“Yeah, well, we’ll have to see what happens. Let us know if you find anything on Mason, will you? We need to find this guy and get his story.”

  “Will do, and great news on the other front. Talk later.”

  Then they ended the call and Rowdy sighed. “I guess I should have asked you first if it was okay to mention a wolf possibly turning me.”

  Justine smiled. “I know how much this means to you. We can do it after the party tomorrow night, if you still want to do it.” She figured she’d let them both sleep on it. Maybe now that someone had finally said she’d turn him, he would get cold feet about it. It was a big change to go through, though he seemed to understand them well enough, not like what had happened to the Arctic wolves who had been clueless.

  Rowdy would have a lot of wolves who could guide him through the changes. She considered what it would be like to run her hands over all those hard muscles and kiss him senseless. She might have to even claim him for her own and keep him for good—not just as a partner—when did she give up the part about being in charge of the branch?

  But with him, she already wanted to be his partner and not his boss, and that was a huge thing for her to concede. So why not a partner in all things?

  Before he left to return to his cabin that night, Rowdy said, “I picked up a couple of steaks for dinners when I was at the grocery store if you’d like to join me and watch the sunset. A little different than on your side of the lake. If you don’t have any plans.”

  “You know, I’d like that.” She had planned to have a chicken breast and baked potato tonight, but having a steak with a hot wannabe wolf and watch the sun set at White Birch Resort? Yeah, that sounded like fun. And she liked that he had offered. “I’ll just follow you over there.”

  Before long, they were sitting at his kitchen table and having steaks topped with sautéed mushrooms and crumbled blue cheese, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

  “This really hit the spot.” She finished off the last of her steak. “Really delicious.” She liked a man who knew how to cook.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed dinner.” He made them hot cups of chocolate topped with whipped cream afterward and they bundled up and took the wooden steps to the bottom of the hilltop cabins. They took a seat on a log bench to finish watching the sun set, the colors reflecting cherry and purple off the clouds and across the water.

  “This is really beautiful. Though the sun setting on my lake is too. And we’ll get to see the sunset on the white wolves’ lake tomorrow night. Their lake is even bigger than mine.” She snuggled against Rowdy for warmth and because she wanted something more between them if she was going to turn him. What if he felt pressured to do something more with her just so he could win her favor and she would bite him though?

  She gazed out at the darkening sky, the clouds drifting in, hiding the stars. She wanted to run with him as a wolf in the worst way tonight.

  Before she could propose biting him, he leaned down and looked into her eyes, the question in his gaze saying he wanted to kiss her. He didn’t forge ahead, maybe because she was his boss, or maybe because he didn’t want to do something she wasn’t ready for, but she was! She set her empty mug down on the ground and noticed he’d already done that with his. Then she reached up and pulled his face down to meet hers.

  He went for a slow buildup, kissing her mouth with skill, judging her reaction, not taking advantage, but not ending the kiss either. Lips had more nerve endings than anywhere else in the body. and he sure was stimulating hers to perfection.

  She groaned with need. No man had ever kissed her with such finesse. His exquisite touch filled her with affection and euphoria—courtesy of their heightened serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. Even though it had been cold out here, the wintry breeze from the lake sweeping across them, he was heating her blood to the max.

  Then their mouths opened to each other, and tongues caressed in a mating dance. Oh, she was so into this. She finally broke off the kiss, but she didn’t want to end this here.

  “It’s cold out here.” Though she really wasn’t feeling the cold, not with the way he was heating her up. “Let’s take this inside.”

  “Yeah, sure.” He helped her up and grabbed their mugs, then they made their way over the icy rocks to the stairs.

  They finally reached the cabin and he set the mugs in the kitchen, and they stripped out of their parkas, gloves, and hats. Then she led him to his bedroom, the one where she had smelled his scent the strongest. She knew what she wanted. She hoped he was thinking along the same lines as her.

  He slipped her red sweater over her head and tossed it aside. He slid his hands over her shoulders making them tingle with his touch and she lifted her chin, offering her lips to his for another soul-searing kiss.

  This time he wasn’t holding back, the passion of his warm mouth against hers exciting her, spurring her on. She slipped her hands beneath his soft navy sweater and ran them up his hot abs. Man, was he exquisite. A body built for loving. Her loving.

  Yeah, she was going to bite him. Forget waiting until tomorrow night. And then she was going to keep him as long as things worked out like she thought they would between them.

  He would get his long-awaited Christmas present. She would get hers. And so would her parents. Martin wouldn’t have to hire someone new, and Rowdy would get his snowy winters.

  But for now, she was kissing him and enjoying this in the here and now.

  Then he moved her to the bed, eased her down, and pulled off one of her boots, massaging her sock-covered foot. That felt heavenly. He pulled off her other boot and did the same to it.

  He slid off one of her socks and rubbed his warm hands against the sole of her foot. He did the same with the other and she was ready to reciprocate.

  As soon as he released her foot, she tackled him to the bed. She wasn’t a wolf for nothing. Even as a human, she had wolfish moves. She rubbed her body against his and kissed him again full on the mouth. He wrapped his arms around her and looked like he was enjoying this as much as she was.

  Their hearts were beating wildly, and she smelled his pheromones calling to her, telling her she was the one for him. She pulled her mouth from his and slipped his sweater over his head so she could kiss and lick his pecs, tease his nipples with her tongue, make him groan with need. And he did, his erection pressing hard against his pants and her. She teased his erect nipples again, then moved down his body to pull off his socks, caressing his feet like he had done to her.

  “You are a wolf after my own heart,” he growled low.

  She smiled. “You say the kindest things.” But before she could begin unfastening his belt, he reached behind her and unhooked her bra.

  Then with his own wolfish maneuver, he flipped her onto her back and began kissing her breasts, licking her nipples, nibbling them. He was a wolf, maybe not one of her kind yet, but he had the heart of a wolf.

  He moved off her and pulled down her pants and she unfastened his belt and stripped him of his pants.

  Nice muscular legs, perfect for running as a wolf. And she hoped he could run as one with her tonight. Her wet panties went the way of the rest of their clothes.

  And then she pulled off his black boxer briefs and released his rigid erection. She smiled with appreciation. He didn’t disappoint.

  He kissed her belly and swept his hand down to her feminine nubbin and began to stroke. And she was in heaven. His mouth was on hers, kissing, his fingers working magic on her, and she was running her hands over his well-toned muscles, breathing in his tantalizing, musky sex.

  Every stroke pushed her closer to the edge and she felt the end coming, needing to hold on, wanting to let go, and then she cried out, freefalling, wanting to take him with her. She shattered, the orgasm rippling through her and she felt like she’d reached the outer edges of the world. Now she wanted to do the same for him.

  “Join me,” she huskily said.

  “All the way?” He looked surprised.

  She cast him a wicked smile. “You’re only a human. So yes.”

  He smiled, probably the only time he was glad he wasn’t a wolf shifter like her. And then he pushed her legs apart and pressed his cock between her feminine lips and pushed as deep as he could. He began thrusting and he felt divine.

  He was enormous, filling her to the max, a perfect wolf, as soon as she turned him. His eyes were dark and filled with lust, his muscles working hard, fascinating her. She loved running her hand over all those hard muscles and then he climaxed with a burst of energy. “Holy, hell.”

  She smiled. “Move.”

  He pulled out of her and laid on his back, holding her hand, smiling at her. “I guess you want to return home.”

  “Not yet.” She shifted and then he was holding onto her wolf paw and released her, his mouth agape. He seemed to admire her as a wolf—beige and white fur on her chest and face and a distinctive black mask on her face, the tip of her tail looked to have been dipped in black ink.

  Then she bit him on the shoulder without warning. He’d asked for it. Asked everyone for it. Her Christmas present to him.

  8

  Rowdy couldn’t believe that Justine wanted to make love to him all the way. She was one hell of a she-wolf, and he could easily fall in love with her. He hadn’t expected her to turn all wolf on him and bite him though. But he was thrilled. While she was still in her wolf coat, he hugged her. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  She shifted out of her wolf coat, and he was hugging her as a human again.

  “I changed my mind about waiting. I hope you’re all right with it.”

  “Yeah, thank you.”

  She got out of bed, and he thought she was going to dress and return home when he had really hoped she would stay the night. “Do you have a first aid kit?” she asked.

  “In the bathroom.”

  She headed in there while he watched her move—beautiful, toned, sexy. Then she returned and he couldn’t help but take in her appearance—her beautiful breasts, dark nipples, thatch of dark curly hair between her legs, her silky skin.

  Then she was on the bed kneeling before him, cleaning up the bite wound and bandaging it.

  “Will you stay with me tonight?” He kissed her cheek.

  “You bet. If you shift into a wolf, I want to know about it. I want to see what you look like as a wolf and take you for a run on the wild side.”

  He smiled. “That sounds good to me.” He was thrilled she would stay with him.

  After setting the first aid kit on the nightstand, she joined him in bed. He pulled the covers over them and they snuggled together.

  His shoulder throbbed where she had bitten him, but he was glad that she had done the deed and they’d made love and she was staying the night. He wanted to keep her with him always.

  He had a restless night between the bite wound aching during the night and trying to stay awake so when he turned into a wolf, he could run with her. He didn’t want to miss a moment of being a newly turned wolf. Not to mention he loved cuddling with her all night long. But he finally fell asleep and woke to hear her making coffee in the kitchen.

  His bite mark was healing, but not as fast as he thought it would. He took a shower, threw on some fresh clothes, and joined her. She pulled him into her arms and kissed him, and he was glad she hadn’t changed her mind about him and kissed her back.

  “I tried to stay awake until I shifted into a wolf, and we could run together.”

  She sighed and pulled away from him to make them breakfast. “Eggs, bacon?”

  “Yeah, toast?” He pulled out the bread.

  “Sure. I’m afraid you weren’t turned.”

  “What?”

  “Can you smell anything?”

  “The coffee, sure.”

  “You could smell it as a human. Can you smell me? The wolf? You don’t smell like a wolf.”

  “Oh.” He couldn’t help but be disappointed.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not giving up on you. And you shouldn’t either.” She gave him another hug and kiss.

  He hugged and kissed her back. “I won’t.” But he wondered if one wolf’s bite wouldn’t work on him, would he need a different wolf to bite him? He didn’t want any other wolf to bite him, and he realized she was like his very first wolf love. No other wolf would do.

  Once they had eaten breakfast, they dropped by her place so she could shower and dress in clean clothes. Then they went to the clinic to talk to the injured wolves again, but the wolves wouldn’t give them any more answers.

  Both men looked just as mutinous, scowling faces, furious that they were still confined to the beds, though they were looking better, but they were still taking antibiotics for their wounds.

  Rowdy frowned. “Fine. We’ll learn the truth before long.” At least he hoped so. Then he got a call from the pack leader in charge of a pack out of Seattle.

  “I kicked them out of my pack for causing trouble at pubs in the past,” the wolf said.

  That meant the pack leader left it up to others to take care of the troublemakers. Rowdy shook his head.

  “I’m not surprised they would cause more difficulty after leaving here,” their former pack leader said.

  “Do they have any family?” Rowdy asked, eyeing Roger and Fenwick.

  “No. Maybe incarcerating them will do them some good. Give them a wakeup call.”

  “Or not. They could just cause even more difficulties for the rest of the shifter kind.”

  “What have they done now?”

  “They fought with a jaguar who got the best of them.” At least Rowdy figured that since the jaguar was able to leave the scene. “Thanks for getting back to us.” Though he couldn’t help but be irritated with the pack leader for foisting these men off on the rest of the world without straightening them out first. They ended the call then. “Their pack is in Seattle and they’re nothing but trouble. Their pack leader kicked them out of the pack, and he’s wiped his hands of them,” Rowdy said to Justine in front of the men.

  The injured men smiled a little as if it meant they were off the hook since they no longer belonged to a pack.

  “Since their former pack leader doesn’t want to claim responsibility for them, I’m going to call Martin and have him send someone to escort them down to the confinement facility in Houston,” Justine said.

  “Hell,” Roger said, “You can’t do that.”

  “I think that’s the best way to handle this before they get into real trouble with the civilian police. It will take Martin a while to make the arrangements. If we learn the jaguar was at fault, we can let Martin know that. Since the wolves caused trouble at the bear shifter pub, their actions make me think they’re the cause of all the problems with the jaguar shifter,” Rowdy said.

  “You’re saying we’re guilty when you haven’t proven a thing? And hell”—Fenwick motioned to Rowdy—"he’s a human and no one’s eliminated him for knowing what we are?”

  Ignoring Fenwick, Justine called Martin and she and Rowdy left their room.

  “Hey! You can’t do this to us,” Fenwick shouted.

  Rowdy caught hold of the surgeon and said, “We’re getting hold of the director of our branch and we’ll have the men transported out of here soon.”

  “Did you learn who was responsible?” Doc asked.

  “So far all the witnesses we’ve had in the case have said the two wolves were out of control. We still need to find the jaguar, but the wolves have buried themselves on this one. Even their pack leader kicked them out of his pack,” Rowdy said.

  “Sounds like the pack leader dropped the ball on that one.”

  “I agree.” Rowdy might not be a wolf, but he knew what it took to be one of their kind.

  “Thanks for making arrangements to take these two off my hands. They’re obnoxious with the nursing staff too. Not with me though. I just knock them out if they are.”

  Rowdy smiled. Then he and Justine returned to the office.

  “Martin said he’s hiring a couple of the bachelor bear shifters living in Ely to transport the men to Houston. They don’t have anything better to do and they’re looking forward to the trip down there. Some of the shifters in the organization down there will host them for the holidays.” Justine started a pot of coffee in the breakroom of their offices.

  “That’s great. I was afraid Martin would want me to transport the men.”

  “No way. He asked if you wanted to do it, in case you weren’t happy working with me, but I told him you’ve got other plans.”

  Rowdy sighed. “I hope that means you’re going to bite me again.”

  “You know, I never expected a guy I just met to want to be bitten so badly.”

  “You will have my undying devotion.”

  She smiled. “Now I like that.”

  Justine had never met a human like Rowdy. He was so good with the boys—probably because he’d been up to the same kind of mischief when he was a teen so he understood them. He’d made fast friends with the bear shifter community, which helped when it came to soliciting their assistance. She had initially thought Martin might be exaggerating that everyone enjoyed being around Rowdy, but everyone he’d met so far—including her parents—genuinely liked him. Even the Arctic wolf pack members seemed to be thrilled they could see him. And she more than cared for him already. Even her pheromones were letting him know she was interested in him for more than just friendship, and his were reacting the same way—though as a human, he couldn’t tell.

  Last night when they had made love, it had been the best she’d ever had. He was extraordinary. But she couldn’t believe she hadn’t been able to turn him. So much for giving him an early Christmas present. After the party tonight with the white wolves, she would try again.

  In the meantime, they weren’t getting any calls and she said, “Let’s go to my house. It’s time to make some Christmas cookies.”

  He chuckled. “I love working with you.”

  9

  That night at the Arctic wolf party, everyone greeted Justine and Rowdy, making him feel just as welcome as everyone else there. Not that there weren't a few curious stares and he thought they might have wondered if he and Justine had something going on between them. But everyone was very welcoming, and he really appreciated that. Owen and Candice gave him big hugs and even Justine’s parents did too.