Rollo couldn’t keep his mind on anything else since he’d spoken to Zoe and finally gotten her to agree to a date with him. Sure, he had his suspicions. That was part of the reason he’d been so forceful with her. Part of the reason. She had become an unofficial suspect in the jewel theft case, but more importantly, she was his mate.

He needed her.

Every second he spent without mating with her was torture to him. His bear would not quit growling. Rollo thought that if he had to listen to his grizzly behaving that way much longer he might lose his damn mind. His intention was to get to the bottom of the case and to take care of his mate. If she ended up being responsible for the theft, he would find a way to make everything right in the end.

What mattered most, was that they were together. She may be reluctant now, but there could be any number of reasons for that. Whatever it was, Rollo intended to find out. He didn’t buy the story about her parents, although it sounded like a perfectly valid excuse. But all of the clues were adding up. Zoe Bright had become his top suspect.

But first, he just wanted to spend one night with his mate. He’d put on a casual suit without a tie and was clean shaven. He clipped on his watch and put his phone in his back pocket before he walked out the door and climbed in his SUV. The drive up to the Institute was nerve-wracking as his heart beat in anticipation of meeting Zoe again.

Seeing her at the woodshop in those cute, girly coveralls with all that black hair of hers hanging in a playful ponytail, had almost done him in. If it came down to it, Rollo wondered if he would be able to arrest his mate if he had to. He knew he would do his job, but he was also already desperately loyal to her. He couldn’t help it; she was his other half.

He pulled up in front of the dormitory section of the Bright Institute for Shifters. The building was a cross between traditional Ivy League university and ultramodern Silicon Valley tech company. There were huge walls of windows that arched up to the ceiling over the entry.

He saw her walk out the front door, wearing that formfitting jaguar print dress and black high heels. Her hair was straight and long down her back, slicked back over her head. She wore deep red lipstick and smoky eye makeup. His cock bulged in his pants as she walked towards him. He hastily scrambled out of the SUV and hurried around the passenger side of the car to open the door for her.

Zoe saw him, smiled and then slinked past him into the passenger seat. He could smell her scent mixed with her citrus perfume. His inner bear growled hungrily. Rollo licked his lips and shut the door behind her as she put on her seatbelt.

As he sat beside her in the car, the scent of her arousal rose off her sexy curves and filled the air with its thick aroma. They stared at each other in the summer evening glow as the light filtered through the cab of the car. Her breasts heaved as she took deep panting breaths and she bit her luscious red bottom lip with her straight white teeth. He wanted to grab her and kiss her, shove his tongue between those lips, and feel her groan under his touch.

“Should we get going?” she finally said.

He turned on the car and backed out of the parking spot and sped out onto the road leading back into Fate Mountain Village. They took the highway a few miles and then turned off on the road towards Fate Mountain Lodge. When they parked in front of the lodge, Rollo hopped out of the car and hurried around to open the door for Zoe, but she’d already opened it and slid her legs around the side. He reached out and took her hand, helping her step down from the high seat and onto the ground in those sexy fucking heels.

Her body was so amazing he could barely tear his eyes away from her curves. His hands clenched and unclenched, longing to touch her. He had to hold himself back as the animal inside thrashed in his mind demanding he take his mate right here, right now. Instead, he led her graciously through the parking lot and up the front walkway of the lodge. He opened the front door and escorted her through the lobby and into the dining room.

Fate Mountain Lodge had a five-star restaurant run by the famous Wild Bear chef Shane Keenan. Shane once had a famous cooking show, back before the war. He’d been notoriously bad tempered, and the audience had eaten it up. That was until he’d been outed as a bear and drafted into the military. But now Shane Keenan lived on Fate Mountain and was a member of the Rescue Bears.

The hostess led them to their private table that looked out onto the lake as the summer sun was slipping toward the horizon. The golden glow radiated over the crystal water that stretched out below the lodge. It was a perfect romantic spot for their first date, and Rollo congratulated himself for his excellent planning.

Zoe looked down at her menu as if deep in thought over appetizers. She’d painted her nails the same color as her lips and the sight of her put together like this was a stark contrast from the way she had dressed the day before. But Zoe in coveralls was no less sexy than Zoe in a skintight jaguar print dress, black heels, and red nail polish. He appreciated the contrast because it made him feel like he understood her that much more.

“You said something about rock lobster,” Zoe said, still looking at her menu.

“It’s a Shane Keenan specialty,” Rollo said.

“Who is Shane Keenan?”

“That’s right, you’ve been out of the country a long time. But his show was still on TV when you were in high school.”

“I didn’t watch TV when I was in high school,” Zoe said, finally looking up at him.

“What did you do in high school?” he asked in a low, gravelly voice.

“Get into trouble mostly. Cut class. Spin doughnuts in the parking lot. Make fun of cheerleaders. That kind of thing,” she said, throwing her black hair over her shoulder.

“Sounds like you were quite the hellraiser,” he said, looking her intently in the eye to avoid staring at her magnificent cleavage.

“I still am, officer,” she said.

Rollo knew she was teasing him. She had to know he was onto her. There was just too much evidence to ignore. The faint scent of his mate at the scene. A large cat paw print. And then to top it off, her obvious obsession with Louis the Fifteenth secret compartment chests. It was all adding up and not looking very good for his little kitty. But what was he going to do about it?

Zoe was his mate and therefore he knew she had to be a good person. He could feel the real warmth of her heart deep below all of her sexy bravado. There had to be a reason she had done it. If she just wanted the money, why come to Fate Mountain? Why take an internship with Angus? Why make herself known at all?

“I’m sure we can do something to make sure you behave,” he growled.

“And what makes you think you can do that?” she asked, her green eyes sparking in the golden light of sunset.

“Have you two decided?” the waitress asked walking up to the table. “Or do you need another minute?”

“I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay and the rock lobster,” Zoe said, handing her menu to the waitress.

“I’ll have the same,” Rollo said.

The waitress walked away, and they both watched her until their eyes snapped back and locked on each other again.

“I’m an officer of the law, Ms. Bright,” he said.

“Have I done something wrong?” she taunted.

Her teasing was getting under his skin, and his face would have been flaming red with embarrassment if there weren’t a tablecloth hiding the massive erection he was packing between his legs.

He gulped, considering what to say next. This game of cat and mouse was more intoxicating than he had anticipated. He wanted to take the handcuffs from his SUV and tie her up somewhere until she told him the truth. Or until she screamed his name with mind blowing pleasure. Whichever came first. He wasn’t sure which one he wanted more.

The waitress walked up to the table and set two glasses of Chardonnay in front of the couple and walked away.

“We’ll soon find out,” Rollo said, taking a sip of his wine.

She smiled, lifting the wineglass to her lips and taking a sip. She was a clever little kitty, and he knew that she would slip from his grasp at the soonest possibility. He had to pin her down and find out what she knew. It was the only way he could protect her. There had to be something else going on besides greed and lust for money. He was going to get to the bottom of it.

“How long have you been in law enforcement?” Zoe asked, changing the subject as she gazed out the window at the setting sun.

“I was a detective before the war. I served as an officer in the special forces. Within two months of joining the Fate Mountain Police Department after the war, the old chief retired and the mayor made me commander. I’m more suited to investigation than administration. But I do my job.”

“What kind of detective where you before the war?”

“Homicide, San Francisco PD. It’s a different world than Fate Mountain Village, Oregon. But after what I saw in the war, I was ready for a slower pace of life. I wanted to settle down like most of the other shifter veterans out there. We want to find our mates, buy homes, start families. What else could you possibly want out of life?”

“Fun? Excitement?”

“How much fun and excitement can one body really stand?” Rollo asked her.

“How much can you stand, Rollo?” she said seductively.

The waitress carried a tray to their table and set their plates of rock lobster in front of them. She asked if they needed anything else, replaced their basket of bread, and walked away.

“I’m sure I could stand a lot of excitement, especially with you, Zoe Bright,” he said as he cracked a lobster claw in his bare hands.

She smirked at him and then popped a piece of lobster in her mouth. She groaned and licked her lips. “This is delicious. You were right.”

“I’m right about a lot of things,” he said.

“Such as?” she said, taking another sip of wine.

“Stick around, and you’ll find out.”

They continued eating their lobster, with their taunting flirtation heavy between them. Rollo learned a bit more about Zoe’s childhood and that she had been poor growing up. Corey had been sending her money ever since he’d sold his first app, his first year of college. After she graduated high school, she’d had a living income from the money Corey sent her. After spending the majority of childhood in poverty in a small Midwestern town, all Zoe Bright wanted was to get out of there and see the world.

Rollo could tell that she felt inferior to her brother because of his genius and the fact that he was the kind of person that everyone revered. She on the other hand, had never been academic or particularly ‘talented’ at anything. That’s the way she described herself anyway.

Rollo could tell there was a glowing fire deep inside Zoe that burned like an inferno and filled her with internal strength beyond anything he’d ever seen before. He wanted to warm himself in the glow of her burning soul. If he could just get close enough. If she would just let him in.

But Rollo knew that Zoe was a criminal. The evidence was still circumstantial, but it all added up. If he had even one piece of physical evidence, he would arrest her right here and now. He would have no choice. But until he found the evidence, he would have to continue playing this alluringly sexy game with her.

When they finished their meal, Rollo paid and left a large tip before he and Zoe got up from the table. He led her out onto the big patio that looked out over the lake, and they stood against the railing, watching the last rays of the sun disappear behind the mountains.

“I’ve never seen a place as beautiful as Fate Mountain,” Rollo mused.

“I’ve been all over the world, but I know exactly what you mean. I wish I could stay here.”

“Why can’t you stay here?” he asked.

Zoe looked up at him anxiously and grabbed his arm, yanking him down the patio and away from the dining room entrance.