All that mattered for now was that they stayed safely under the shelter. She wanted to talk to him, but this was nice too, just being with him on a stormy night in their wolf coats snuggling to stay protected.

  Then she realized the water in the creek was rising. Nate nudged at her, motioning to the creek, warning her if she hadn’t already taken notice. But they had time before the water reached their shelter, and she was hoping the hail would stop by then.

  The rain and chunks of ice continued to fall, the lightning never ending. Thunder blasted through the area. She had really wanted to run with Nate as a wolf, but they should have realized the thunderstorm might get there earlier and not have relied so much on the weather report, knowing it was often wrong.

  The creek began to overflow the banks inches away from them. It wasn’t going to stop. Then the water was at her paws, and Nate moved around her to protect her from the water.

  She smiled at him for being so chivalrous. But when the water reached their bellies, he motioned with his head to leave the shelter and gave her a little woof.

  She woofed back. They would run as fast as they could to the apartment. There wasn’t any other shelter from here to there.

  But to their surprise, the bank under their feet gave way suddenly. Nate slipped into the flooded creek, and Kayla followed right after him. The creek was moving so fast, she couldn’t reach the bank, so she was just trying to keep her head above the water and saw Nate ahead of her struggling too. He kept trying to look back for her. She woofed at him, telling him she was all right. Just get out of the water!

  He finally managed to scramble onto the bank, where he could finally get his footing, and she was relieved he was out of the water now. The hail was mixed, pebble-sized, which bounced off their fur coats, but larger pieces were still falling too. As she neared the location where he’d managed to get out of the water, he was staying for her. Though she appreciated the gesture, she wanted him out of this weather and not getting pummeled by the hail while he waited for her.

  But when she reached his location, she didn’t have the strength to get out on her own. She struggled to pull herself up on the shore with her front paws while Nate shifted and grabbed her by the body and pulled her onto shore.

  “Let’s run!” He shifted back and the two of them raced for the apartment complex.

  Now she was glad he had stayed to help her out of the flooded creek.

  A chunk of ice hit her shoulder, the fur helping to keep her from a worse injury, but she’d be bruised for sure. Luckily, their advanced healing abilities as lupus garous would mean the bruise would go away in half the time.

  Another hit her butt. Damn it. Now that hurt!

  Nate yelped, and she glanced over at him, keeping pace with her, watching out for her. He had blood on his muzzle.

  The ice finally stopped falling, and it was all rain now, still pouring down, but she felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

  They were getting close to his apartment complex. She didn’t even want to see what had happened to her car. But she was glad they were nearly home.

  She raced onto the covered patio and through the wolf door.

  Nate ran through it right behind her. Then they both shifted.

  “Man, I’m so sorry, Kayla,” Nate said, pulling her into his arms. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, but you’ve got blood on your face. Let me clean you up.”

  He kissed her right above her shoulder where ice had struck her. “You’ve got blood on your shoulder.”

  She glanced at it. “Uh, yeah, and bruising for sure, but it will go away fast enough. I’m just glad neither of us ended up with injuries more serious than that.” She knew large hail had actually killed people out in it who were unable to take cover quickly enough, so it wasn’t something to leave to chance. There hadn’t been any reports of hail before they went for their run. She didn’t want to look at her backside where she’d been hit.

  “Me too.”

  “I hate to think of my car.”

  “Aww hell, I didn’t even think of that.” He ran his hand over her shoulder.

  “Well, we are more important.”

  “That’s for sure.” He released her and turned her around to check her over all the way.

  “All in one piece still, right?” she asked.

  He smiled. “Yeah, in one beautiful piece.” He leaned over and kissed her hip. “We need to shower, then bandage the wounds.”

  “Wait, I didn’t get to check all of you out.”

  He chuckled. “It was rough out there all right.”

  “Thanks for helping me out of the creek. I couldn’t manage, though I might have been able to some distance down the creek. But I really appreciate your help.” She reached up and ran her hand over his back around where he had been struck a couple of times, bleeding, bruised. “We’re a pair.”

  “Yeah, I agree.” He took her hand and walked her into the master bedroom. “Why don’t we take a shower. I had thought of watching a movie this evening before we called it a night.”

  “I’d like that.” He got her a fresh bath towel, and she took a shower, planning on taking it quickly so he could shower afterward.

  “I’m taking one in the other bathroom. Enjoy yours.”

  “Thanks! I will!” Though where she’d been cut was stinging like crazy. Still, she needed to wash away any germs from the creek that could infect the wounds. When she was done, she dried off and found him wearing a pair of boxer briefs, ready to bandage her injuries.

  “Ouch,” she said, when the bandage touched the sensitive wound on her shoulder.

  “Sorry.” He finished bandaging her, then tended to the spot on her backside.

  Then she carefully took care of his injuries. “I think we deserve a drink.” She started to bandage his back.

  “I hear you. Ahh.”

  “Sorry.”

  “What do you want to watch?”

  “A western?” she asked.

  “You got it.”

  “Great. And to drink?”

  “Glasses of wine, and we could have hot buttered popcorn?” he asked.

  “Sure. That sounds good.” She was so grateful they were in the apartment while the wind howled, the rain poured down, and lightning flashed, thunder sounding right afterward.

  “I’ll be right back.” He grabbed a navy-blue terry-cloth robe for Kayla and helped her into it so she wouldn’t have to put anything over her injuries that could cause friction.

  “Thanks. Do you want to watch the movie in the bedroom?” she asked, surprised.

  “Yeah, if that’s all right with you. I figured after the night run we had, that might be the most relaxing.”

  “Oh, sure, that sounds grand. I’ll come with you and help you carry the popcorn or wine or something.”

  After they microwaved the popcorn in the kitchen, they retired to the bedroom with a couple glasses of wine and a bowl of popcorn and their phones.

  Once they settled under the navy-blue covers, he started the movie, and she leaned back against a pillow. “This is fun. I hadn’t expected a movie in bed.” The only place she ever watched a movie was in the living room of her home.

  “Yeah. I hadn’t really planned on it, but after what we went through, I thought it would be a nice change of venue.”

  “I’m all for it.”

  After they finished their wine and popcorn, they cuddled with each other, the rain still pouring down outside, thankfully no more hail though. “I need to get your bag out of your car once the movie ends.”

  “Good. I don’t want to see what my car looks like. My bag is in the trunk.”

  He pulled her closer. “You can borrow my car if yours needs to be repaired. I can walk to the office.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll just have Roxie come get me and take me to the lodge tomorrow. I have a much shorter walk to the lodge from our home than you do to work. And to do your job, you need a vehicle. I usually don’t.”

  “All right. I’ll take you to the lodge in the morning though.”

  “Oh shoot, after all the excitement tonight on our run, I forgot to call Roxie to let her know I’m not coming home tonight. She might worry I’m trying to make it home in this awful storm.” Kayla grabbed her phone and called her sister while Nate paused the movie. “Hey, we’re watching a movie, and I’m staying the night.”

  “Oh, good, I didn’t want you coming home in this weather.”

  “We’re good. But… Well, my car might be a little worse for wear. So depending on what it looks like, I might need to borrow your car or Blake’s sometimes.”

  “Oh, sure. I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think about that with you being at Nate’s apartment.”

  “He’s going to drive me to the lodge tomorrow.”

  “Are you sure? I can pick you up.” Roxie sounded like she wanted to ensure Kayla wasn’t too upset over her car.

  Kayla glanced at Nate and smiled. “He wants to take me in.” She knew he’d be disappointed if he didn’t have the opportunity. It would be out of his way, but it would be for Roxie too, if she came into town to pick Kayla up and take her back out to the ski resort. Not that it was all that far from town.

  “Okay, well, that sounds good. See you tomorrow. No rush though. We have it covered,” Roxie said.

  “I’ll be in.” Kayla didn’t want her family thinking that she was coming in late because she and Nate were getting it on. She had really loved the dinner, the wolf run, even the misadventure with taking refuge under a rock ledge and ending up in the swollen creek, and a movie—in bed, no less. So, yeah, it had been fun. And if she had time, she’d love to do it again, minus the part about running in a hailstorm and swimming for their lives in the creek.

  After she ended the call, they watched the rest of the movie, and then Nate kissed her, knowing with Kayla, he could literally weather any storm. “I’ll get your bag and be right back with it.” He hated to see what shape her car was in. He left the bedroom and put on the clothes that he’d left in the living room before they had shifted to run as wolves. Grabbing her keys off the coffee table, he headed outside into the now-light rain with a flashlight, hoping her car was all right.

  As soon as he saw it, he realized it was beyond repair. Golf-ball-sized hail had smashed the windshield, breaking it, and the rainwater was still pouring in. The whole car was dented with small and large pellets of ice that had ruined it. A few dents could have been cosmetically patched, but this was a disaster. The age of her car, the salvage value, the cost of repairs—it just wouldn’t be worth trying to have it fixed.

  He took pictures of the vehicle, hoping the car didn’t have any sentimental value for her and figuring she would want to report it to her insurance agency right away to get a jump on having an agent out to document her claim. No doubt others who had vehicles out in this weather had the same issues as Kayla.

  He noticed a couple of other cars parked at the apartment complex that were not in covered spaces with the same kind of damage. He wished he’d known how bad it was going to be. He would have given Kayla his covered parking space instead or even picked her up to bring her here instead of having her drive here. Though he knew she wouldn’t have wanted to impose.

  When they’d been out in the hail, his heart had nearly given out as soon as he fell into the creek and doubly so once he realized she had too. He kept wanting to ensure she was behind him, not going under until he finally could manage to climb onto the bank. But he could tell she couldn’t make it on her own despite how hard she’d tried. He’d thought about grabbing her by the ruff of her neck as a wolf and pulling her out of the water, but he had been afraid he might lose her. Shifting into his human form hadn’t made the job any easier, but at least he had succeeded in getting Kayla to safety. He noted she hadn’t told her sister about all that they’d experienced. Maybe she was afraid of how Roxie and their brothers would react and that they’d want to see for themselves that Kayla was okay.

  He got her bag out of the trunk, which was thankfully dry, and headed back inside. He set the bag on the floor in his bedroom and went to enjoy the rest of the night with Kayla.

  “Don’t tell me. How bad is it?” she asked, looking so beautiful in his bed, her head against his pillow, her dark hair spread across it.

  He chuckled. “You don’t want me to tell you or you do?”

  “I don’t. And I do.”

  “It’s totaled.”

  “Good. I can get a new car then.”

  He chuckled and removed his clothes, then joined her in bed. “Here I was afraid you would be upset to hear the news.”

  “Only that I will have to pay for a new one, but no. No real sentimental value.”

  “Good. You didn’t tell Roxie about our swim in the creek.”

  “No. She and my brothers would come here to check me out. We can tell everyone about your heroics after I return home tomorrow.”

  He smiled. “Okay. I just wanted to know if it was okay to tell my sister about what happened.”

  “Yeah, absolutely.”

  He turned out his bedside lamp, and they cuddled together under the covers. They both said “ow” at the same time. Then they chuckled.

  He had hoped to make love to her tonight, but he wasn’t sure they could after the ordeal they’d been through.

  “That was a great meal,” she said. “And the movie was too.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I agree.”

  “And the run was an adventure.”

  He laughed. “Truly.”

  Then she turned on her side. “Our sides don’t hurt.”

  He smiled, eager to make unconsummated love to her. Consummated love would mean they were mating, and he wanted to wait until they were at the lakeside retreat for that.

  He faced her and cupped her cheeks. Then he began to kiss her mouth and deepened it. He always felt so attuned to her, so needy, so wanting. She ran her fingers through his damp hair and kissed him back, their gazes locked on each other. Bliss. That’s what he felt when they were together like this.

  He ran his hand over her hip, silky, warm, and soft. He liked to think he was in charge of his own destiny, but when it came to Kayla, she influenced so much of what he did in a good way. He nuzzled her neck with his mouth, felt her pulse leap, heard her heart beating like thunder. So was his.

  “Hmm,” he said, and kissed her mouth, the burgundy wine and salty, buttered popcorn flavoring her tongue and lips. He deepened the kiss, hungrily spearing her mouth with his tongue. She teased back, slowly caressing his tongue, her eyes closing to his kiss.

  He pressed his hand against her breast, felt her nipple peak, and moved his mouth down to lick and kiss it. She softly moaned.

  Whenever he was with her like this, he felt alive, electricity zinging through his blood as he moved his hand down between her thighs. She immediately moved her leg over his hip, giving him easy access to her. He wanted to pleasure her as much as he wanted to claim her for his own for all eternity.

  Her warmth reached out to him as he began to stroke her between the legs. She groaned softly, and he slipped a finger between her intimate folds. She was so wet, and he wanted to slide his rigid erection deep inside her. He was dying to mate with her, the yearning going deep.

  Then he kissed her mouth again, hot and heady kisses, his erection itching to join her. Mating her during their cabin trip wouldn’t happen soon enough.

  She was tensing hard, his finger touching her harder, faster, until she cried out and he moved against her, wanting to be as one, but instead he just had to feel her body snug against his.

  They were writhing together, kissing, tongues connecting in long, lingering strokes. Then she slipped her hand down to begin pumping his arousal. Oh, man, did that feel amazing.

  Kayla couldn’t believe they’d gotten themselves so banged up during the storm that they had to be careful of how they made love, but this was working out for them too. Nate made her feel well loved and she wanted to make him feel the same way. He had his hands in her hair, stroking, holding it, but then he was kissing her mouth again, driven like she was to bring him to climax. She could see his pelvic contractions, the intense pleasure in his expression, the growing need to explode. His gaze was dark and rapt, his mouth connecting with hers again, his kisses intoxicating, his body tightening.

  She loved making love to him like this, but she was ready for more. Every time she hinted at a mating, he only smiled and shied away from saying yes. She thought he wasn’t ready, or he was afraid she wasn’t. Then again, maybe their trip to the cabin was all a plan to ask her and to finally mate her.

  But this was grand, being with him, giving in, holding each other close, his eyes closing in bliss just as he groaned out loud and came in a burst.

  “God, am I glad that you stayed with me tonight,” he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her snug.

  “So am I. This feels so good,” she said, keeping him close. “So good.”

  “Hell, yeah. How do you want to sleep?”

  “With you.”

  He chuckled. “That’s a given. I was thinking more in line of our injuries.”

  “This works for me. Front to front. All your sexy bits pressed against all my sexy bits.”

  He chuckled. And ran his hand down her backside. “All of you is sexy.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, you too.”

  Then they took a shower, together this time, bandaged their injuries, and returned to bed, closed their eyes, cuddled together, and finally slept.

  At first morning’s light, she woke. They were still snuggled together, her chest pressed against his, while he was on his back, and she guessed his back wasn’t feeling too bad, for which she was glad.

  She sighed. “Hey, I guess it’s time for me to go home and get to work.”

  He sighed too and ran his hands through her hair. “After a hearty breakfast.”

  “I can go for that.” But then they settled down to snuggle some more, and before they knew it, they were both late to work, hopping out of bed, groaning, and laughing.