Brody stood from the desk with an angry expression on his face. Millie twisted her head to look up at him, worried at his reaction.

She rose from her chair and approached him as he went to the door. Grasping the knob, he stopped, his face a mask of unreadable emotions.

“Millie,” he said, his eyes heavily hooded. “I’m sorry we met like this.”

She reached for him. “Why?”

“There’s something you should know,” he said. Her curiosity widened her eyes.

“What?”

“I can’t tell you now. I just can’t.”

He took her outstretched hand and brought it to his lips, brushing them over her knuckles. A tingle surged down her spine and coiled in her belly. She gasped as he turned her palm over and kissed the pulse point on her wrist.

All at once, he had her in his arms. “Millie,” he whispered in her ear. She wrapped her arms around his slim waist, feeling him harden against her.

“Brody,” she murmured. Millie had had her share of boyfriends in her life, but casual sex wasn’t really her thing. In that moment, she didn’t care.

He crushed his lips against hers, growling deep in his throat. His tongue darted wetly into her willing mouth and he lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He walked across the room and set her on the bed.

Panting, she watched him as he stood over her, pulling his shirt off. His taut muscular abs and trail of hair that ran from his bellybutton to his waistband begged to be traced with her fingers.

She bit her lip, quivering as he pulled her shirt off over her head. He climbed on the bed over her, his belt halfway open.

“You ready for this, Millie?” he asked.

She nodded, not sure what was happening, but she wanted it. She’d wanted it from the first moment she’d laid eyes on the big blond game warden.

She nodded her head. “Yes,” she said, reaching for his belt. She unfastened the buckle and pulled the leather strap free.

He growled again and kissed down her neck, squeezing her breast in his big hand. Millie’s body responded with a surge of moisture, wet and ready for him to take her in a million different ways.

Brody grabbed her pants and pulled them down, hard, yanking off her shoes and panties all at the same time. She was naked from the waist down and he tore her bra open, revealing her breasts.

She quivered, naked, exposed, with a man she barely knew. His chest glistened with a light sheen of sweat. His eyes gleamed with desire as he licked down her belly, circling her navel.

He growled as he sucked a deep breath through his mouth, taking in the scent of her sex. “Millie. You smell so good. I need to taste you.”

He opened his mouth wide and enveloped her pussy, taking her in completely. His tongue darted over her clit and sank into her channel. Millie groaned, arching her back. She ran her fingers through his shaggy blond hair, her legs shaking with excitement.

Brody sucked and licked at her wetness, soaking her, teasing her. Her mind sang with pleasure and she grasped her own breasts, drowning in a sea of intensity.

He held her legs wide, taking her wider. She could feel herself so close to coming. The blinding light of her orgasm flashed before her eyes, dazing her as her body contracted with a pulse of pleasure.

Brody rose over her, his lips glistening with her moisture. The light in his eyes glinted with desire. He stood, opening his pants. “Do you have a condom?” he asked, slowly pulling himself free of his clothes.

Millie’s eyes widened at the sight of his manhood. She bit her lip and nodded. “In my purse.” She pointed across the room. He pulled himself free of his pants and shoes as he crossed the room, picked up her purse, and set it beside her on the bed.

She dug through it. Damn. She knew she had one in there somewhere. Whimpering as he stood over her, she finally found one.

“Here it is,” she said, holding it up triumphantly.

He took it, swiftly opening it and unraveling it over his length. He grasped her hip and sank over her. She looked him in the eyes as the head of his cock pressed against her wet opening.

Millie grabbed his hips and pulled him closer to him, pushing him inside her. With a dangerous thrust, he sank deep into her core. Her mouth dropped open and a strangled cry stopped in her mouth. “Oh God!” she managed.

He growled in her neck as he pulled back and thrust again. His body pressed her into the bed and all she could do was hold on for the ride.

“Millie, baby,” he growled as he kissed her neck and mouth. She could taste her body on his lips. The tang of it heightened her desire.

He pumped into her, taking her like a wild animal in a thrall. Millie’s body broke free and reeled with pleasure, coming repeatedly.

Brody gripped her neck with his teeth, not breaking the surface, but holding her still as he claimed her. Her nails scratched down his back as he grew wide and rigid inside her.

All at once, he exploded, groaning and quivering. “Fuck, baby, yes,” he said, spilling the last of his seed. “God you feel good.”

He rolled off and threw the condom in the wastebasket by the bed, then pulled her into an embrace. She giggled, running her finger down that sexy trail of hair on his navel. “That was unexpected,” she said.

“Yeah. I hope you’re okay.”

“I’m fine. I’m great.” She giggled again, and he pulled her tighter into his embrace.

“I didn’t want to do this yet. But I couldn’t stop it.” He kissed her lusciously on the mouth.

“Do you regret it?” she asked after he let her go. She was already starting to feel attached to him before the sex, but now… now she felt something even bigger.

“I wanted to wait until after the investigation was over. I’m not in a good place to start anything right now.”

“What are you saying?” she felt like she was about to be dumped into one-night-stand zone. A cold wash of icy water seemed to splash over her entire body.

“Millie, sweetheart.” He sighed. “You’re my mate.”

Ready for the shock of being blown off, that was the last thing she’d expected him to say.

“I’m your what?”

“Shifters know their mates on sight, or smell. You happen to be mine. My bear knows it. I know it.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she said, looking away. She didn’t want him to blow her off but she didn’t know if she was ready for that kind of commitment.

“You don’t have to say anything. I didn’t want to drop all this on you right now.”

He looked crestfallen as he grabbed his pants and started to pull them on. “Brody. It’s just a lot to take in. What does it mean that I’m your mate?”

“It means you are the love of my life. You are the only one for me. I don’t expect you to feel the same for me. I couldn’t possibly expect that from you. You’re a human. You don’t have the same instincts as shifters.”

“Well. I wouldn’t go that far. I don’t usually have sex with men I barely know. In fact, I’ve never done this before.” She got up from the bed and wrapped herself in her bathrobe.

He crossed the room, his shirt still unbuttoned. He took her in his arms and kissed her forehead. “Why don’t we spend some time dating? How does that sound?”

“It sounds… great. I’d like that.”

“It will give us some time to get to know each other before we… make any decisions about the future.”

“Okay.” She smiled up at him as he let her go.

“I have to get going now, Millie. There’s so much to do on this investigation, and I have to get back to my place to feed the bees.”

“The bees?”

“Yes. I’m a beekeeper.”

“Really. I didn’t know that.”

“How about I pick you up tomorrow and show you the hives.”

“It’s a date,” she said, smiling as he went to the door.