Wyatt crept out of bed at dawn and kissed Candice’s head before he stole away. He never should have taken her last night. He’d barely been able to keep himself from claiming her as his mate. It wasn’t the right time. He needed to wait, to control himself.

If anyone at the sheriff’s department knew he’d been romantically involved with a witness, he’d be reprimanded. Taking her shopping yesterday was bad enough. He knew there would be talk around town because of it.

He’d been prepared to deal with that, but now he’d gone against his own principles and slept with her. It wasn’t just the department that would be disappointed in him, he was disappointed in himself.

He showered and dressed quickly in his uniform. Tourists always brought fishing gear to the mountains and caught trout and bass without licenses. He had to explain to these city people that they had to register with the state before they were allowed to take fish out of public water.

It was also the start of antelope season, and even local hunters made mistakes or just didn’t care. It would be a busy week for him with just his normal work as a game warden, but add to that the fact that the Sheriff wanted him on the homicide case, he didn’t have time to get diverted.

His inner bear growled at him, bashing about inside his brain that he was being stupid. All that mattered was Candice, his mate, their cubs, and the home they would share. He could almost sense the feeling of peace and contentment he’d share with her when he was finally able to make her his.

He put his feelings aside and told himself he’d make it up to them both when the air was clear and he could pursue her in the way she deserved. Right now, however, he had to tell her he was sorry about the night before, and that it couldn’t happen again until after the investigation was over.

As the only warden in his district, he had a lot of land to cover in a week. Having Candice at his house was not only unethical, it wasn’t necessarily the safest place for her to stay with him gone. Especially now that the town folk knew they’d been shopping together.

He’d try to convince her to get a place in town. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Candice alone here while he was doing his rounds for an entire shift for the next week. She needed to be somewhere closer to the public, where no one could get to her.

When she came downstairs dressed in simple hiking shorts, boots, and a tank top, his heart melted. She’d been smoking hot the night before. Like any man, he liked the look of a woman in a dress, but her normal, simple looks did it for him just as much.

He poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her over the counter. As he looked at her, the last thing he wanted to do was let her go somewhere else. His bear roared that he needed to keep her under his protection. Wyatt agreed, but his bear didn’t understand the dangers. All his bear wanted was his mate.

“This coffee is good,” she moaned as she sat at the kitchen counter. He put a stack of pancakes on a plate and handed them to her with a jar of locally made huckleberry syrup.

“You’re an angel,” she said, taking a bite. “You cook like one, too.”

“Candice. I want to apologize about last night. It was inappropriate for me to sleep with you. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did.”

“What are you saying?” she said, her voice becoming harsh.

He gulped. This wasn’t going to be easy. He cursed himself for losing control. It would have been so much easier if he’d just kept his distance like he should have.

“Candice, I like you a lot. It’s just unethical for me to be involved with you romantically right now. It could interfere with your testimony in the case.”

“You already have my statement.”

“That’s true, but the case isn’t closed. I should never have taken advantage of you like that.”

“You didn’t take advantage of anything,” she said, shoving a piece of pancake in her mouth. No matter how uncomfortable he was, telling her these things, he still loved the sight of her eating his cooking.

“If you’re still in town after the case closes, we’ll see what happens then.”

“I see,” she said, her eyes starting to glisten with tears.

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like a fool. What was he supposed to do? It had been his fault. Sleeping with Candice, even having her here, was totally wrong. He couldn’t tell her she had to move out, too. Not after hurting her like he already had.

“I’m going to be away for most of the day on patrol. I cover several hundred miles of territory. There’s only one of me and a lot of hunters and fisherman out there to patrol. You’re perfectly welcome to stay, but I worry about you up here alone all day.”

“I’ll be fine by myself,” she said, sopping up syrup with the last piece of pancake.

“I won’t be back until late afternoon.”

“Can you take me out to the lake tonight?” she asked, carrying her plate to the sink, where she rinsed it.

“I suppose. If you want to.”

“Great! You did promise to take me.”

“I did. And I will. Please stay inside or on the porch while I’m gone. Those men who attacked you are still out there. After we went shopping in town yesterday, it’s likely they know that you’re here. I’ll leave the walkie-talkie on the counter again. Contact me if you need anything.”

“Okay,” she said, walking over to him. She came into his space, rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before he realized what was happening.

His bear moaned in pleasure, but Wyatt felt his face flame red. He had to put a stop to the sexual relations. He just wished he knew how.