we’re going to move some of Kate’s things to my house—um, our house—tomorrow night. So can you get some packing boxes when you have a chance?”

  Chapter 27

  When they arrived at Derek’s house, Maddie was there, all smiles to greet them. “Did you enjoy your picnic lunch?”

  “Yes, and thanks for the beautiful lunch,” Kate said. “It was just wonderful.”

  “Are you going to the marina for dinner then?” Maddie removed the used dishes and silverware from the picnic basket.

  “We are. Your suggestions were perfect.”

  “I’m glad you liked them.”

  “You should have seen what Kate and Derek went through on their date,” Cliff said, he and Will just coming inside after following them home.

  “Oh?” Maddie asked. “What happened at the lake?”

  “Derek and Kate saved some people from a capsized boat. Here Will and I were stuck on shore, watching the whole scene play out way off in the distance, and we couldn’t help one little bit,” Cliff said. “Though we tried to rent a rowboat to go out to assist.”

  “We managed, but thanks for trying to come to our aid,” Derek said. “We’re going swimming.”

  “I’ll set out some cold drinks for you,” Maddie said.

  “Thanks, Maddie.” Derek hadn’t expected her to be at his house all the time, but she loved it there, and she was welcome to stay there as much as she wanted to. He was thinking of building her a cottage on the property so she could just live there.

  Kate had already headed for the bedroom, and he realized they were planning to take a “nap” first. When he reached the bedroom, she had tossed her shorts and shirt on a chair and was just wearing her bathing suit.

  She kissed him, but as soon he started to kiss her, she smiled. “You told everyone we are going swimming and Maddie’s putting cold drinks out for us.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I goofed on that.”

  “Let’s swim, play in the water, and come back in for our nap.”

  He was already yanking his T-shirt off, wanting to do this. Though they would have fun, he wanted to get back to the bedroom business.

  “See you,” she said.

  He kicked off his sandals and raced out the back patio to the swimming pool.

  She jumped into the swimming pool, and he jumped into the pool after her.

  At least here, Cliff and Will didn’t have to watch them. The estate was secure, high walls and locked gates keeping out anyone who they didn’t want in. No one could see them in the pool area unless someone flew over in a plane or helicopter. A couple of times, aerial drones had flown over the estate, trying to capture videos of his property. It wasn’t legal to take pictures of property or people without their permission, but paparazzi or curious people had been known to attempt to see what was going on where Derek lived, and Will was a great marksman and would quickly take them down. If they didn’t like it that their property had been destroyed, too bad. They shouldn’t have been trying to spy on private property.

  “Tomorrow we can just fall out of bed and run as wolves and then go to the botanical gardens.” Derek pulled Kate into his arms in the pool. “About tonight… We can watch the sunset and run as wolves if you would like.”

  Then he leaned down and kissed her, loving that this was her home now and he could swim with her in the pool or hug and kiss her like this anytime. She was made for kissing, he thought. His kissing, not anyone else’s.

  She slid her arms around his waist in the silky, heated water. The warm ocean breeze caressed their skin and tossed her hair about as the waves rolled in down below his estate and crashed on the beach, over and over again.

  Seagulls cried out overhead, and he realized he’d never enjoyed being here as much as he did with Kate.

  She kissed him back, slowly, pressuring, building, seeking entrance with her tongue, and then exploring him. He quickly took advantage to do the same with her. She was addictive.

  He slid his hand down her buttocks and pulled her against his burgeoning arousal.

  “Hmm.” She finally broke off the kiss and smiled. “Let’s play some basketball and swim. I think I’m going to be just a little sore from all that pedaling on the pedal boat today. What about you?”

  He got out of the pool to get the basketball hoop and ball. “Yeah. Even though I run and walk all the time, that pedaling worked some different muscles.”

  He tossed the ball to her and set the hoop in the water. Then he dove in, and they began playing basketball. He tried to keep her from making a basket, but she tackled him under the water; then he was laughing so hard, she scored.

  Everything was different between them now. The first time they did this, they were just tossing the ball and talking to each other. This time, they were playing hard, playing to win, but deterring each other in an intimate, sexy way. Instead of trying to block her from making the basket, he wrapped his body around her and kissed her. This was fun before-bed play too.

  She missed the basket because he was taller than her and she couldn’t see the target.

  The next time he had the ball and tried to make a basket, she jumped up and kissed his nose, and he lost the ball to her. He swore he heard Will and Cliff laughing inside and figured they were either watching a comedy or them.

  After they finished playing, they swam a little, not laps, but just floated around each other talking.

  “You know I regret not having dated you before.”

  Kate treaded water near him and smiled. “I totally understand. You were having a good time with Brenda, no strings attached, as far as you were concerned.”

  “Yeah, but with you, I quickly realized I wanted strings attached.”

  She smiled. “I’m so glad for that.”

  He drew close and pulled her into his arms. “You are so worth it.” He smiled and kissed her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “At least I didn’t need to give you an ultimatum to mate me or else I was dumping you.”

  “I wouldn’t have needed you to give me an ultimatum. Ever.”

  ***

  Kate smiled and kissed him again. “Hey, would you mind walking the dogs on the beach before we lie down and then go to the marina for dinner?”

  “Sure, let’s do that.”

  Kate loved him for letting her decide what they were going to do next. She figured he wanted to make love, and she did too. Afterward.

  They left the pool to walk along the beach in their bathing suits so they would dry out. It was late enough that she didn’t care to take a dip in the ocean this time. What if they had a repeat of Derek losing his board shorts? And she did have the notion that the sharks fed at night.

  Cliff went with them this time, wanting to see if Kate tackled any more would-be thieves on the beach.

  “Yeah, you really missed out last time,” Will told Cliff before they left for their walk. “Not to say that Kate is going to go after anyone else this afternoon, but you never know.”

  Of course she was going to be watching for would-be thieves again this time. She was sort of programmed that way. “You know we could just set up a sting operation and pretend that we’re enjoying the beach and let them think we’re clueless that they’re out to rob us.”

  Derek laughed.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I know you are. Hey, if you want to do it, we can set it up. And the guys can tackle them.”

  “Cliff and Will have to look like they’re beachcombers and not like they’re ready to grab would-be thieves,” Kate said.

  “Oh, we can get the look down next time. Mirrored glasses,” Will said. “Board shorts, flip-flops, shirtless, sunning on towels behind you, but far enough away that it wouldn’t look like we’re together and watching out for you.”

  “I’m all for it,” Cliff said. “An entertaining day spent on the beach for sure.”

  Kate thought the guys were funny and they really needed a good mission to show off their skills. “Okay, well, we’ll have to do it one of these days. Let’s walk the dogs for now and then we can shower and rest before we go to the marina for dinner.”

  Will told Cliff, “Just you take down the thieves this time. Kate caught me off guard when she tackled the other guy.”

  “I’ll certainly do that,” Cliff said.

  But if Kate saw the guy first, she was taking the thief down before he got away with it.

  Then they headed down to the beach.

  ***

  Truthfully, Derek hoped for just a fun walk on the beach with Kate, though if it made her feel right with the world while apprehending thieves and making it safer for beachgoers to enjoy the beach, he would back her all the way. But he was thinking that if that happened, they would have to wait for the police to get there, and they could miss their dinner date since he had already made a reservation. Though if that made her night, they could just grill steaks tonight. He was up for anything she wanted to do.

  Foxy saw a crab on the beach, stopped them in their tracks, and barked at it. Red watched, but he left it alone—good boy.

  “No bothering the crab,” Kate said and pulled Foxy away to walk her farther down the beach. “How much time do we have?”

  “If we walk to that man’s blue chaise longue under the red-and-white-striped umbrella and then turn around and head back, we should have enough time to clean up, nap, dress, and then head over to the marina.”

  “Okay, that sounds good to me.”

  Thankfully, they hadn’t seen anyone who was causing any mischief. Even if Cliff took care of anyone like that, Derek and Kate still wouldn’t leave to have their dinner on time because they would have to give their statements to the police too.

  They turned around at the man’s umbrella and started to walk back to the house. “I wonder if the police officer was down on the beach last night because he’d had word someone had been out there. If a complaint was made about dogs running loose, he would have called animal control,” Kate said.

  “Yeah, I suspect you’re right.” Derek glanced back at Cliff. “Hey, I was thinking only one of you needs to come to the marina restaurant tonight with us, but I imagine you’ll get into a fight over it, so both of you can come unless one of you wants to chill out at home.”

  Cliff smiled. “I’ll go for sure and text Will to see what he wants to do.”

  Derek always paid for their meals out, and they ordered whatever they liked. But in a case where he felt he only needed one of them, if that, he wanted to give them the option. Will might even want to go on a date! Derek realized he should make sure both Cliff and Will had time enough off to do whatever they wanted to. He really didn’t feel like he was in any danger.

  They hadn’t walked very much farther when Cliff said, “Will is coming. The food’s too good, and he doesn’t want to miss out.”

  “Okay, good.” Derek had already made reservations for both Will and Cliff too, just in case they both had wanted to come. Derek knew that if there was any action to be had, Will would want to be there in the thick of it to protect him and Kate as well.

  They finally reached the gate to his place, and Derek was glad that they hadn’t had any incidents on the beach. Then they headed up to the house, showered off the sand in the outdoor shower, and then rinsed off the dogs’ paws. Cliff took the dogs back to the yard to play, while Kate and Derek went inside to shower and nap.

  After making love and napping, Kate slipped on an aqua sundress featuring pink roses. She wasn’t wearing a bra under the smocked bodice that embraced her breasts, and Derek was thinking about slipping it off her tonight when they got home. She looked pretty and summery, and she made for the perfect date. She was wearing slip-on sandals, not high heels, and that made her appear dressy casual. Not that he didn’t like sexy heels on her, but he loved the more casual look on her too.

  Once they were driving to the restaurant, she said, “I bet you’re glad we didn’t have to catch any more thieves tonight.”

  “Yes, for two reasons. We didn’t see any, and that’s a good sign, and because I just wanted to have a good time with you and have more time to love on you.”

  “Cliff would have had a great time of it though.”

  Derek smiled. “Yeah, he would have.”

  ***

  Kate was so glad Derek had brought her to the marina at night for dinner instead of for lunch as they had originally planned. The whole marina was decorated in lights that reflected off the water. Ripples of water made the boats rise and fall in a gentle dance while rigging on sailboat masts clinked and clanked against the metal. Derek had gotten them one of the best seats by the water. Everyone knew Derek here, and she wondered if he often brought his dates here. Even Brenda, since she’d wanted him to take her here for lunch.

  Kate looked over the seafood menu, and everything looked great. But the king salmon really appealed. “I’ll have that and a salad.” She pointed to the salmon on her menu, showing it to Derek.

  “Okay, that looks good.” Then Derek pointed to the appetizer he thought would be good.

  Kate agreed. A nice sampling of seafood. They had hamburgers and steaks too, but why eat anything but seafood at a restaurant at the marina? Unless of course someone hated seafood or was allergic to it. But wolves loved fish.

  When the server dropped off glasses of water and came to take their orders, Kate got the salmon, rice, and peas while Derek asked for the lobster, rice, and broccoli and for an appetizer for the both of them: mussels, squid, shrimp, oysters, tomato, celery, fennel, and grilled bread.

  They heard a loud party across the bay, music playing and laughter. It sounded like the people there were having a blast.

  “We’ll be taking Rafe’s yacht out and having that party and sounding like that soon enough,” Derek said.

  “That will really be nice. I would love it. Did you ever take Brenda out on the yacht?”

  “Nope. Rafe only has parties for us. His staff are wolves too, and he wants to keep it free for everyone to do their own thing. Which means lying around as a wolf or in a bikini.”

  She chuckled. She thought that would really be entertaining.

  After they finished eating dinner, she ordered the devil’s food cake with hazelnut butter cream, cocoa nibs, and whipped cream topping. Derek had the banana cream pie trifle made with butterscotch and chocolate graham crackers and topped with whipped cream.

  “Now that looks good too,” she said, thinking she would try it the next time they came to the marina because this was too much fun not to come here again.

  They were eating their meals and loving the food. Kate didn’t know why she’d never been here before when she got a call. Thinking it was Lexi, she checked her phone. She didn’t recognize the number and set her phone down on the table.

  “No one you know?” Derek asked.

  “No. I’ve been getting a lot of random calls since Lexi made me part owner of Clair de Lune Cosmetics—everyone from financial advisors, insurance agents, real estate agents. I guess they think I’m now in the market for an expensive sports car, but I would rather just ride with you in your car.”

  Derek chuckled. “I’ll get you your own anytime you would like.”

  “Oh, I would love that. Thanks!”

  Then they saw Brenda and a couple of her gal pals headed for the entrance to the restaurant. Brenda immediately saw Derek and Kate, and her jaw dropped. Good. Kate was glad Brenda was surprised, which would indicate she wasn’t stalking her and Derek now. Kate wanted to turn into a wolf to scare Brenda away from her man—who happened to be a hot wolf and her mate now.

  Kate guessed the police didn’t have enough cause to put Brenda in jail, though she was hoping something more had happened to her so Brenda couldn’t be out with her friends having a great time. Kate didn’t want to have to deal with what she’d dealt with before when it came to an ex-girlfriend who wouldn’t move on.

  Chapter 28

  When Derek saw Brenda arrive at the marina restaurant with her two friends, he shook his head. “I guess we should have gone somewhere else.”

  “No. Way. It was my choice. Brenda doesn’t own the restaurant, does she?” Kate asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Okay, then we’re good. Even if she did own the restaurant, she wouldn’t dare piss me off any more than she already has.”

  Smiling, Derek raised a brow, waiting for clarification.

  “I have a lot of friends through Lexi’s business. After what has already happened, I wouldn’t hesitate to do something about it.”

  “Well, she’s on my bad side already too,” Derek said. “I’m surprised any of her friends would even be seen with her.”

  “I suspected some would be despite what some of her former friends said to us at the roaring twenties party.”

  “Well, she’s not going to cause any more trouble for you. We’ll make sure of it. Now that you’re with me permanently, she has to face reality. I have a lot more influence than she does. She’s more one to just hang on to other’s coattails. Oh, and we need to list our engagement announcement on all the sites.”

  Kate smiled. “Yeah, let’s do it. But for now, can I have a bite of your dessert?”

  He laughed. “Priorities, priorities. Yeah, sure.”