Garrett hoped he hadn’t overstepped his place in holding Dawn at the dollhouse museum, but he was glad she seemed to be in better spirits as they headed to the theater he’d picked out for them earlier in the day.

Maybe on a normal date, it would be weird to hold someone like that, but this wasn’t a normal date at all. Anything he did, he was doing for his mate. Anything he could know about her was just a head start on the rest of their life.

Any comfort he could give her was just comfort he was also giving his own heart.

After only a few days, he already loved her.

Loved the way she chatted with his friends, loved the way she fretted over lunch, the way she looked at him like he was the tallest man in the world, the way she worried about not working at the moment.

Her pretty hair that was always trying to escape its braid, the way she’d cooed over the tiny things in the dollhouses.

He opened the door to the theater for her and showed the man in the lobby their tickets so they could be told where to go.

They were showing an old black-and-white romantic film and serving dinner as well in the large, oversized chairs.

They took their seats, surrounded by crushed red velvet, and waited for their food to come as ads played on the screen in front of them.

The theater was, unsurprisingly, mostly empty, with a few couples here and there.

He noticed they had drinks as well and took the liberty of ordering a beer for both of them to go with the burgers they’d be having for dinner.

Already he was nervous about how the rest of the night was going to go.

She smiled at him when the meals came and dug into her fries, looking up at him in surprise when the beer came, served in a collectable stein. “Wow, they can do that here?”

“It’s over twenty-one only right now,” he said. “There are a couple theaters like this around.”

“Interesting,” she said. “It’s almost like being able to just watch in your own living room, but with a much bigger screen.”

“You’ll be able to watch stuff in your living room soon at the rate we’re going.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he realized she was probably thinking about him leaving when they were done.

How could he tell her he didn’t want to?

“I mean, not that soon,” he said. “But we’re trying to get it done.”

She smiled. “I appreciate that. It’ll be nice to have my own place, not surrounded by a bunch of apartments.” She popped another fry in her mouth and washed it down with a swig of her beer. “Yum.”

He bit his lip. “Just don’t overdo it.”

She grinned. “Just the one. You aren’t getting out of it that easy.”

“Getting out of what?”

“What you promised me.”

He frowned in confusion. “And what was that?”

She bit another fry casually, but a blush was warming her cheeks with a pretty shade of pink. “You said things would go different if I wasn’t very drunk.”

He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry again. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Yup.”

He didn’t know whether to be pleased or nervous that she was so forward, but inside him, the bear roared with triumph, knowing that, barring some sort of catastrophe, he was going to get to make some progress with his mate.

Just then, the lights lowered, and she sent him a secretive smirk as the movie started, continuing to eat her fries.

He focused on his meal as the trailers began rolling, knowing he would probably need strength for whatever was coming next.

A few minutes later, when she finished her meal, she surprised him by tucking herself under his arm, pulling it around her like a blanket as she leaned into his side.

Oh hell, nothing could feel better. She was so soft, and he ached to let his hand trail down to hug her waist, feel her soft hips, even if her shoulders felt nice as well.

His burger went unnoticed as he simply enjoyed the feel of his mate, the way she gasped and smiled at the movie, how involved she seemed to be, how imaginative.

He could picture them doing this in the evenings sometimes, cuddled together on an oversized couch.

Maybe some kids on the floor in front of them.

He jerked slightly, sitting up and trying to remove himself from the daydream. They were on their first date, for Pete’s sake. He really needed to tighten up.

She looked up at him curiously, but he gave her a reassuring smile as she settled back in.

His body was almost painfully aware of her, and now the bear inside him kept whispering of forests and mates and forever.

The man in him longed to take her in his arms, somewhere quiet and private, and make her his, give her everything she wanted and show her everything he felt.

But he’d take an end-of-date kiss for now. Maybe a little more, if she wanted it.

The movie ended almost too quickly, and he felt his heart hammering harder than his nail gun as they stood, her quickly sipping the last of her beer, him scarfing down the last of his burger.

They left the theater with the other couples and walked out into the dark night lit only by dim streetlights.

Garrett looked down at Dawn as they began the walk back to her hotel room. “Did you like the movie?”

“I did.” She nodded brightly. “The company wasn’t bad either.”

“Oh, good,” he said faintly, trying to ignore the rushing in his body as they got closer to her hotel.

Down, boy.

When they were in front of her hotel, she stopped and turned to face him. “So what now?”

There was a teasing gleam in her gray eyes, which were sparkling silver in the light of the moon. Such ethereal, pretty eyes. With such a striking mate, he was surprised she’d never appeared in his dreams before.

Did that even happen with mates? His parents had been too busy with their own relationship to ever mention it to him.

And now it didn’t matter because all the family he needed was standing in front of him, looking like she expected a kiss and so much more.

He reached around her waist, pulling her in against him, loving the way their hips met, her softness encasing his hard muscle.

“I’m really glad I took this job,” he said. “Since it allowed me to meet you.”

“I’m glad you did, too.” She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and ran her small, pink tongue nervously over her bottom lip, instantly inciting the animal inside him.

“And I… I want to keep doing this. Getting to know you. I’m not… treating this casually. I really like you, Dawn.”

She nodded, her lips pressed together.

“I know it’s only been a few days, but you mean a lot to me and—”

She leaned up on her tiptoes and used both hands to grab him by the collar, yanking him forward and claiming his mouth with her lips.

She kissed him deeply, hungrily, letting his tongue melt with hers, stirring him down to his very core.

“I get it, Garrett. Now kiss me.” Her hands were still on his shirt, grabbing him and pulling him forward as she took steps toward her door.

He was trying to stay lucid, trying to think about this logically, but as she smothered him with kisses, awakening the animal inside him, pulling him relentlessly toward her room, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

As she fumbled with her keys, letting him go with one hand so she could get the door open, he gave in, giving back as good as he got, kissing her with everything in him.

They stumbled into the room together, and he kicked the door shut behind him.

Whatever his mate wanted, she was going to get.

* * *

Dawn didn’t know what had gotten into her. It wasn’t like her to feel so impulsive, so caught up in physical and mental attraction that she felt she couldn’t hold on another moment.

So many images of Garrett, walking around the work site carrying heavy things, telling her about plans, or just plain being awesome to her, had built up in her head to an unbearable attraction to him that couldn’t wait any longer.

She pulled at his buttons, clumsily trying to get them out of their holes so she could pull his shirt off as he kissed her neck and shoulders ravenously.

Finally, he was joining her. Finally, he was confirming that he was just as ravenous as she was, wanting her as much as she wanted him, no matter how amazing that was.

Finally, she had his shirt buttons undone and struggled to pull it off over his heavy shoulders and arms as he tried to help her.

Finally, his shirt was gone, fluttering to the floor, leaving him bare from the waist up so she could stare all the way from his mouthwatering pecs down hard abs to trim hips with a small trail of dark hair down the center of them, leading tantalizingly into his jeans.

Oh dear, would he be as big down there as he was everywhere else? If so, would he kill her? Maybe, a part of her thought, it would be worth it.

She felt him pull her stretchy dress down over her shoulders, pinning her arms at her sides as he brought it down to her waist, baring her in her bra.

She kind of liked the trapped feeling of it as he lifted her by the waist and deposited her on the nearby couch, letting her squirm as he looked over her, heat in his amber-brown eyes.

“Dammit, why do you have to be so beautiful?” His voice was raspy. “I just want to lock you up where no one can ever look at you again.”

She gaped at him, as his words were possessive yet taboo at the same time.

“I mean, I wouldn’t,” he said, pulling her dress the rest of the way down, baring her in her bra and panties. “But I’d want to, if you were mine.”

She smiled. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

His grin was harsh, completely unlike his usual, mild smile. A predator over his prey. And she totally liked the feel of it. His hand splayed over her soft stomach, and she winced, trying not to be self-conscious over what she had always felt was a problem area on her body.

Always a little too plump.

He bit his lip as he pressed his hand into her, then moved to her hip, squeezing there. His hand trailed down the outside of her thigh and then played up the inside. “So soft, everywhere.”

“Well, yeah, I’m a girl,” she mumbled, trying not to blush. But every single touch felt so good. She could see attraction flaring in his eyes as he touched her, studied her, no sense of judgement or disappointment.

It made her glad she had taken the chance of letting him in.

He looked at her for approval as he reached for the back of her bra, and she nodded nervously. The sooner she got over her self-consciousness, the sooner this beautiful man could do things to her body she’d only dreamed of previously.

And she could sense that he would, too. That he was holding back hot promises yet to be fulfilled.

She’d never been more aware of herself as a woman, ready to be taken by a man. So what was this magical hold he had over her? She didn’t think it could be this way with just any hot man.

But then she thought of him rescuing her at the bar, holding her at the museum. Was it possible, even this soon, that she was getting feelings?

She put her hand to her mouth in shock, only able to think about it for a second because just then, Garrett decided to push her bra aside and take her nipple in his mouth.

She moaned, arching back at the wet, rough heat of his tongue as it flicked against her. It was too much, yet not even close to enough. “Oh, Garrett. More.”

He kissed her other breast, pulling back when it was wet and tortured, and pressed both her nipples into his palms. After being licked and kissed, she was extra sensitive, and the callused feel of his big hands was almost too much.

He pushed them upward, squeezing and gathering them as she squirmed in his hold, feeling utterly owned by him and, for some reason, loving it.

She hadn’t really taken time to explore herself as a sexual creature, save for a few risqué movies and the beach books she liked to read. But she’d never thought she would be one of those women writhing in the throes of pleasure. She’d always thought those kinds of things were exaggerated.

But now, practical graphic designer though she was, she was utterly enveloped in lust and heat.

His hands released her breasts, allowing her to draw breath, and trailed down her waist, one of them teasing her belly button. That made her jerk, and he used one hand to steady her as the other curved down over her hip, heading for the waistband of her silky black panties.

He raised an eyebrow, and she rubbed her thighs together, nodding eagerly. He apparently wasn’t one for talking at times like this, but she didn’t mind. It just made the rest of the sensations more intense. The sound of his breathing when it picked up, the feel of his finger, the rough pad of it dipping beneath her panties to stroke over soft, velvet heat.

He played with her for a moment, dipping between folds and curving up over her clit, making her shudder as a shot of ecstasy went through her, just a teasing little preview of things to come.

Then he hooked his finger in her panties and drew them down over her legs, leaving her totally naked. He kissed his way all the way up her legs, leaving tingling little trails of pleasure, and when he got to the curls at the apex of her legs, despite her little cry of surprise, he buried his mouth there.

One hand held her leg, keeping her spread in front of him, and the other planted on her stomach, keeping her pinned so she couldn’t writhe away.

Not that she would ever want to intentionally. It was just that the pleasure from his tongue and lips on her most sensitive parts was so much she couldn’t contain herself, and her body seemed to thrash all on its own.

So she was grateful for his steadying hand. For the strength he displayed as his mouth slowly worked her to a state of delirious ecstasy too strong for her to stand.

Just as she was hovering, floating in a state of complete anticipation of what was to come, his mouth came down hard, sucking directly over her clit where before he’d just been teasing.

She came with the feel of a sudden downpour, refreshing and overwhelming and strong, her muscles contracting as pleasure washed over her like summer rain.

“Oh God, Garrett, it’s unlike anything,” she gasped out, sitting forward and grasping his shoulders, digging her nails in as he came over her and allowed her to be close.

He was so big, so muscular, and when he held her like this, keeping his head to her shoulder as she cried out her pleasure, she had never felt more cared for or safe.

It was an odd thing when she could have felt vulnerable or used with anyone else. No one had ever done that particular act on her, yet with Garrett, it had felt so right. She’d known instinctively she could trust him with it.

Her thighs still ached with sticky heat, her body still hot from wherever he touched. She reached up and brushed his hair back, trying to catch her breath even as her body begged for so much more.

She pulled him into a kiss and was shocked when she could taste herself on his lips. It was delightfully wicked, and even though she usually would have found it startling, with Garrett, it was simply… hot.

“More,” she said, thrusting her hips up against him. “And take off your pants. I need to see all of you.” She ran her hands down his fly, once again surprised by her own boldness.

Perhaps it was just her awareness that life was fleeting that was making her determined to live.

Or maybe it simply was Garrett, how kind and attractive he was.

But she wasn’t going to stop until she’d gotten every drop of him, wrung every last bit of pleasure out of his bones.

“Take me,” she gasped into his ear. When he let out one of those pleased little growls she was getting used to, she knew she would get her wish.