After Thorian got home, he put away his tools and tidied up the house. He wanted to show the place to Cici. It was still stacked high with boxes of his grandfather’s things, dusty and musty from disrepair. But he owned it outright, and he wanted to show her what he had to offer.

He dressed in his best outfit. Black slacks and a black button-up shirt with a suit jacket that he’d bought specially for the occasion. It had only been a few hours since they'd seen each other, but he missed her like crazy.

He could still almost taste her body on his lips. The scent of her lingered in his nostrils. His inner bear growled in disappointment at him for not claiming her that morning. Thorian wanted more than anything to claim his mate, his woman, his love. But he knew it had to wait for the perfect moment. When he had something to offer her.

He drove to Cici’s house and parked outside her door. He grabbed the bouquet of red roses he’d brought on the way, and walked up the pathway to her front door. He knocked, and she opened the door, dressed in a form-fitting purple dress that hugged her curves and dipped low on her chest. His eyes went wide, and his tongue nearly lolled out of his mouth at the sight, his inner grizzly clawing at the back of his eyes.

"You look so beautiful," he said, the bouquet of roses still hidden behind his back.

"Why thank you," she said sweetly.

She was so adorable, he could barely stand it. He wanted to gather up her curvy, petite body, carry her across the house and ravish her on her bed. Instead, he pulled the flowers out from behind her back and offered them to her, standing there without a word.

She clapped her hands together, squealed, and gathered the roses in her arms. She took a deep breath of the fragrant scent and let out a long sigh of pleasure.

"These are beautiful," she said, bouncing a little. “Thank you so much."

She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. He had to lean down to let her kiss him. The touch of her lips on his skin was like heaven. She turned and looked over her shoulder.

"I'm just going to put these in water.”

She went inside, found a vase, and cut the roses to fit. She arranged them in the water and set the vase on her dining room table under the chandelier he had just fixed.

"They look perfect," she said, clapping her hands together and resting them under her chin.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked gulping with anticipation.

"I am," she said, pulling on her coat and wrapping her hand in the crook of his elbow.

He smiled down at her and escorted her out of the house. As they drove across town, he turned on the radio and they listened to his favorite classic rock station. Cici sang along with the music and he loved the sound of her sweet voice, enthusiastically hitting all of the notes. She was cute as a button, and he had to adjust himself before they made it to the resort.

He growled at his inner grizzly and told him to settle down. There would be time enough for all that later. After he parked, he opened her door and helped her hop out of the truck. She was so cute and curvy in her dress, he could just pick her up and devour her. But he made himself stop thinking about those things as he escorted her into the resort and told the hostess they had a reservation.

"Thorian Reed," the hostess said. "I have you right here."

She looked at him askance, and he knew that she was nervous about what had happened on New Year's Eve. The police had allowed them to reopen the resort the next morning, but the area where Vicki had been murdered was still cordoned off.

The hostess showed them to their table and asked if she could get them anything to drink.

"We'll take a bottle of champagne," he said.

"Very good," the hostess said.

"What's the occasion?" Cici said. "Not that there needs to be any occasion for champagne."

"It's our first date," he said.

"We had a date on New Year's Eve. And we went out for breakfast this morning."

"Those weren’t real dates."

The sommelier came back a moment later and uncorked their bottle of champagne, pouring them both a glass in long stem flutes. Cici smiled and took a sip from her glass, looking at him prettily the entire time.

"This is good," she said.

They looked down at the menu and both decided to get the surf and turf for dinner. The waitress returned, took their orders and brought them a tray of crusty French bread with sweet butter. Cici buttered her bread and took big bites as Thorian watched her devour her food with the appetite of a grizzly. Just thinking of her devouring other things made him rumble inside.

He squeezed his eyes closed, telling himself he needed to stop. This was supposed to be a romantic dinner date. Not a lead up to his own personal sexscapades. But he couldn't help it. She was his mate and more beautiful than he could've ever imagined. He just had to have her. He wasn't going to be able to wait much longer.

The waitress returned with their food and they dug in. His steak was cooked to perfection and the lobster was drenched in garlic butter. He hadn’t had a meal this good in who knows how long. Definitely not since he’d joined the military.

"So, tell me about Vicki's friend at the Wives’ Association meeting?" he said.

"Apparently, she thinks that Vicki deserved to die for cheating on her husband," Cici started.

"Interesting." Thorian said.

"I don't exactly support cheating on your spouse. I think it's pretty low, to be honest," Cici said. “But nobody deserves to die for that."

"I agree. Her men were awfully suspicious the last time I went out to the estate. Mr. Talbot is a jealous, angry man. And Jake is unhinged. I feel sorry for the kid. He had to go stay with his girlfriend until everything blows over. I think he suspects his father.”

"Children can be awfully intuitive," Cici said.

After they were finished with dinner, they ordered hot fudge sundaes and dug into the delicious fudgy, creamy dessert.

"It's like a flavor explosion in my mouth," he said, his mouth full of ice cream and fudge.

After dessert, he paid for dinner, and they put their jackets on to take a stroll out on the patio. The moon was full and bright over the lake. They looked out onto the dark waters that stretched out below them. He held her hand in his and looked deep into her eyes. The Christmas lights twinkled all around. He ran his thumb over her cheek and let out a deep breath that puffed out into the cold air.

"You really are the most beautiful woman."

"A girl could get used to compliments like that," she said with a giggle.

He leaned in and kissed her hard, standing in a little private corner of the patio. His heart leapt, and his body grew hungrier and hungrier as their tongues danced a delicious tango of desire. She groaned when he pulled her to him. A moment later, they strolled hand in hand, walking around the patio and down onto the grounds. It was cold outside, but they were both bundled against it.

The stood out on the dock, contemplating the moon as it glimmered in the water below.

"Would you like to see my grandfather’s house?" he asked as he held her in the moonlight.

"I'd love to," she said.

He took her hand and they strolled back to his truck. A few moments later, they were driving up to his grandfather's old house on the small acreage just outside of town. As they walked up the front porch, the steps creaked and groaned.

"It needs some work," he admitted.

He put his key in the door and opened it. The musty smell of old man hit his nose and he cringed. She walked inside and looked around.

"It has a lovely original crown molding and such high ceilings. Oh, and look at these floors. They just need a scrub and a polish, and they'll shine like new.”

"You like it?" he asked, his eyes sweeping over the old furniture and the out of date finishes.

"It has really good bones. I love historic houses, don't you?"

"I love this house. I used to come here every summer with my parents. I used to go fishing with my granddad out on the dock.”

"Oh, you’re right on the lakefront?" she asked.

"I sure am. I have a dock and a little bit of beach as well.”

"Oh, lucky."

She continued walking through the house, inspecting the rooms as she went. He followed her and watched her as she took in what he had to offer.

"I love it. I really do.”

"I’m gonna fix the place up. But it sure could use a woman's touch."

She turned to him and smiled, stepping into his space, running her hands over his chest.

"I think the house isn't the only thing that could use a woman's touch," she said.