“Now listen up, little sister—”

Sissy Mae slapped her hand over her brother’s face and shoved him onto the couch. By the time he landed, he was snoring.

Mace watched two big feet stand in front of him. Wolf females always seemed to have the biggest freakin’ feet. She crouched in front of him and smirked. “What’s the matter, Mace?”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“You haven’t been pompous or superior in the last ten minutes. So somethin’ must be wrong.”

Mace shrugged. “The woman of my dreams turned me down.”

“For marriage?”

“Dinner.”

Sissy Mae shook her head. “Is this the girl you’ve been talkin’ about since I met you?”

“Desiree MacDermot. The woman I’ve been waiting for all my life.”

“You know, my momma’s right about you. You are a wolf in lion’s clothin’. Get all bunged up over one woman. I can’t even get Smitty to do that and he is wolf.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“You want helpful, Mason?”

“Yes. I want helpful. Make yourself useful, woman.”

“Fine. Call her as soon as you wake up.”

“What?”

“Call her as soon as you wake up and ask her out.”

“Why?”

“Trust me on this.”

“I’m not a morning person.”

“Mace…”

“Okay. Okay.” He glanced over at Smitty, then back at the man’s sister. “Let’s write Omega on his forehead again. He hates that.”

Chapter Three

D ez woke up cursing. The ring of her damn cell phone completely disrupted her lovely dream involving Mace, her, and her handcuffs.

She grabbed for the phone on her nightstand. Knocked it off. Reached down and grabbed for it. Fell out of bed. Hit one of the dogs in the process. Wrestled the phone from the dog’s mouth. Then groggily crawled on all fours back into her warm and cozy bed.

“MacDermot,” Dez mumbled into the phone, assuming it would be work.

“Hey.”

Dez’s arms went out from under her when that voice tore through her dazed, sleep-drowned mind, and she landed flat on her face. Mace and that voice of his slid all the way down to her clit and moved in.

Why the hell was he calling her? What the hell was his deal? And how the hell did he get her number anyway? All right. Forget that last stupid question. He probably had a full background check done on her by now. The man was a SEAL, after all.

Not knowing what else to say, Dez hit him with the first thing that came to mind. “Who is this?”

She crossed her eyes. Well those brilliant phrases kept rolling right from her mouth.You’re such an idiot, MacDermot.

“It’s Mace.”

“Oh,” she replied casually like she didn’t almost come from his “hey” alone. “Hiya, Mace.” She used her shoulder to cover the mouthpiece on her phone, shoved a pillow over her face, and yelled into it. After a moment, she calmly went back to the conversation. “What’s up?”

She heard him stretch. “Nothing. Just checking on you.”

She closed her eyes and her legs. Took a calming breath. “Oh. That’s sweet.”

“I’m known for being sweet.”

“No, you’re not.”

He laughed softly and she bit her lip to keep from moaning.

Really…is there anything better than the gravelly six A.M. voice on a man? Dez didn’t think so. And Mace had one of those in spades. She may have to dig out her vibrator. It has to be around here somewhere.

“You’re right. I’m not.” A moment of silence descended, and Dez wondered if they already ran out of things to say. She should have known better. “You just getting up?”

“Not really. It’s only six A.M. and I don’t have to go to work. So, I’m just lying here.”

“Really?” She heard his body move, the sheets rustle. She imagined him naked and in bed. She closed her eyes. Okay. She needed to stop doing that right now. “What are you wearing?”

Oh no! They were not going to have this conversation. She couldn’t handle it. Hell, she couldn’t handle him. “Christ, Mace, we haven’t had one of these conversations in a long time.”

“Yeah, but at fourteen they were relatively tame. We’re much older now.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“So?”

“So what?”

“What are you wearing?”

“I’m not discussing that with—”

“Are you naked?”

“No!” Dez rolled her eyes. Good God, the man could be persistent. “A tank top and baggy shorts.”

“Panties?”

With a throat clear, “No.”

He purred. At least that’s exactly what it sounded like. Purring. She didn’t remember him purring before.

“Did you…did you just purr?”

“Yup. I’m thinking about you with no underwear.”

“Jesus, Mace. You’re killing me.”

“Is it making you wet?”

“Mason Llewellyn! We are not having this conversation.”

“Why?”

“Well, I am hoping to eventually arrest your sister for murder.”

“I’m hoping you arrest my sister for murder.”