He knew then that she had to be his. Or he would never have taken it this far with one of his own kind. But he also knew he had to take this slowly until she was ready to accept him all the way. After all, she was newly turned and probably still didn’t completely understand what taking a mate meant.

She barely breathed, her fingers touching his chest but not moving, just frozen in place as she concentrated on how he stroked her hard little nub, her body undulating with fever. He leaned down to kiss her gently, to savor the wine on her lips. To his surprise and delight, she devoured him as if she’d been starved for affection forever, her lips caressing his, her tongue darting around his mouth, tasting, memorizing, and tangling with his.

She drugged him with her sensuous urgency. She might not have been born a lupus garou, but she knew how to stir up the wolf in him. He plunged his tongue into her open mouth, and she sucked on it, her fingers groping for his erection. He almost forgot what he was doing, considering the way she fueled a fire deep inside him, until she gave a soft moan and writhed under his fingertips. He stroked her willing, hot little nub, as her fingers dug into his arms, her eyes closed, her lips parted. A soft moan escaped, and her body trembled with orgasm. He smiled, loving how willingly she’d responded to his touch.

But no sooner had he had those thoughts than she worked his erection, coaxing and stroking up and down with the right firmness. He couldn’t last. Before he could begin to draw the sensation out, he felt as though he were freefalling from an airplane without a parachute— free, on top of the world. Her hand on him kept up the pressure until he came. He groaned her name, wishing that he could have been inside of her as she milked him, with her eyes half lidded and her tongue sweeping over her well-kissed lips.

He pressed his mouth against hers again, savoring the softness, the sweetness, moving down to her throat and then to her silky sheer bra. Pushing her bra down with frantic urgency until he exposed a breast, he sucked on one of her firm, eager nipples that was greedy for his touch.

“Did you envision this?” he asked, his voice still husky with need, his hands cupping her other breast, fondling, and drawing his thumb over the nipple still confined in silk and loving the different textures.

She gave him a tender smile and swept her hands over his bare shoulders. “Envision, yes, when I saw you shift and standing as such a healthy specimen of a man in the woods nearby. And again, when I imagined you wearing your plaid. But a premonition of the actual act? No. If I had, Ryan McKinley, I probably wouldn’t have told you. Some things are just not meant to be said.”

“Yet we agreed you would tell me everything you perceived. Everything.” He smiled at her, and removed her bra and panties and his boxers. Then he drew her out of the bed, swept her up in his arms, and carried her to the bathroom.

“Lelandi will hear the shower running and suspect something isn’t quite right,” she whispered.

“She already knows I’ve claimed you for my mate.”

She raised a brow as Ryan set her on the bathroom floor. “I didn’t think werewolves were considered mated unless they truly consummated the relationship.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not mine,” he said, not caring how possessive he sounded as he turned on the shower. “It just means we only have one more hurdle to cross.”

“Hurdle.”

He lifted her and set her in the tub under the pulsating showerhead. “Yeah, hurdle. You’re no longer available, even if we haven’t consummated the relationship. Once that’s done, we’ve overcome the last barrier.” He smiled down at her as she rolled her eyes.

“Darien or the others won’t go along with that.”

“He and the others will know better than to challenge me in this. I know this isn’t the time, but on a lighter subject, we have another difficulty.”

“And that is?”

“Jake’s ready to have a showdown with me.”

She frowned. “What are the two of you in disagreement over now?”

“You.”

“You guys are funny… you know that? He’s never shown any real interest in me. You’re the one who came sneaking around Darien’s house in the middle of the night, hoping to catch a glimpse of me. Only my hair wasn’t long enough to let down out of the window to give you a way up to rescue me.”

“Rescue you?”

“From Darien’s ruling that I have to have a mate—soon.”

“If I’d known how you felt, I would have brought a ladder.”

“Hmm…” she said, reaching out to grab his hand and pulling him into the shower with her, her heated gaze raking over him in a seductive pass, “… you would have been naked.”

His hands molded to her shoulders, and he caressed them with his thumb, remembering how she’d taunted him with her scandalous nightgown. He reached down and softly pulled on one of her erect nipples. “Why did you go to the window in such a see-through gown? Hell, what if I’d been bad news?”

“Ryan McKinley, you are bad news.”

He slyly smiled, and she slid her arms around his neck and leaned into his body, rubbing a little to stir him up. And hell, it did. She was arousing him with the way she touched him, pressing, demanding more.

The hot water ran over her shoulders in a silky stream and slipped down between their chests. She raised her chin and offered her tantalizing mouth. Despite not wanting to appear overzealous, he couldn’t help the way he wanted her. Again.

Quickly succumbing to her seduction, he realized he hadn’t the strength to show restraint and kissed her hard with uncontrolled yearning, his tongue deeply penetrating her mouth, tasting her, wanting her. As if of their own volition, his hands slid down her back, with the water sluicing over her skin, and firmly cupped her buttocks.

She moaned and tightened her hold around his neck, leaning against him further. Then she sighed and released him. He thought she meant to stop him in his quest for fulfillment, dashing his hopes, and for a second, he was annoyed with himself for pushing her so fast. But she separated from him only enough to squeeze some soap out of her lavender body-wash container. Then her fingers were all over him again as she ran the pearly substance over his chest, the sensuous touch making him groan with want.

Making a special stop, first on one nipple and then the other, she teased just around the edges and then rubbed the tip with a soft thumb. She was killing him softly, came to mind as his hands returned to her tantalizing behind.

He desired her more than he’d ever wanted anyone in his life. And he was so close to having her for good. But patience, he reminded himself. For her sake, he had to let her get used to the idea.

Shifting his hands to her wet hair, he gently combed his fingers through the silky strands, mesmerized with the feel of her slippery body pressed against his, and the way she licked her lips and watched him with eyes filled with desire.

She broke the spell by running soap down his penis, which reacted instantly and eagerly to her touch. He captured her mouth in a hungry kiss with no holds barred, urgent, passionate, needy. God, he was needy. Forget having the strength to let her get used to the notion of being his mate. He wanted her now, fully and forever.

He slid his fingers between her legs and began stroking where he found her wet from her own needs and from the shower. She moaned with pleasure and clenched her hands around his waist, demanding that he finish what he’d started. But he wanted to finish so much more than what he’d begun.

He stroked her sex, and his touch took her by a storm, judging from the way her knees weakened and how tightly she clutched at him.

He wanted to trap her against the tile shower wall and claim her, but he continued to stroke her, watching her eyes close as she clung fiercely to him, her breath shallow, her heart beating fast and furious. Arching against his questing fingers, she let out a little cry, right before he captured her mouth to silence her sounds of exultation. She trembled and sagged against him as the orgasm rippled through her, looking as though she wasn’t up for much more.

But her lips curved up in a wicked little grin as her eyes opened, her gaze capturing his. She huskily whispered, “Your turn.”

Only this time, he wanted her snug little feminine chamber holding him tight. Then again, her hand on his erection—sliding, touching, and tightening—held him hostage, a very willing hostage, and he was grateful to have this intimacy between them any way he could. His hands were on her hips now, his cheek against hers, his body soaring with her strokes.

Carol felt drained and, at the same time, as if she’d soared on an eagle’s wings across the world and back. She wanted to collapse in bed with Ryan and sleep the rest of the day, tight in his embrace. She loved to see his reaction when she stroked his needs, just as she could see how much pleasure he got from seeing how much she loved his touch. She knew he wanted to be inside her. She wasn’t ready. Or at least she wouldn’t admit to herself that she was. Not yet.

This touching—the sexual play between them, intimate and satisfying—was enough for her now. She hoped he would understand. Although from the way his heart was pounding and his hands were gripping her hips harder, he was having a difficult time holding on. He seemed all right about wanting just this for now.

She had claimed him, held power over him, and seen his eyes swimming with lust. He was beautiful and sexy. Hard all over, but tender of heart. She loved that he was a wolf and a man, all wrapped up in one.

Her hand squeezed his arousal just a little more as she stroked him, and he groaned and even appeared a bit weak-kneed. Then he came with a more soulful groan, which she hurriedly tried to silence with a deep kiss. He responded desperately to her kiss with the same passionate tongue strokes.

“You’re killing me, Carol,” he whispered against her ear as he hugged her tight against his chest.

If the water hadn’t begun to cool and she hadn’t shivered, she was sure he would have held her there longer in his hard embrace.

“I’m the one for you. All your patients say so. The bachelor males in the pack already know so. Tom’s out of the picture since he’s looking for a dream mate. And Jake’s too late. Even my sister informed me you would be perfect for me, nice and pliable,” Ryan said in a hushed voice, as if making a last-ditch effort to ensure she knew he wasn’t giving her up to anyone.