Sylvan City got its name from its environs. Surrounded on nearly every side by woods, fields, and other kinds of natural expanses, the only area not teeming with foliage was the bridge from the mainland to the island just off the coast. It was perfectly situated for shifters to make the city their home. They could work in the city and still live in an area that felt like the wilds.

Having left the civic center of downtown, Devlin steered his car onto the Sylvan Parkway that wound its way through the forested area around the concrete jungle.

Devlin looked over at Paige and couldn’t help the satisfied smile that played over his lips. Inside, his tiger mimicked the same action, his whiskers twitching as the great beast rolled in the sunlight his mate had shed on his life.

“How are you feeling?”

Paige didn’t start or gape at him, that was a small victory. He was worried how the continued stress would weigh on her, so, seeing her relaxed beside him almost made him purr.

“Fine. Thanks for asking.” She smiled, a soft tentative smile that wasn’t posed or proud, she gave him the gentle curve of her lips. She was glorious.

The air-conditioning in the car was nice, but what it did to her skirt was delicious. The hem of the skirt was light enough to catch the draft of the air and swept back away from her knees.

“Maybe,” she shifted slightly on the passenger seat, “it’s a little cold, but I think it’s just because all of the adrenaline is starting to settle inside.” She shook her head and then leaned her cheek against the headrest. “I bet you think I’m silly. You’re so used to all of this.”

He could see the smattering of goose-bumps along the pale skin of her thighs and before he could stop himself, he lifted his hand from the steering wheel and set his hand on her leg just where the knee smoothed into the soft flare of her thigh.

“Used to meeting my mate and marrying her before her father can think of a reason to separate us? Sure, every day of my life, Paige.” For a moment he was afraid she wouldn’t feel the humor in his tone.

He almost expected her to nudge his hand off her leg, instead, she set her hand over his. “I meant, knowing the world is suddenly a much more fascinating place, that there were people,” she looked to him for the word.

“Shifters.”

“Shifters,” she repeated in a soft sigh of her voice. “That there were shifters living amongst us and we had no idea-”

He tensed, wondering what she would say, fearing that she wouldn’t accept who he was, or worse, coming to realize how big a mistake she’d just made.

“-that the world is much more amazing than I thought it was.” Then she laughed, a soft chuckle, that warmed him from the inside out. “They talk about finding new species in the depths of the ocean, in all of these out of the way places, but there you are. Hiding in plain sight.”

She gave his hand a squeeze and he felt an answering pulse in his chest.

“And you gave up that anonymity for me… it’s a humbling thing.”

“I don’t want you humble, Paige.” He lifted their joined hands together and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. “I want you, all of you. I’m going to make this right for you. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. They’d have to do it over my dead body.”

He felt her shiver a moment before he turned onto the dirt road toward his home.

He helped her from the car but let go of her hand almost as soon as she set her feet on the ground, he had to put some distance between them. He needed the space as he kept reminding himself that his wife… his mate… was innocent in so many ways. He occupied himself with her bags. One heavy suitcase in each hand didn’t faze him in the least. He may not look like one of those competitive body builders with the bulky muscles, but he had more than enough strength to rip his hand through a man’s chest, so her bags weren’t an issue at all.

His arousal was. Walking her bags up the few steps to his front porch was nearly agony without a lick of room in his slacks.

At the door he paused, realizing the predicament that he’d placed himself in. Before he could lean over to set a bag down, Paige was there, one hand on his back and the other reaching into his pocket.

He felt her fingers slide over his hipbone and snatch the keyring from his pocket, coming dangerously close to the part of him that craved her the most.

She filled him with a blinding heat with just her presence, but as she followed his choked off answers and found the key to the front door, he was desperate to keep himself from going up in flames.

And his lovely bride? She wasn’t helping at all. She didn’t seem to be at all affected by having her hand in his pocket, her sexy body pressed up against his back and again he was glad he had the bags in his hands, or he’d likely have her naked and up against the door by now.

Inside of him, his tiger had his claws out and digging into him, wanting… no, needing the release they would find in her body.

Maybe it was their connection deep down inside, or maybe she really could feel it too. Paige turned around, her skin flushed with heat, her breathing fast and deep, raising her breasts in a tantalizing rise and fall.

“Devlin?”

“Yes, Paige?” The sound of his name on her lips with that kind of breathy gasp of air, made him hard as a rock.

“Where am I going to sleep?”

Yes, the sound of her voice saying anything was wrecking him.

He should have been concerned with her innocence, he should have been a gentleman, but he was beginning to realize that around Paige, breathing in her scent, seeing the effect he had on her, he was suddenly even more wild than his tiger. Restraint warred with bone-deep need. Paige was still standing in the middle of his home, waiting for his answer.

He smiled and watched her gasp in a breath, knowing that she could see the tiger in his eyes. Both scented her on the air, drinking in her energy and giving rise to even more need. “With me, Paige. You’ll sleep with me.”

He waited for her to beg off. Waiting for her to turn away and stammer a denial.

Then she lifted her head a fraction of an inch, her eyes focusing even closer on him. She opened her mouth and a smile curved her lips. “Good.”

Devlin wasn’t an idiot, people may call him an animal, but Paige was his mate. His needs, as demanding as they were, paled in comparison to hers. As much as he wanted to strip her bare and make her shake with need, there were things that needed to be done first.

Bags set in his room to give her a chance to pick out the things she’d need, showing her the bathroom for a shower, or bath, whatever would make her feel more comfortable. To let her feel at home, because that’s what it was, her home.

And he had a few calls to make. Surprisingly, none of the calls were picked up. He wasn’t worried so much as hesitant. He’d be hearing from them soon enough, and he’d deal with it when it happened.

Checking the security measures he had ringing the edge of his property took a few moments and opening the app on his phone, he headed back into the kitchen and stopped short.

Paige stood against the kitchen counter, leaning on it as if she needed it to keep on her feet.

He liked the look on her face and hoped it was because she felt some of what he felt for her. “What do you want to do first?”

“Me?” She swallowed. “I don’t know.”

“Hungry?” He gestured toward the refrigerator. “I could make something for you.”

She opened her mouth to speak and then shut it just as quickly, giving him a single nod.

“Is there anything you can’t eat?”

Paige shook her head. “I’ll be happy with whatever you make. It’s kind of exciting to have someone cook just for me,” she revealed, “it’s been a long time since our meals were prepared just for us, a family. Since we lost my mom, we’ve had a housekeeper and when he became Mayor, we suddenly had a staff taking care of us. And now this…”

Her words dropped off and she looked down at the floor at their feet. “I know my father’s going to miss me tonight, but it’s best this way,” she insisted, “I’m no longer the errant daughter with questionable morals.” Her laughter was a bit forced, but it seemed like a self-depreciating joke at her own expense.

“Did you agree to this just because of your father?”

He wanted to take back the question as soon as it was out of his mouth. He didn’t really want the answer. Paige was almost an open book to him. She loved her father. Her first thoughts were for him. And Devlin was jealous. It had been less than twenty-four hours since they’d met, but Devlin wanted her, needed her.

He’d been alone for so long, but in one heart-stopping moment, he’d met the woman that would change all of that.

And yet, he had to wonder, had he forced the issue? Paige didn’t understand his people, had just discovered their existence. Was that too much, too soon?

And there she stood, silent before him, her hands on the countertop as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them. Or was it that she wasn’t sure what to do with him?

Well, they were both in the same boat on that one.

Boat?

His tiger scoffed at him from inside. The tiger wanted to swim and planted the idea of Paige dripping wet in the shallows of the lake. Devlin shoved the tiger back down with a wordless warning. He wasn’t helping anything with his pushy thoughts.

Besides, Devlin’s mind was already there.

“Paige?”

He spoke because it was better than letting his mind go off on its own.

“No,” she met his eyes and he saw her lip quivering, just the littlest bit.

“No…” damnit if he hadn’t forgotten the question he asked in the first place, being this close to her and not touching her-

“No, I didn’t agree because of my father.”

He drew in a long, deep breath. Her skin smelled like heaven. He had nothing to compare it to besides how it made him feel. Needy, hungry.

“I,” she began speaking again without a prompt from him, “wanted to.”

He felt his tiger purring inside, felt the vibrations through his body.

“There’s this thing between us,” she blew out a shaky breath, “like you see me the way I’ve always wanted to be seen.”

Her voice trembled, and he swore he could almost taste it on his tongue.

“I see you, Paige,” his voice was lower than normal, pulling from the tight constriction of his throat, “and I want to show you how you make me feel. I want to give you a taste of what it’s like to be the mate of a shifter. To be my mate.”

Looking at her was a fantasy. Better than his late-night imagination and sweat-laden dreams. Her dress was probably the perfect ‘Daughter of the Mayor’ dress and he doubted that she’d even picked it out for herself. It looked pale and boring and did nothing to compliment her beauty or the amazing curves she had hidden under it. And he knew her curves. He’d had them pressed tight against his body and even now, remembering how her soft curves had fit against his hard frame, he was instantly and painfully hard.

It was, he was beginning to realize, going to be the norm when he was around his mate.

“What if…” he dragged his gaze back up to her face and saw the spark of arousal in her eyes as she spoke. “What if I want more than a taste, Devlin?”

There weren’t words enough to give her an answer.

Instead of leaning against the counter, Paige was suddenly seated on the counter, her hands lifting to grasp his shoulders as he pushed closer, fitting himself between her legs.

He caught her gasp in his mouth, slanting his lips over hers as he gave her a breath from his lungs, and then fed her his tongue.

She shuddered against him as his fingers slid into her hair and tumbled her hair pins down to the countertop and some to the floor.

Paige’s hands were tentative, searching. She would touch his biceps and then pull her hands away, and then to his shoulder or his forearms. She couldn’t seem to find a place to set them down.

He pulled back, settling his hands on her hips.

Paige’s eyes were still closed, but her lips were swollen and wet from his kisses. It was a satisfying look for him. The tiger inside prowled back and forth. He wanted more and wasn’t shy about his demands.

“Paige?”

She swayed a little and tried to open her eyes, but the only answer she managed was a hum deep from her throat.

He lifted his hand and took a length of her hair between his fingers. “Lovely.”

Her eyes fluttered open and the smile she gave him made him ache with something more than need. Something deeper than affection.

He rubbed her hair between his fingers, enjoyed the silken stroke of her against his skin.

“You,” she stammered, “you think I’m lovely?”

She sounded so hesitant and unsure, he felt his claws come dangerously close to bursting from the tips of his fingers. What had people said to her, or done to her, that made her question his words? He wanted them to suffer, but more than that, he wanted to help her believe and he’d enjoy proving it to her.

Lifting a hand from her hip he trailed the backs of his fingers across her cheek, sweeping her hair behind her ear. “You’re so beautiful, you make me ache, Paige.”

Her smile nearly drove him to his knees with want. A woman, his woman, reveling in her own beauty, confident in her own glory was irresistible.

“I want to have you, Paige. I need to feel you wrapped around me. I want to be inside you, mark you as-”

A roar of challenge reached his ears as the app on his phone sounded a warning, and then more warnings until Devlin knew why his calls had gone unanswered. Devlin turned and put Paige at his back. Lifting his nose into the air he took a long deep breath and felt his desire turn to anger. “Can’t a tiger get a break around here?”

Paige’s soft chuckle eased his anger. He didn’t want her afraid and had forced the joke from his lips. “What’s wrong,” she wondered aloud, giving it a slight hesitation, “are you expecting guests?”

He heard the tremor in her tone, but appreciated her attempt at humor.

“Believe me,” he ground out the words, “the last time I’d want guests would be during…”

“Our honeymoon?” She touched his shoulder with her hand and he felt the strength in her gesture. “I don’t think I like the idea much either.”

Leaning back against his mate, he turned his head toward her and smiled when she met his lips with a kiss. “I’ll be right back, Paige.”

He headed for the patio doors and was outside in just a few moments ready to take on the world. Or at least a handful of shifters ready to kick his ass.

* * *

When the patio door clicked shut, Paige sat still for a moment or two. Devlin said he would be back.

Then why was she sliding down from the counter and crossing the room toward the back-patio door?

The back yard, if that’s what you could call it, was a wide-open grassy area lined by tall trees and a scattering of underbrush.

It might have been hard to find him if he’d gone far, someone could easily disappear into the trees.

Instead, Devlin was standing nearly at the edge of the open space, his arms held loosely at his sides.

Facing him, half in the shadows of the tall trees ringing the property, were three men in full view. No, she corrected herself, shifters. It was strange, she thought, just a day or two ago, she wouldn’t have thought there were more options. Now she knew better, and now, as she looked at them, across the yard, she found herself wondering what they were underneath those muscular forms.

There were just a few steps down into the grass and it was only when she felt the chill of the wet grass under her feet that she realized she’d left her shoes inside.

Paige couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but she wasn’t about to let Devlin face those men alone. She had a feeling, from the waves of tension rolling off all of them, this was because of what Devlin did to save her.

Something inside of her said these men weren’t just men. This wasn’t nearly as cold and ‘civilized’ as her father’s staff had been. These men could likely tear her apart with little to no effort.

Still, she ran on toward Devlin, needing to be closer.

By the time she reached Devlin’s side, some of the men were out in the sunshine and none of them looked happy.

“Devlin, what’s going on?”

He grabbed her arm and anchored her to his side with his other arm around her back and his hand on her waist. Before he answered her, he gave the other men a hard look. “Nothing much, Paige. These men just came to congratulate us.”

Paige elbowed Devlin in his side.

“Hey!” Devlin hissed at her.

More than one of the men almost cracked a smile.

“Why are you trying to lie to me?”

Devlin’s posture tightened beside her. “I’m not lying.”

She looked at the men standing before her. “You’re not here to congratulate us, so why are you here?”

“She’s sharp, Devlin.” The man stared at her openly, ignoring Devlin’s cold look. He looked like he’d just stepped out of the Sylvan Country Club and was waiting for the valet in his slacks and polo shirt. Neither garment did much to disguise his distinctly muscled form beneath them. She saw him look her over from head to her bare toes. “Pretty too.”

Devlin squeezed her closer. “You say that like it’s a shock, Graham. Should I be offended on behalf of my mate?”

She heard the warning tone in his voice and saw the hardened looks of the other men.

“So, we have her to thank for everything going public?” The man to the far left wore leather fingerless gloves on his hand and he had a bruise along his temple that seemed to be healing as he stood there before them. “That’s not how things work, Devlin.”

The man just off to Devlin’s right folded his arms across his massive chest. His eyes weren’t angry so much as they were worried. “Now you’re going to tell us it’s because you’re new in town?”

“Or maybe he just couldn’t help himself?” Another man, still hovering in the shadows of the trees settled a look on Devlin. “This isn’t just about you.”

“No, it’s not about me.”

Paige felt his fingers dig into her hip and she wrapped her arms around his chest and embraced him tightly, leaning her cheek on his shoulder.

She felt his breath purring in his lungs and she rubbed her cheek against him.

“She’s mine,” his voice crackled through the air separating them from the others. “She’s my mate.”

One of the men narrowed his eyes at her, his gaze passing over her neck and shoulders. Lifting his hand, he pointed at the bend where his neck met his shoulder. “She’s not marked.”

A warning growl rolled through Paige like a seismic wave.

“Not yet, Cage.” Devlin leveled a look at the others. “You interrupted our honeymoon.”

Cage shot back. “I’m not worried about your romantic evening, we’re here because we’re worried about our necks in a noose. We’ve lived in Sylvan for a while now-”

“Some of us,” the largest man, the one who she was fairly sure was some kind of bear just relying on his size, “have families to worry about, if this becomes a man-hunt-”

“We all know that humans would have no trouble coming after us-”

“This isn’t good for any of us-”

Paige felt a huge weight of guilt crash down on her shoulders and she muffled a sob pressing her lips against Devlin’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Devlin. I-”

“Enough!”

Devlin’s roar was enough to bring their complaints to a stop.

He gently nudged her around to stand behind him as he addressed the men. “This stops now. You want to punish me for this, then do it, but you leave Paige out of this. She’s my mate and you tell me,” he jabbed a finger at the closest man, “if you found your mate and she was one moment away from death, that you’d worry about revealing your animals to the world?”

Paige looked up into the silence that descended upon them and saw the men walking back into the thick forested area at the edge of the yard.

She eased her embrace, loosening her arms as she drew back enough to look him squarely in the eyes. “Devlin?”

Scrubbing his free hand over his face, he pulled her hips tightly against his side. “Yeah?”

“How much trouble are you in?” Her eyes looked off into the woods. “What can I do to help?”

She saw the depths of awareness in his eyes when he leaned down to brush a kiss over her lips. Paige felt as if in just that simple touch, they were feeding off of each other, drinking in the very air from each other’s lungs.

When he drew back to meet her eyes she saw how dark they had become as if the irises had grown and swallowed the color whole. There was something in the dark looking back at her, another soul waiting inside of him.

“You can come inside with me,” his suggestion made her smile and tremble in his embrace, “and let me love you.”

She pressed a kiss against his lips and murmured her answer with a sigh. “Yes, Devlin. Love me.”