“Hell, yeah.” Her words seemed to trigger his need, and he quickly removed the rest of her clothes.

Then there they were—body to body, naked, man, woman, he-wolf, she-wolf…ready to do it.

He didn’t ask if she was sure, just started kissing her again, his hot body working against hers, rubbing his stiff cock against her mound, showing her he wanted this.

She spread her legs, forcing him to fall between hers. She felt the smile on his lips against hers before she wrapped her legs around the back of his, claiming him, securing him to her.

He dipped his head and kissed along her throat, his breath hot as her skin tingled and her blood felt like it was on fire. His hand cupped a breast, and then his mouth was on it, his tongue licking her nipple, his lips closing in and sucking. She was wet for him, ready, throbbing with need, her fingernails caressing his scalp as she groaned with pleasure.

She had imagined being like this with him when he’d caught her eye, his gaze heated. But she never could really envision how it would feel to recline on her back on his soft bed, her legs secured around his, his cock grinding against her clit.

The intoxicating feel of him—the hot, and sexy smell of all-male wolf—felt better than right. This was it. And she wanted it, him, all of it. She slid her hands down his muscled arms, stroking him like he was stroking her breasts. Then he moved over and began to apply his fingers to her feminine bud, coaxing her into orgasm. He kissed her mouth, inserting his tongue in wickedly masculine domination.

She sucked on his tongue. He groaned and smiled a little. So much for him being totally in charge. She smiled back, and they began kissing again. She savored the way his touch aroused her and felt the climax teasing her, just out of reach, so close she could almost taste it.

He was driving her crazy with his touch, the scent of him, the raw, primal desire. She was carried away on a rough sea of pleasure, and she cried out his name. He didn’t wait to see if she was ready for him or not.

* * *

CJ was ready for her. He knew she wanted this too. His throbbing need dictated his haste as he slid into her warm, wet sheath and filled her to the max.

He began to pump into her and kiss her, while her hands stroked every bit of his skin that she could touch. Gone was any hint of muscle strain or the feel of bruises as he claimed his she-wolf. He thought of how he would soon fill her belly with his progeny and loved her for it.

She thrust her hips upward as he drove in, the sensation pumping him up even harder. God, he loved her. Loved what she did to him. Loved her for just being her.

He was tense, so on the verge of relief, he growled his pleasure in a male-wolf way. Her green eyes were hot with passion, and she smiled a little at him right before he released, filling her with his seed, mating her for now and forever.

He collapsed on her, wanting to stay right there for the moment, his cock still inside her, craving the maximum intimacy between them before he separated from her and pulled her into his arms to sleep.

“Love you,” he said, kissing her mouth, and she tightened her hold around him.

“Love you too.” She wondered why she had avoided entanglements with him for so many months when tangling with him like this was the best thing ever.

She realized then she wasn’t wearing anything to bed—forget pajamas or summery nighties. He finally moved over and pulled her against him. She wasn’t certain that he’d want to sleep that close. On the couch—sure. There hadn’t been room for them to move apart. But in his king-size bed they had plenty of room. He didn’t let her go though, and she was just as happy to snuggle against him all night long.

Before she drifted off, she wondered how her sisters would react. Then she frowned. “I’m not hurting you, am I?” He might be feeling sore again, and she didn’t want him to feel any discomfort. She could snuggle with him later, when he was all healed up.

He snorted and held on to her tighter. She smiled and snuggled closer. “Love you.” And she meant it with all her heart. As sleepy as she was, she couldn’t stop thinking about the white wolf he’d seen though.

“I want to search for the white wolf,” she said, but CJ was so quiet, his heart rate slow, his breath soft against her hair, that she figured he had fallen asleep. She repeated softly, “I want to find the white wolf.” Because she was certain the wolf was reaching out to them in some way, and she wanted to offer friendship in return. If her sisters could manage the hotel, and if CJ was feeling healed up enough to go with her, she wanted to search for the wolf first thing tomorrow morning.

Chapter 17

Early the next morning, CJ was up fixing coffee and crepes filled with eggs, ham, and cheese, feeling that everything would be right with the world if they could only solve the disappearances of Laurel’s aunt and the other hotel owners. But he also wanted to learn who the white wolf was.

He hoped he had done the right thing last night in not telling Laurel about the human skeletal remains in the pit. He hadn’t thought about it until waking this morning, and then he’d worried. He hadn’t even known if the remains were male or female. And he didn’t want to upset Laurel with what could be when it might not be at all.

Because of the fall he’d suffered, he realized his thoughts hadn’t been focused enough to really examine anything in the pit. Not that he could have seen all that much that night, as dark as it had been. Even after they’d tossed down the glow sticks and he’d seen the human skeleton, all that he’d been aware of was that the skull was a human’s, and that two of the ribs had framed one of the stakes. Which had reminded him of how damned lucky he’d been.

The doorbell rang and he stalked through the living room to see who was visiting at this hour. Normally, anyone coming to see him would call to let him know ahead of time. One good thing about living here: no solicitors, so he knew it wasn’t a salesperson.

What he didn’t expect was to see when he opened the door was Ellie standing on his front porch, looking distraught. “Ellie, come in.”

“You found a body.”

Her words felt like an accusation and hit him hard. Her gaze shifted to a point behind him, and fearing where this would lead, he turned to see Laurel, her expression one of disbelief, lips parted, red brows slightly raised. Then she frowned. “You found a body? Whose? Where? When?”

She looked so pale, he wanted to comfort her, but he suspected she’d be ready to slug him when she learned just when and where they’d found the remains.

“Docs Weber and Mitchell will be examining the area and the skeletal remains. We don’t even know if it’s male or female, one of our kind or strictly human,” he said, speaking the truth.

“Did they find clothes? Remnants of clothes?” Laurel asked.

“I was kind of out of it last night.” CJ hated admitting that.

Laurel narrowed her eyes at CJ. “Wait. Where were the remains found? And when?”

Ellie was wringing her hands, looking like she really wished she hadn’t opened the can of worms.

“In the pit where I fell.”

Tears filled Laurel’s eyes. “You knew and you didn’t tell me last night?” Her words were almost whispered, as if she didn’t have the strength to give them any more power.

CJ took a deep breath. “Laurel, it could be anyone. Nothing to do with your aunt. There wasn’t any reason to upset you when there could be no reason to do so.”

“You were afraid to tell me last night because I might be too distraught and not have agreed to a mating!” Now Laurel’s face was red with anger, her lips pursed.

He wished Ellie wasn’t here to witness all this and that he could deal with it in private with Laurel.