Yeah, she was ready for him. Had been ever since he’d pinned her to the beach.

His mouth moved to her throat, and he licked a trail to her breast. Then his warm lips latched onto her nipple, suckling, his fingers dipping deep inside her folds. A shiver of need streaked through her, and she arched her pelvis against him, never having wanted sex this bad, or for it to feel so damned good.

His wet fingers stroked her swollen nub, and she grabbed handfuls of his dark hair, his heated breath on her neck as he kissed her there. Every touch felt more erotic than the last and her nerve endings drew in the sensations.

She wanted him inside her, stoking her needs while fulfilling his own, but she didn’t want him to stop what he was doing either. Oh, what the hell. If he didn’t like that she wanted more, that was his problem. “I want you inside of me, now.”

He pressed his leg between hers again, raising up until he connected with her mound and rubbed. She was ready to burst into flames. She groaned, well, kind of whimpered.

Which seemed to spur him on. His fingers worked faster, stroking her, drawing her to the peak, while his mouth did sweet things to one breast and then the other, her fingers digging into his shoulders, then releasing and sweeping down his firm sides. His hot tongue tasted, teased, his teeth grazed her reverently, sending delicious chills exploding across her skin.

“You smell of peaches and cream, and an enticing scent that’s all you,” he murmured heavily against her cheek.

Before she could respond, his fingers brought her to the edge of the world and she came, shattered into a million sparks of wonderment, the first time she had ever felt such a sensation, her insides quaking with ripples of orgasm.

Her heart thumped rapidly, her breath shallow as he took her in his arms, his eyes smoldering with hunger.

“You still want me?” he asked, his voice raspy and tight.

“Hmm,” was all she could manage. If he quit now, she’d strangle him.

He laughed under his breath and pulled her onto her back. “I don’t mean to brag, but you’re pretty small, and I’m pretty—”

“Huge,” she finished for him.

His amber eyes and delicious mouth smiled. “Just thought I’d warn you.”

“Appreciate the warning, but you’re wasting time.” She still couldn’t shake the feeling that any second now, he would just vanish in a puff of mist, like a genie recalled to his bottle.

He captured her mouth with his, not slowly, or sweetly, but like he hadn’t had a woman in a very long time, and he couldn’t wait a second longer. He smelled of the wind in the pines, and hot-blooded male, his gaze clouded with lust. His hands captured her hair and squeezed.

Her heart couldn’t beat any faster as he centered himself between her legs. She might have found her treasure on the beach in the form of the hunky naked guy, but Hunter was about to plunder his own treasure as he eased inside of her.

No matter how much Hunter had tried to deny his craving for the woman, he knew it would come to this. Thankfully, he had been able to control his wolf’s desires long enough to remember he didn’t have a mate. Still, hooking up with Tessa was not a good idea. She was too damned needy and should have had a decent guy who would care for her, one who wanted to stick it out for the long run. Someone who wouldn’t hunt on moon-filled nights in a wolf’s coat.

He eased deeper into her tight sheath and began massaging her breasts to loosen her up. He could tell she hadn’t been with a man in a very long time and the notion pleased him. He was even more convinced than before—if she had been a gray lupus garou, he would never let her go.

Her sweet, musky scent had all but undone him when he first stroked her breast, triggering her arousal. And thinking of the way she had touched him—rubbed his muscles with such finesse, cleaned the salt from his skin with tenderness, covered his injuries with the faintest of touches—every sensation was permanently etched into his brain.

He embedded himself inside her to the hilt and slowly began to withdraw. She smiled in a way that would heat any man’s blood. What was worse, he already wanted her to smile at only him like that. The problem? Not enough lupus garou females to satisfy the male population.

He meant to draw out the lovemaking, take it slow and easy the first time with her. But she combed her fingers through his hair in such a sensual way, and then her fingers drew higher and began to massage his scalp, he felt he would lose his seed before he could make it very much farther.

He plunged in deeper, harder, fulfilling his raw need to conquer, to possess her. And she was worthy of being his, but he would not go there.

He watched her expression as he pumped deep inside of her, her sparkling eyes observing him, challenging him to give her everything he had. He felt the end coming and with one last hard thrust, he filled her with his seed. Sweet heaven, she was a gift from the gods.

Sexually satiated, he kissed her upturned lips, and then rolled onto his back, pulling her into his arms, loving the way her soft body molded against his hardness. “I wasn’t too rough, was I?” he asked, his voice raspy against her ear, although it was a little too late for asking.

She shivered and touched his extended nipple. “Just perfect. I’ve never taken a nap that’s been so—stimulatingly satisfying.”

He chuckled. “Health experts say a nap a day can add years to your life.”

“I believe it. Well, especially while napping with you.”

He could have snuggled with her until nightfall, although they managed to sleep for an hour, but Rourke began stirring in the living room. More than stirring. He was banging around, probably tired of Tessa and Hunter “sleeping” together.

Hunter gave a ragged sigh and kissed the top of Tessa’s head. “Let’s get up. I need to gather more firewood and start that roast if it’s going to be ready by dinnertime.”

“You’ll be careful tonight when you go looking for the thief, won’t you?”

“Yeah, but you and Rourke stay together and don’t leave the house this time.”

“Do you remember everything about your life? Where you’re from, where you were born?”

“No. It’s coming back in annoying fragments.” But he hoped he would soon remember what had happened to him before he ended up in the Pacific. Then he would take care of that little matter, too.

The tension ran high the rest of the evening. Rourke seemed perturbed Hunter had slept with Tessa earlier in the day and would again for part of the night. And she couldn’t quit worrying about Hunter’s safety tonight. Something seemed to be bothering him also. Another recollection? Maybe concern that they shouldn’t have made love this afternoon. If he left tomorrow, she would have no regrets about what they had done. Well, no. She wasn’t being honest with herself. She doubted she would ever find a man who was quite like Hunter. No one would ever measure up to him.

But something was going on with him. He kept watching her, his look so dark she couldn’t fathom what was the matter. If Rourke hadn’t been there, she would have asked. But she didn’t want to in front of him.

Rourke noticed Hunter’s ominous mood, too. Even though he was pissed about her and Hunter’s relationship, he wasn’t saying a word about it. But she bet he would if Hunter hadn’t looked so lethal.

“You didn’t make that list of names for me,” Hunter finally said to Tessa, fixing her with a piercing gaze as he shoved his empty plate at Rourke.

Although Rourke was supposed to do the dishes, he wasn’t finished eating, and he cast Hunter an irritated look.

Tessa had forgotten all about the list of suspects. “I’ll do it after I finish dinner.”

She realized then, the change had come over Hunter after he’d left to gather firewood earlier. She frowned. Although she knew she shouldn’t bring it up, she wasn’t used to burying problems. “Did you discover anything when you went down to the beach to get firewood?”

Rourke glanced up from his roast.

“You said Ashton wasn’t anything to you. You said he only saw you as Michael’s annoying sister. What the hell’s going on between the two of you? Is he your lover? Former lover? Is that why he shot me?”

A sickening flood of fear washed over her. He watched the emotions playing across her face, his hard look instantly changing to a hint of compassion. How did he come up with the conclusion that she and Ashton were lovers?

The… the incident in the shed out back? How could he know about that?

“Don’t lie to me, Tessa.”

His voice was so stern she might have cowered if she had done something wrong.

But she hadn’t, damn it. She hadn’t even known Hunter back then. What right did he have bullying her?

No longer hungry, she rose from the table. “You want a list of possible suspects, I’ll give you a list. But beyond that, go to hell.”

She swore his lips turned up a fraction before he stood like one pissed-off giant grizzly.

He tossed a pair of her shredded silk panties on the table. “Want to talk about it?”

“Where… where did you get those?”

“In the shed.”

Rourke looked anxious, like he wished he hadn’t agreed to stay the night. Some hero he would make. On the other hand, he looked like he wanted to know what the panties had to do with Ashton Wellington. Good news for the morning paper?

“It was my fault,” she said, gathering her composure. Once she told Hunter the truth, she figured he would want to kill Ashton, so somehow, she had to minimize the seriousness of what had happened.

“So tell me. Did you seduce him in the shed, Tessa?” He advanced on her. “Did you? Or did something else go down?”

She fought fleeing to her bedroom to avoid the topic.

She had never told anyone about it. How could she? No one would ever have believed her. But Hunter had instincts that were more attuned than anyone she had ever met. She didn’t think she could get away with outright lying.

“What business did you have in the shed?” She tilted her chin up and glowered right back at him, but wondered again where the panties had been that she hadn’t found them.