Licking her lips she searched for something to say.

He smiled. “You okay, sweetheart? You were amazing.”

Her insides warmed and she nodded. “I feel amazing.”

“Can I take you to dinner? Tomorrow or Saturday? I have a meeting to go to in two hours and I don’t want to have to rush with you. I…” he shrugged, “…I’d like to get to know you a bit better.”

The moment stretched long and at last she nodded. “All right.” Relief filled her.

She’d taken a huge step and the world hadn’t ended.

“Can I buy you a drink now?”

“It’s awfully loud out there and I have to be at work in a few hours myself. But you can buy me a cup of coffee if you like.”

She felt her nudity acutely contrasted with his being fully clothed. As if he sensed it, he got up and handed her her clothes.

“I will miss knowing that those welts would be on you when you woke up. But on the other hand, knowing you’re Were makes me feel a bit better that I won’t hurt you.”

She got dressed while watching him put his gear into his toy bag. She gasped when she caught sight of the rope. He turned to look at her, concern on his face changing to understanding. Ryan tapped on the door.

“Everything all right, cupcake?” He kissed her cheek.

“Yes, thank you. Ben and I are going to grab a coffee.”

“Well, my goodness, those baristas are going to thank their lucky stars when you walk in wearing that.” He winked and Ben laughed.

“Are you ready?” Hefting the bag in one hand, Ben held his other out for her to take.

Nodding, she reached out and held on.

He dropped the bag into the trunk of his car and they walked three blocks to Café Diva. They took a seat near the front windows and he went and got their drinks. He put a plate of six layer chocolate death between them. Two forks.

“You like chocolate?”

“Ever met a woman or a werewolf who didn’t?” She laughed.

“I didn’t really know any werewolves until two years ago.”

“And?” She watched him as he sipped, wiping away the foam in his mustache with a quick swipe of his tongue. A delicious shiver worked up her spine.

He shrugged. “It wasn’t the most auspicious of occasions but now I work with you all on a regular basis.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a cop.”

Her fork fell to the plate with a clatter. “Oh shit.”

“What? Hey, if I can set aside my prejudices about werewolves, you can get past my being a cop can’t you?” He leaned toward her. “Especially because I saw the way you looked at the rope.”

She had to close her eyes a moment at the thought of the rope.

“It’s not that.” Waving that away, she picked up her fork and took a fortifying bite of chocolate cake. “You’re Ben Stoner, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, how did you know my last name?”

“I’m Tegan Warden.”

“Shit, you’re Lex and Cade’s sister? Cousin?”

“Sister. And why is that bad?”

He chuckled. “Hey, you’re the one who was all shocked. And well, Lex is a big ass dude, I’m having very, very untoward thoughts about his sister. I better stock up on silver bullets.”

It was Tegan’s turn to laugh and the richness of the sound flowed over them both. “I can’t believe I’ve never met you. In two years, you’ve been doing all this work over Pellini and the Packs, how did I miss you? Because trust me, I would have known if I’d seen you before.”

Ben sat and watched the statuesque redhead across from him talk. Goddamn she was the sexiest woman—werewolf—he’d ever met. Beautiful, sensual, br**sts that made every straight man on the planet give thanks for women. Her ass had turned the most beguiling shade of pink when he’d flogged her and she came prettier than he’d thought possible.

And it was clear she was a submissive in the bedroom but a strong woman outside.

He liked the contrast. A lot. Those feline green eyes and the fiery red hair completed the package. Tegan Warden was as close to perfect as he’d ever imagined a woman could be.

Except she was a werewolf and her brothers were the Alpha and the Enforcer of the local werewolf Pack. Boy could he pick women or what? He might as well hang out in alleys with dollar bills pinned to his clothing and get his ass kicked that way.

Still, he’d bet Tegan Warden was worth it. He greedily soaked in the sight of her bringing the forkful of cake to her lips and eating it. His c**k ached when she licked the tines before putting the fork back down. Holy shit, the woman was walking sex.

“I, uh, what was the question? Oh, why we hadn’t met before. I don’t know. I’ve gone out to the house a few times but we usually meet down at my office so we can conference in the representatives of the other Packs and the feds.”

“I’m not usually patrolling in the house when I’m on duty. I prefer to be outside.

That may be where I was if you came to the house. Or I was off or something.”

“You still want to go out with me?”

“Yes. You still want to go out with me? Knowing who my brothers are? Because I’ll tell you up front, they’re both nosy old women about this kind of thing and it’s been a while since I’ve dated and so they’re both liable to be a bit, um, forceful about it.”