Forty-eight hours later Penelope turned her car towards the bridge that would take her across to Devils Point. Despite everyone’s best effort to control her actions, she’d managed to evade them all by leaving the hospital without anyone knowing.

Apparently, all those years of sneaking out of her father’s house undetected had paid off in more ways than one. Not that she wasn’t entirely sure whether or not Sawyer had tracked her the entire time.

He was a wolf after all. With superior senses that probably made it ridiculously easy for him to keep up with her machinations. Either way, if he had followed her, he’d respected her enough to allow her at least the illusion of freedom.

There had still been moments when the hairs on the back of her neck had stood on end and an almost painful urge to do something…

Dammit. She still wasn’t entirely sure of what she wanted to do, but she’d allowed her instincts to motivate her and they’d driven her back here.

So wrapped up in her own head, Penelope almost didn’t see the man standing in her path until it was too late.

She slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching, rubber burning halt only a few inches away from him. Fuming mad, she grabbed the door handle and jerked the door open and climbed out.

“What the hell, Sawyer? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” She rounded the front of her car and stalked toward him. “You about gave me a heart attack with that stunt.” She swung forward and shoved her hands against his chest. However, when her hands connected with a wall of rock hard muscle and he didn’t budge, she knew she’d made a mistake touching him.

Every feminine instinct inside her fired to life from that inexplicable spark between them that had been driving her mad since the moment they met.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, his voice dark and thick as he spoke.

She blinked up at him, absorbing the rakish scowl stamped across his face. Damn that was sexy. Of course, everything about him screamed the same thing. Sex.

Her hands still touched his chest and the muscles underneath fascinated her. She wanted to explore them more. Right now.

How exactly had she gotten here? Less than a week ago she’d sat across from him in the diner, barely amused by his outrageous flirting. Oh yeah, he’d bitten her. She’d woken up in a hospital with a nearly healed gunshot wound and the ability to hear, smell and see things on a level she still couldn’t fathom.

Then there was the constant rage of desire simmering under her skin. She’d slipped out of that hospital to try and get a handle on herself and her life.

“You’ve been following me,” she said.

His right eyebrow cocked up.

“I told you I needed some time to adjust. To figure things out.”

“And I gave it to you. However, I never said anything about leaving you alone. Under the circumstances that would have been irresponsible and possibly cruel.”

“Because of the bite?”

He nodded, brushing her long dark hair behind her ear and gently touching the tips of his fingers to the marked skin of her neck.

“I don’t feel that different.” Not exactly a lie and not exactly the truth.

“I wasn’t trying to turn you, only wanted to help you live.”

“What’s the difference?” Her words felt forced and thick when all she could focus on was his touch and the shiver sweeping up her spine.

“If you wanted to be turned, I would be inside you,” his voice lowered to a harsh whisper, “making you scream with pleasure when I bit you.”

She swallowed hard, trying to force the sudden lump in her throat away. The low hum of desire erupted into an inferno that made her gasp.

He touched her bottom lip, his finger leaving a burning trail in its wake. “I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life.”

“Because of the mating instincts? That’s what this is, right? Some sort of primal need driven by nature. You need to mate and now that I’m bitten I do too.” Not that it mattered. She’d already made up her mind what she wanted before she’d gotten in her car tonight.

“It is mating season now. So yeah, our wolf instincts are telling us its time to get busy. But we’re human too. We can exercise restraint. And there’s the matter of free will. I’ve been through many mating seasons without feeling this intense drive.”

“Because you think I’m your mate.”

He gripped both sides of her face, tilted her head back and lowered his face to hers. “Because you appeal to both the wolf inside of me and the man standing in front of you. The instincts may have pushed me in the beginning, but getting to know you, that sealed the deal.”

His mouth closed over hers and all thoughts fled her mind as the heat of his kiss consumed her. She moaned when his tongue pushed its way past her lips and tangled with hers. Oh God. She’d been thinking and dreaming about this since that first night he kissed her.

He twisted his fingers in her hair and tugged her head back even farther, opening her up to him in a way that made her feel wholly desired.

So lost in that kiss and the hope for it to never end, she nearly cried out when he broke free from her on a groan. It was then she became aware of more than his mouth. Like the hard nipples she’d begun caressing through his thin T-shirt without even realizing it.

“You are killing me,” he gasped again as she swept her thumbs across those distended tips once again.

“I don’t want to kill you,” she said. “I want to make love to you.”

His growled response vibrated through her hands, making her shake. But it was the swift press of his hips against hers that took her breath away. The proof that he wanted her as much as she wanted him was undeniable.

He attacked her neck with his mouth, walking her backwards until her knees hit the bumper of her car. By the time his hands slipped under the edge of her shirt to collide with the bare skin of her stomach, she was shaking uncontrollably.

Her skin had been on fire for days, but one touch and the sensation of thousands of tiny fingers swept through her mind. Then there was the hammer of his heartbeat in rhythm with hers flooding her ears…

She had to get her hands on him right now.

Penelope reached for the waistband of his jeans and got them undone and her hand inside in a matter of seconds. When her fingers collided immediately with hard flesh she nearly dropped to her knees with giddy pleasure. Heck yeah. He went commando!

When his growl turned to a sharp hiss through obviously clenched teeth, her stomach did three somersaults and a possible back flip. It was hard to tell because the hot, hard steel in her hand was making her brain melt.

“You are a dangerous woman, Penelope Bishop,” he whispered, his voice obviously straining.

“Am I?” she smiled, her fingers squeezing a little tighter around him.

She swore his eyes flashed gold a moment before he pounced. With her hand still working his flesh, he slid both of his hands underneath the edge of her bra to cup and thumb her breasts.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she nearly lost her hold when her knees weakened under the onslaught. Fortunately, Sawyer shifted slightly until one of his legs pushed between her thighs, nudging them apart.

She wound one arm around his neck and held him close. Moans were falling from her lips one after the other until the shocking pleasure from his clever fingers took complete control.

When he suddenly stopped and pulled away from her, Penelope whimpered with disappointment.

She forced her eyes open to find Sawyer staring down at her with unmistakable need shining in his eyes. What the hell?

“Don’t stop,” she whispered.

“Have to,” he answered. “As much as I’d happily take you right here on the hood of your car, this is not how I wanted our first time to go.”

First time. His words echoed in her mind. Did that mean there would be a second? Oh God, she was definitely going to implode.

She squeezed her hand where she still had a grip on him. “I don’t care. I don’t want you to stop.”

“Trust me. I don’t want to stop either. But I need it all. You naked and open for me so I can taste you everywhere. For that we need a bed and a little privacy.”

Her stomach jerked at the image those words put in her head. How could she say no to that?

He didn’t wait for her to say anything more before he pulled away from her and refastened his pants. “My cabin isn’t far. We can go there and if you still want to go through with this—”

“I want you,” she interrupted, a little taken aback by the vehemence in her own tone. There was a lot more she wanted to say, but the right words eluded her.

While she’d been on the job she’d tried to force back any personal feelings that he’d triggered, but she was done with denial.

He cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. “I was serious about the free will thing. It’s not too late to walk away. I might not be able to offer that again once I’ve been inside you. The wolf can be pretty persuasive.”

Her heart melted a little bit more with every word he spoke. She had that gut feeling he’d risk everything, including his sanity to give her this choice. That alone made her decision solidify even further.

“I’m not walking away,” she said. “My mind was made up before I even got in my car to come here. There is nothing short of you not wanting this anymore that can get me to change my decision. Now, for the love of God, how far is this cabin and why is it taking so long to get there?”