If Kate were a lesser woman, she would have quit the contract and not shown up for work. But she wasn’t. And she wasn’t a coward. If Petros even came near her, she had a few choice words for him.

But, much to her surprise, Petros kept his distance. She spied him in his office, working hard, his usual stony stare directed at his computer screen or to whomever was in front of him at the moment. He didn’t glance her way when she walked by. To be absolutely sure, she even made several trips across the office.

Nope, he didn’t look up or even break his concentration. Not even when she made sure to walk real slow. Just in case he didn’t realize she was around.

Good. This was for the best. They should just ignore each other and pretend nothing happened. Like, nothing ever happened between them. Not that first kiss. Or the second one.

Ugh.

She shoved her headphones over her ears and turned to her computer. But even as she tried to work, a small itch formed deep inside her. She ignored it, but it began to grow until she just couldn’t get it out of her head.

Did she go too far yesterday? Okay, maybe tossing the bear to the ground, then at him, was a little dramatic. But the memories of Tommy made her do that.

Petros didn’t know.

Of course he didn’t know. That was a million years ago. She got out of that situation if a little scarred. And Tommy, that emotionally abusive asshole, had to leave town after she got her revenge.

She popped her head over the cubicle again. Petros wasn’t in his office. Where did he go? Her mind immediately went to that skank, Agatha. Was she around here? The bitch sent dagger eyes at her whenever they ran into each other. It was obvious she wanted Petros for herself. Well, she could have him for all she cared.

“Kate?”

She nearly jumped out of her skin. Petros was standing right behind her. Speak of the devil. “What?” she snapped.

“Christina would like to see us in the conference room,” he said, his voice all business-like.

“Give me one minute. I need to save my work and close out of the system.”

He gave her a curt nod and left without saying anything else. She stared after him, dumbfounded for a moment. Well, a voice inside her said. This is what you wanted, right?

Right.

She saved her program and picked up her laptop, placing it under her arm. Entering the empty conference room, she sat on the first chair on the right. A minute passed, and she was still alone.

Since there was no one here, Kate opened the lid of her laptop and scrolled to the saved page on her web browser. Yes! She put in the initial bid for the Chevelle this morning and so far, no one had outbid her yet.

“Nice car,” Christina said as she looked over Kate’s shoulder. Petros walked in after her and took the seat opposite from Kate.

“Uh, thanks,” she said, not bothering to hide the fact that she was dicking around on the web during office hours. They were the ones who called her to this meeting and arrived late.

“Chevelle, right? Nineteen Seventy?” Christina asked as she sat at the head of the table.

“Yeah. And she’s gonna be all mine soon.”

“Do you not own a car already? Something similar?” Petros asked.

Oh, so he was going to make small talk now? “That’s Nathan’s car. He’s letting me borrow it while he’s away.”

His dark brows knitted together. “A car that is decades old doesn’t seem like a good idea. Does it even have safety belts?”

Wow, the nerve of this Judgy McJudgerson. “If you must know, my dad and I are going to fix up the car, just as soon as he and Ma come back from their trip.”

“Why did he not do it before?” he asked.

“Duh, because he worked on Nathan’s first.”

He scratched his head.

“What now?” she asked.

“Well, it seems strange to me that he would not restore your car of choice to ensure your safety before you left, yet he would gladly do it for his son.”

“What?” Kate’s voice rose. “You don’t have any siblings, do you?”

Christina looked at Petros, then shot Kate a nervous look.

“It’s not what you think,” Kate continued. “See, while Nathan was, believe it or not, a good boy who got straight A’s and loved spending time with our folks, I was the one who was always out, preferring to hang out with my … friends.” A lump in her throat began to form. “But as I got older, I realized how much my parents really cared about me. Besides, it’s not like I can afford a car like that out of college. I’m saving up for it with my own cash.”

Though her parents were comfortably wealthy, they never spoiled her or Nathan. Clark and Martha Caldwell taught their children the value of hard work. Nathan worked at the mines for four summers straight to buy his Mustang. Though Kate was still somewhat of a slacker, she worked for every single thing in her life.

“My apologies,” Petros said in a tight voice.

“All right, children,” Christina said, rolling her eyes. “Can we start?”

Kate gave Petros a dirty look then nodded at Christina.

The meeting took the better part of an hour, with Christina asking to make some changes to her software and Petros adding a few comments here and there. But for the most part, all the things they wanted were reasonable and would actually improve their workflow.

“Looks like everything is going smoothly,” Christina said. “Thank you for your hard work, Kate.” She gathered her things. “I need to go on a video call with my father in fifteen minutes, then Jason will want to leave as soon as I’m done so I best get on with my day.”

They adjourned their meeting and closed up the conference room. As soon as they walked out the door, Agatha, who was all the way across the room, zeroed in on them, then began to walk their way.

“Petros,” she said, her smile dazzling. “Are you finished with your meeting? There’s something I need you to see.”

“What is it?”

“It’s ….” Her gaze flickered over to Kate. “Classified. I can’t just let anyone see this.”

Her wolf wanted to smack this bitch up, and for once Kate wanted to give in. She wondered how much trouble she could get in, but with Christina right beside her, she guessed it would be a lot.

“Fine. Show me what it is.” He nodded at Kate and Christina and followed Agatha to her cubicle.

“For what it’s worth,” Christina said, placing a reassuring hand on Kate’s arm, “he’s not interested. No matter what she’s showing him.”

“Ha!” She snorted. “I don’t give a flying fuck.”

“Uh-huh,” Christina said. “Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kate clenched her fists at her side, watching from afar as Petros went into Agatha’s cubicle. When his head disappeared when he bent down, a burst of jealousy and rage made its way to the surface. She quickly turned away and stomped back to her desk.

Without a second thought, she grabbed her phone, scrolled through her contacts, and pressed the green “Call” button next to the name she had searched for.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Kate?” Amelia Walker’s voice sounded surprised. “Hey, how’ve you been?”

She considered lying, but she had to take out the big guns to get what she wanted. “Not great.” She sank down on the chair.

There was a pause. “What’s wrong?”

“Amelia, I know you’re coming back next week for Luke and Georgina’s wedding, but … could you come home this weekend too, please? I need you.” She tried to sound desperate and sad so Amelia would give in, but there was no need. Kate was sure she sounded pathetic for real. “Let’s have a girls’ weekend.”

“Of course,” Amelia replied without hesitation. “What do you want to do? Drinking at The Den? Or we can go to my folks’ place and you, me, and Sybil can gorge on junk food and watch horror movies all night?”

All those suggestions sounded nice. But maybe something different would do her some good. “Why don’t we go to the lake? Your dad still has the cabin there, right? The one next to Uncle Hank and Aunt Riva’s?”

“I’ll grab the keys from Ben, and we can head over on Saturday morning.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Amelia.”

“Anytime, hun. Do you want to chat for a bit? I have some time.”

“No, I’ll wait until Saturday. Thanks again.”

“No prob. See you then.”

Kate put the phone down. Amelia, along with Sybil, was one of her best friends. She was also the strongest out of all of them and was initially the one who helped her see how blind she was during the whole Tommy debacle. And yet, fierce as Amelia was, even she had her limits. Until now, Kate still wanted to cut off that jerk’s balls for what he did to drive her away from them. The coward left town eventually, but Amelia said she just couldn’t come back because of all the painful memories.

She calmed herself with a deep breath. Just get through the week, and you’ll be fine. But when her damn super shifter hearing picked up the sound of Agatha’s giggle, she nearly crushed her phone in her hands.

You can do this, she said, giving herself a pep talk. Get through the week.

“Ah, this is amazing.” Kate breathed in the fresh mountain air as they stood in front of the Walker cabin on Blackstone Lake. “Don’t you think so, Sybil?”

Sybil grimaced as she slapped a bug that landed on her arm. “Why couldn’t we have had our sleepover at the castle? You know we have a huge TV screen in the family room, and Meg will make us chocolate chip cookies.”

Because I needed to get as far away from Blackstone as possible, Kate thought but bit her lip instead. “What, you don’t like roughing it?”

Sybil stuck her tongue out at Kate. “When have I ever been a fan of roughing it? Remember the hiking trip to the Rockies when we were twelve?”

“Or the summer camp my dad sent us to?” Amelia piped in as she took the large cooler from the back of her SUV.

Kate giggled. “Oh yeah. But this is hardly roughing it.” She nodded to the small cabin. “We have beds and running water.”

“Yeah, but no Wi-Fi,” Sybil said, wagging a finger at Kate. “You sure you won’t mind?”

“Puh-lease! I can last without the Internet for a whole weekend.”

“Hey, when you two are done yammering,” Amelia called out. “You wanna give me a hand?”

“Sorry!” Kate and Sybil said in unison as they began to take down their bags and other things from the car. Despite all their luggage – “Why the hell do you need three bottles of sunscreen, Sybil?” – the three shifters made quick work of unpacking the car.

“Finally!” Amelia plopped down on the couch and spread her arms and legs out. “I’ve been driving for hours! I need a—hey!”

Kate giggled as she landed on top of Amelia. Sybil came at them and then threw herself on top of the two girls.

“Ow! Get off me you two lunatics!” Amelia cried, though she chuckled when Sybil and Kate threw their arms around her. She pulled them in for a fierce hug.

“I love bear hugs!” Kate cried.

“You two are too much,” Amelia laughed.

“Just like old times,” Sybil said as she rolled away and landed beside Amelia.

“I miss this,” Kate said wistfully.

“So,” Amelia began, her tone turning serious. “Are you going to tell me why I came all the way here?”

“Because you love me?” Kate asked, hoping she wouldn’t have to explain to Amelia or even have to think about the whole Petros thing.

Amelia raised a brow at her and gave her the “you-can’t-hide-anything-from-me” look.

“Fine.” Kate took a deep breath and caught up Amelia with the whole Petros situation.

“So,” Amelia said when Kate finished. “A wolf from Lykos wants you to be his mate.”

“Then he best go back there,” Kate replied with a snort.

“Let me get this straight: at first, he went all Alpha male on you. You asked him to stop,” Amelia continued, “and now he’s treating you with respect and hasn’t said anything about being mates?”

She shook her head.

“So what’s the problem, then?” Amelia said. “You got what you wanted, right?”

“Right.” Maybe. He really did fuck up with the gifts and she got tired of him pushing the whole mate thing in her face, but this treating her with cold indifference and acting like nothing had ever happened seemed worse somehow. Her wolf agreed and it had been a total bitch the whole week, whining and crying and then making her feel all jealous whenever Agatha or any other female got too close to Petros.

“Oh my God,” Sybil said. “You want him.”

“What?” she said in an incredulous voice. “I do not!”

“Yes, you do!” Sybil retorted. “Baaaaaad. Why else would you have your panties in a bunch right now?”

“Do you want him?” Amelia asked.

“Well, he’s pretty hot,” she admitted. Okay, more than hot. Like, melt her entire underwear drawer hot. “But this mate thing is too much! Why do I have to buy the whole pig to get a little sausage?”

Sybil lobbed a pillow at her head. “Kate, you’re disgusting.”

“What? It’s true! Maybe I’m just horny since I haven’t seen any action in a while.” She grabbed her phone. “I should install that app—”

“Nuh-uh!” Sybil grabbed the phone and took it away. When Kate made a grab for it, she slipped it down her bra.

“Don’t think she won’t try to get in there,” Amelia warned. “You know she’s always envied your boobs.”

“She can try, but you know it’s in too deep.” Sybil smirked with a nod to her generous cleavage. “I forbid you from hooking up with some random guy to try and get over Petros. He’s your mate. Have some decency for once!”

“You’re being an uptight —”

“I’m thinking of moving back home!” Amelia blurted out.

“What?” Both Kate and Sybil stopped and stared at her, their fight seemingly forgotten.

“Really?” Kate said, hope blooming in her chest.

“Yeah.” Amelia gave them a sad smile. “After those guys tried to blow up Blackstone, I realized I can’t stay away just because of what happened in the past. I mean, I could have lost everyone in that attack.” Her eyes misted over as her voice broke. “I should have been here, helping. And with Ben and Penny having the baby, well, I’m going to be an aunt, and they’ll need me, too.”

“Oh Amelia!” Sybil threw her arms around her. “I’m so happy! This is great news!”

“Yay!” Kate jumped up. “Woot! Let’s celebrate!” She whipped off her shirt, revealing her bikini top. “Last one in the lake’s a rotten egg!”

“No fair!” Sybil cried. “I don’t have my suit on!”

“You don’t need a suit, dearie!” Kate said. “Just go out the way nature intended you to!” She didn’t wait for Sybil’s retort as she raced out of the cabin and down the dock that ran over the lake. She let out a loud cry and jumped into the water.

The lake was cold but refreshing, and she paddled around a bit and moved to the shallow part. A few seconds later, Amelia and Sybil came out, wearing their swimsuits, and jumped in beside her, splashing water all over Kate.

“Gahh!” Kate wiped her face. “You morons!” She splashed them and they retaliated, which turned into a full-on water splashing war.

The sound of car engines made them freeze. Kate’s wolf raised its hackles, and her two friends' faces changed, all of them on alert. No one else lived in Blackstone Lake, as it was private property, owned by the Lennoxes. Who could it be?

“Hey, when you girls are done dicking around, you should come over!”

All three of them looked toward the sound of the voice. Jason Lennox was standing in the water a few feet from them, parallel to right about where Uncle Hank’s cabin was located beside Uncle James’.

Sybil waved to her brother. “I didn’t know you guys were planning to be here!”

Jason scowled. “It’s not a romantic weekend getaway, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He waded over to them.

“Where’s Christina?” Amelia asked. “And what do you mean it’s not a romantic getaway?”

The dragon shifter jerked his thumb behind him. “Christina thought this would be a good time to bring her team over for some R and R. They’d been working hard and everything, so they’re here as a reward.”

Sybil nudged Amelia. “That’s him. Petros. Kate’s ma—”

“Shut your dirty mouth!” Kate said, splashing water at Sybil and Amelia.

“Hey!” Amelia sputtered, spitting out the lake water. “What the—oh wow.”

She followed Amelia’s gaze toward the Lennox side of the shore. There was a group there already, but her eyes were immediately drawn to Petros. He was wearing a pair of very brief swimming trunks and carried two coolers over his shoulder. When he bent over to set them down, Kate couldn’t stop herself from groaning softly.

“Kate, that is Grade A sausage meat,” Amelia stage-whispered.

Had it been anyone else, Kate’s wolf would have scratched Amelia’s eyes out. But her wolf knew Amelia was a friend. However, when she saw the figure sauntering over to Petros, she immediately felt her claws come out.

“Oh God. Could she possibly wear any less clothing without being complete naked?” Sybil snorted.

Agatha was indeed wearing one of the skimpiest bikinis Kate had ever seen, if you could even call it that. The scraps of lycra covered her nipples and the important bits, but as Agatha turned around, it was obvious those were the only parts they covered.

“Wow, I’m glad I’m not a wolf shifter,” Amelia drolled. “Or I’d be howling at the moon.”

Kate said nothing, though when Agatha moved closer to Petros and put a hand on his bicep, she couldn’t watch anymore and turned away.

“Come over for a beer,” Jason said. “We have lots.”

“We came prepared, too,” Amelia laughed. “But I would like to catch up with Christina for a bit.”

“I’m going for a swim,” Kate declared. “You guys go on ahead.”

“Kate—”

“I’ll be fine, Amelia.” She turned away, slunk down, and paddled away from them.

When she was far enough away, she let out a frustrated cry. Was it really a coincidence that he was here at the same time she was having a girl’s weekend? It could well have been, but she had a feeling it wasn’t. Damn Christina and her meddling. Why couldn’t she just mind her own business?

“Who cares?” she said to no one in particular. She wasn’t going to let anyone ruin her fun. She was going to have the best time ever, and Amelia moving back to Blackstone was icing on the cake. She had to see the bright side of things.

Kate waded back to their cabin and pulled herself up on the dock, then laid out on the wooden platform, letting the sun warm her chilled body. She wasn’t sure how long she was lying there, but she huffed unhappily as she heard the sounds of laughter, chatter, and music from the other side of the privacy shrubbery installed between the two cabins. Where were Sybil and Amelia? This was supposed to be a weekend for the three of them.

With an unhappy grunt, she lowered herself back into the water to paddle over to the Lennox side. The team from The Agency was nowhere to be seen, though she spotted Amelia and Sybil chatting with Jason and Christina, seemingly oblivious to Kate’s presence.

An idea struck her. Kate had to bite her lip to stop the evil laugh from escaping her mouth. Oh, this would surely bring back the memories from that disastrous summer camp. They would all have a good laugh about it afterward.

She waded out deeper into the water, and when she was satisfied, she began to flail her arms. “Sybil! Amelia!” she called out as her head dipped up and down the water line. “Help! I’m cramping.”

Secretly, she was snickering inside. As soon as her friends came, she would pull them down under the water. When she did this all those years ago, she had accidentally yanked Sybil’s bikini top off. The dragon shifter had been so mad at her when she flashed the junior counselor, she didn’t speak to Kate for a week. But it had been worth it to see Sybil’s face, and they made up for it later when Kate brought her a box of pastries from Rosie’s.

“Sybil!” she cried. Where the fuck were her friends? “Amelia!” Didn’t they care about her? She heard a loud splash coming from their direction. Finally!

Kate twisted around, trying to make a grab for a limb or a leg, but her hand hit a solid wall. No, not a wall. It was someone’s chest.

“Mother—” The wind knocked out of her as a strong arm pulled her up from the water. Not again! She didn’t bother struggling and went limp instead. It would be no use anyway. But maybe she could have some fun.

Petros’s grip around her was like steel, and Kate could feel his body tense as they walked up to the shore by the Walker cabin. He dropped to his knees and gently laid her on the sand. She kept her eyes closed and held her breath.

“Kate!” he said, placing his ear near her mouth. “Please, say something.”

Kate grinned and then spit the water she had been holding in her mouth against his cheek.

Petros wiped his face and then looked down at her and blinked. “You are unhurt?”

“I’m fine, you big lug!” she hissed. “I wasn’t drowning for real.”

The expression on his face changed, like the sudden arrival of a storm on a bright day. His mouth twisted in anger, and his eyes turned dark. “You think drowning is funny?” His voice was terse and cutting.

“It was a joke,” she said, rolling her eyes. “A bit of fun.”

“I thought you were in danger! That you were dy—” He growled. “You will not do that again!”

What the fuck was his problem? “Oh yeah? Who’s gonna make me?”

The words came out of her mouth much faster than she’d anticipated, and now she wished she’d chosen her words more carefully. Or said them another time, like when she wasn’t underneath him.

“You are a brat,” he spat. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them over her head with one hand.

“And you’re an asshole who doesn’t have a funny bone in his body!” Damn her mouth!

Petros’ eyes went crazy, and Kate braced herself for what was coming. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but the look in his eyes … it was like she could see the demons he held tightly reigned along with his wolf. She could also sense that control about to break, like an overflowing dam.

His lips were savage as they came down on hers. She should have struggled more instead of kissing him back. She should have pushed him away instead of spreading her thighs so he could press his hips against her. Oh fucking hell. With those tiny Speedos, he might as well have worn nothing. Her pussy flooded with her wetness, and she pushed her hips seeking the friction that made her shiver.

Kate moaned when he moved his lips lower, whimpering at the loss of his mouth on hers. He licked his wicked tongue down the column of her neck, his lips sucking at the sensitive spots on skin. She dug her fingers into his hair, pulling him down toward her breasts. Petros yanked the top of her bikini down and immediately popped a nipple into his mouth.

The heat and wetness made her moan, and if that wasn’t enough, Petros’ hand moved lower. He lifted his hips from hers as his eager fingers moved under her bikini bottoms. She was already soaking wet, but she was gushing now as his digits pressed against her pussy lips. Damn, between his mouth and fingers, she was like one giant hormone.

“Petros,” she cried as his fingers dipped inside her, and his mouth sucked her nipple deeper. “Oh God! Fucking hell!” She scratched her nails down his back as she thrust her hips up to meet his fingers. His thumb found her clit and the moment he plucked the bud, her body shook with a powerful orgasm.

Hot damn. Her vision went white briefly, and she wasn’t sure if it was from coming or from staring up at the sun. When it returned to normal, she found herself looking up at ocean-colored eyes. Petros’ gaze was intense but not angry anymore. Instead, she could feel the desire radiating from them.

“Let’s go inside,” she breathed. “Please.” She needed him bad. On top of her. Inside her.

He nodded and got to his feet, picking her up. She clung to him as he carried her inside. Amelia was going to be pissed if she had sex in her parents’ cabin, but Kate could deal with that later. Right now, she just needed Petros.

Petros pushed the door open and planted her on the nearest surface—the kitchen counter. Not what she was thinking of, but then she couldn’t really imagine having sex in the bed in the loft upstairs, considering this was Uncle James’ cabin. She spread her knees and grabbed his bicep, then pulled him close.

His mouth captured hers again, and she moved her hands down to slip under his trunks. She dug her nails into his firm ass, which made him groan.

“I’ve dreamed of this for so long, Kate-mine,” he whispered in her ear. “To give you pleasure and to make you my mate. You will be truly mine.”

Kate felt like someone doused her with a bucket of cold water. She took her hands out of his trunks and pushed him away. “Petros, you know this is just sex, right?”

“You are—what?”

She swallowed audibly. “I mean, this. We’re two horny adults. It doesn’t have to mean anything.” No, she couldn’t be anyone’s. She vowed to herself that she would never belong to someone who would control her ever again.

“You think this is just about sex?” he said, stepping away from her.

He was angry again. She could feel it radiating off him in waves. Well, she was furious, too. She hopped off the counter and pushed at him. “What you want from me, Petros, I can’t give.” She just couldn’t. Not again.

“Why do you deny yourself?” he asked.

“I thought that was what this was about? To stop denying ourselves?” He was making this so difficult! “Why the hell did you jump in the water anyway?”

“To save you! I thought you were drowning!”

“Well, you should have let me die then!”

Petros’ eyes glowed with a dangerous light. The power, anger, and loathing that radiated from him made Kate stagger back. He let out a pained roar, turned on his heel, and walked out the door. The sound of the door slamming made Kate grab the counter in fright.

She stood there, feeling the adrenaline leave her system, shock taking its place. What the hell just happened? She thought they were having fun. Clearly, he had misunderstood her intentions.

“That asshole!” She brought down a fist on the counter. He was the one sending mixed signals. Ignoring her and then letting that skank Agatha rub her tits all over him the whole week. Then jumping in to “save” her like he was some hero. He kissed her first!

“Kate? What are you … oh my God!” Amelia exclaimed, taking a deep breath. “Did you have sex in here?”

“No!” she denied. “I mean ….” She bit her lip.

“What’s going on?” Sybil said, coming up from behind Amelia.

“Apparently, Kate did not have sex on my parents’ kitchen counter,” Amelia said, rolling her eyes.

“You had sex with Petros?” Sybil asked, confused.

“What? I said I didn’t!” Kate protested. “Well, almost, but … ugh!” She walked over to the fridge and grabbed the bottle of wine chilling on the shelf. “Can we just get on with our girls’ weekend please?” She unscrewed the top and took a healthy swig. It was going to take a hell of a lot of alcohol to get her drunk, and even more to make her forget about Petros, but it was a good thing she was prepared.