Once the happy hour crowd hit, the music got turned up and the bar started hopping. Friday is our second busiest night. People stop in after work to eat, drink, and unwind from their busy weeks. Usually, I don’t mind the demanding customers. Tonight, I’m having a hard time keeping everyone happy. The conversation I had with Josh is repeating in my head, distracting me from my job.

Part of me wants to call Shifter Affairs. I know I can’t, but the what-ifs and the maybes of a new life are tempting. I can’t help wondering if the girls would love their new home. Or if I would meet the kind of friends I was lucky enough to find here at the Black Widow. Even though I’m grateful for this job, maybe I’d have better paying opportunities elsewhere. Maybe I’d even feel comfortable enough dating.

Yearning settles over me. I’d love to go to the movies with a guy. Or sit and talk about everything and nothing. Maybe laugh and cuddle.

Make wild passionate love.

Biting my lip and hoping the naughty thought doesn’t show on my face, I snatch a tray and head to the rear section of the bar to clear off some tables. There are too many shifter customers here tonight. If one of them gets too close to me while my mind is drifting to sex, they’ll smell my arousal. I don’t want Todd finding out I was all hot and bothered. He’s convinced I’m cold and boring. For my own sanity, I want him to continue believing those things.

But, if I didn’t have Todd in my life, I could explore my sexuality. Find out what I like in bed. I could be free to pleasure my lover, then fall asleep in his arms. Wake up to slow and gentle sex.

Hear my lover whisper my name as he spills himself inside me.

On a sigh of longing, I close my eyes. Warmth spreads through me. Contentment follows. Mine or my wolf’s happiness? I can’t tell, but right in this moment, I feel incredibly good. Maybe I should let myself fantasize more often.

Right. I’ll squeeze that into my free time.

Chuckling, I open my eyes. The drunk I’d served Death’s Fire to last night is sitting at the table I’m clearing. The rag I’m holding flops to the table. He’s more gorgeous than he was last night.

He still looks as wild and primitive as he did yesterday with the dusting of hair covering his neck and jaw, but the beanie he’s wearing contains the mop of mussed brown hair instead of sending the ends into disarray as they had been yesterday, sticking every which way. Now there’s nothing obscuring his blue eyes. Or hazing the hunger in his gaze.

A slow, lazy, and incredibly sexy smile spreads over his rugged face. “You’re absolutely beautiful with your guard down.”

“Rick.” I say his name, but my voice doesn’t sound like me. It’s huskier or something. I almost sound sexy. Must be the naughty thoughts whirling around in my head.

Rick pushes to his feet. His muscles flex. The tight gray T-shirt stretched over his chest clings to his body. Jeans cover his legs. Not tight, not loose, his pants fit him perfectly, drawing my gaze to his strong thighs, his narrow hips, his…

Oh goddesses… I yank my gaze to his face, but it’s too late. The image of the impressive bulge in his jeans is seared into my mind. My cheeks feel warm. Dang it. I’m probably blushing like a schoolgirl. I can’t help it. The man isn’t even aroused and he’s a sight to behold.

With a pleased glint in his eyes, he rounds the table. Frozen in place, I follow his every move with my gaze. I couldn’t run if I tried. My knees feel weak. My skin feels hot…sensitive. Even the bite Todd left on my shoulder tingles. Must be my shirt rubbing against it. Only Todd can touch the raised scar and make my body come alive, whether or not I want to be excited. That’s what everyone has told me anyway.

Rick steps next to me. Inches separate us. His rich scent tempts me closer. He smells like a man should, a mix of strength and vitality. Like the forest on a warm, lazy afternoon. My eyelids drift lower. I lean toward him.

“Did you get my thank-you?”

I move my hand to the side pocket where I stashed the money. My knuckles brush against Rick’s thigh. My lower belly quivers. I breathe slowly, trying to tamp down my arousal. Standing as close as he is, Rick will be able to smell my excitement.

More warmth settles low. I step away from him. The distance doesn’t help. I feel him…his hunger, his need. I’ve managed to arouse him too. “Yes, I got the tip you left for me, but you shouldn’t have. That’s a lot of money.”

Rick steps closer, destroying the small space I’d put between our bodies. “It’s just money. I would’ve wasted it on booze anyway.”

With his choice of drink and the amount he could obviously consume, I don’t doubt that. “Why did you leave it? Our bartender told me you sent the bottle back basically untouched.”

“Didn’t he tell you?”

His voice wraps around me, touching me in a way I’ve never experienced. I want to press my body to his so I can feel the vibrations of his chest as he speaks. I lick my lips. “Yes.”

Rick bends closer. His breath teases my skin. The scent of cinnamon and his personal fragrance seeps into me. “Why did I leave it for you, then?”

“To thank me for saving you.” I tip my head back to look into his face. Lust gives his eyes a drowsy quality as if he was thinking about stroking me slowly from the inside out, stimulating me until I come apart, trembling and shaking, in his arms. “But I didn’t save you. All I did was serve you bourbon you ended up not drinking.”

“You walked into my life when I was at the lowest point I’ve been in years.” Rick settles a hand on my hip. “And pulled me back from the brink.”

My skin burns as if his touch branded me. I don’t understand my reaction to him. “I…I…”

Rick rubs the thumb of his free hand over my lower lip, tugging slightly on the center, before dropping his hand. “You saved me from myself, from the lying voices in my head. I’ll never forget that.”

I swipe my tongue over the path his thumb took. I swear I can taste him. I press my palm to his stomach, unsure if I want to push him away or pull him closer.

“Rick…” I curl my fingers around his shirt, fisting the material.

Rick’s open mouth heats a path along my cheek to my ear. “I smell a male on you. Is he important?”

Ilan. He scent marked my cheek not long ago.

“No…yes.” The words rush out. “He’s a friend. Only.”

“Friends are important. They protect us. Watch our backs.”

I smile. That’s exactly what Ilan does. “Yes, they do. I have some wonderful friends. I’m lucky.”

Rick slides his hand to my lower back. “What’s your name?”

The question he’d asked me yesterday jerks me back from this sexual spell he’s cast over me. This man is dangerous. I have no business drinking in his scent. I’m worthless. A vessel. Nothing more.

“I need to go.” I step around him and hurry toward the safety of the bar. The lights from the dance floor blind me. I shake my head. My legs wobble under me. Dizziness grips me. I press my lips together.

I need fresh air.

Scanning the room, I flag Ilan down. I mouth the word break, then make my way outside.

The moment I escape through the employee exit, I drag in deep lungfuls of the cool December air. It doesn’t help. My body feels too hot. I close the door behind me and move to the corner of the building, closest to the woods, where I’ll get a breeze.

Leaning against the wall, I close my eyes. The wind tosses my hair across my face. I don’t bother pushing the strands back. Each inhale cools my body, easing the arousal that blindsided me.

After a moment, the delicious scent of the man who left me in this crazed state drifts to me. I open my eyes. Rick’s standing a few feet from me.

“Are you okay?”

I nod. I can’t speak. With the light of the moon behind him, he’s even more impressive, as if the goddesses carved him out of marble and breathed life into him.

Rick approaches slowly, giving me plenty of time to run or scream for help. I don’t. I drink in his masculine beauty for the fantasies I’ll indulge in later tonight.

A foot away, he stops. “I didn’t mean to send you running.”

The sincerity in his statement blends with the concern etched into his features. I map his face with my gaze, looking for some sign he means me harm. I don’t find any. He reminds me of a guy who’d lay down his life for another person. Doesn’t mean he’s an angel. At least not a pure one. More like the wicked kind.

Staring into the eyes I wouldn’t mind looking into while he’s deep inside me, I say the only thing I can to end this moment. As wonderful as it is to drink in Rick’s beauty and bask in his goodness, I don’t have the right. “Just because you left me a good tip doesn’t give you the right to touch me.”

Rick’s mouth curves into a small smile. “If it wasn’t horribly rude, I’d ask for it back.”

My spine goes ramrod straight. Damn him. I guess my instinct was wrong. Why should I be surprised? I did once think Todd was sweet to offer to walk with me across town so I could meet up with a friend. Look where that led me.

I pull the cash from my pocket and hold the bills out to Rick. “Take it. My kisses are not for sale.”

Rick curls his long fingers around mine. He takes a small step closer to me, then another one until he’s standing in front of me, a hairbreadth from my chest. He pries my fingers apart, retrieving the money, then slips it into my pocket. “Neither are mine.”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t get the chance to come up with anything. Rick lifts my chin with a single finger and bends down. His lips brush mine. Our breaths mix. He inhales audibly, taking my air into himself, a shifter custom only the closest lovers share.

Shocked by his boldness, I draw in a deep breath too. Energy skips along my spine, racing in a line of fire to settle deep in the bite on my shoulder. It aches in a way it never has before, as if I’ll die if I don’t feel Rick’s lips on the scar. I don’t understand the reaction. Don’t understand any of this.

My heart races as my anxiety spikes. A thump settles in the raised scar, echoing my quicker heartbeat. It’s never done that. Not even with Todd.

I fist Rick’s shirt, holding him tight. “Rick?”

“I feel it.” Rick slides a hand to cradle the back of my head. “I feel you.”

Before I can ask what he means, he kisses me, gently urging me into a slow exploration of passion. His flavor hits me. Spicy cinnamon. Pure fire. All man.

A low moan escapes his throat. Hearing the sound weakens me. Excites me. Unleashes me. I tip my head back slightly, welcoming his possession. Rick takes what I offer, kissing me more completely than I’ve ever experienced.

I arch into him. He slides a hand up my spine, supporting me, and kisses me harder. Our teeth bang. The bite on my shoulder aches more. It shouldn’t be possible. I don’t want to think about why. Maybe I’m just imagining it. Whatever. I don’t care. I want to feel. Nothing more.

“Everything okay out here?”

Ilan’s booming voice tears a gasp from me. I look into Rick’s face. He’s smiling at me, looking both pleased and amused. If he knew he’d been kissing another man’s breeding partner, he wouldn’t feel the same. He’d probably think something horrible about me. That I’m a dirty whore or a cock tease or something worse.

I slip under Rick’s arm and rub my upper arm against my lips, trying the get his flavor out of my mouth. It’s no good. I can still taste him on my tongue, scent him with every breath I take, feel him as if he’d touched my soul.

“Yes, yes, everything’s fine.” I don’t sound fine. I sound as if Rick shattered me with his kiss.

Ilan snags my wrist in a gentle grasp. I don’t look at him. I’m afraid what’ll show in my eyes. “Do you need me to carry out my promise to you?”

“No! Everything’s good.” I shake off Ilan’s hold. “I’m good. Rick’s good. We’re all good.” I hurry to the employee entrance.

Before I open the door, I glance over my shoulder. Rick has one hand braced against the wall where he’d kissed me. He peeks under his arm at me. His gaze snags mine. Neither anger nor annoyance shows on his face. He looks like a primitive male who’s set his sights on what he wants.

Me.

Oh boy. I really screwed up. I open my mouth, but I don’t know what to say to make this better. I should never have kissed Rick Lyall. Too late. I did. And I think it just might’ve been my worst mess-up yet. ’Cause I want to do it again.