There was no thrill of the hunt with Sophia.

In truth, Old Zach had always hated that part of romance, which was why the night that Sophia Stanton had hit on him stood out. She had come to him. She had approached him. The simple act of expressing interest was direct, forthright, and clear.

No mixed signals. No ambiguity. As a rational, linear thinker who disliked emotional messes, Zach had been thrilled.

As a man who wanted one soul mate, he’d been forced to decline.

Now, though, the lack of a hunt left him wanting. Itching to chase her, to woo her, to show her he wasn’t just some untrained adolescent-like man who was bumbling and inexperienced, Zach found himself watching her every move. Clearly she thought herself to be the expert here.

And she was.

That didn’t bother him in the least. Ego didn’t play a part for him. Without question, Sophia knew more about shifting.

But Zach knew more about what she really wanted.

And it was time to show her, one lick, one stroke, one thrust at a time.

“But I am trying to—”

Stopping her words with a wet, hungry kiss, one that captured her lower lip between his teeth, a kiss designed to plunder, his tongue searching for more than answers, he felt the shift rise up in him.

It was orgasmic. No other word described it. There was no pain in the beginning. Just a blood-pumping pressure that infiltrated every pore, each red blood cell swelling and racing through him as if they were on a pilgrimage. Being able to control the shift was a far cry from his first time in the lab when the rush of every cell changing at once had been sheer agony.

This was slower. He had dominion over it. Alpha to the core, he managed his own body like a general commanding troops, aware of the big picture at all times but never letting a single detail slip.

One day of shifting with intention was all he’d needed.

And now he needed her.

She writhed, her hips grinding into his thighs, her arms around his waist and fingers pushing up between his shoulder blades, finding the fringe of his hair, cupping the back of his skull to press his mouth closer. Sophia’s power turned him on like no other woman’s had, the drive to own her strength one he found arousing beyond belief. While dominating her was part of his new self, being her equal was even more exciting.

She reached for his cock, cupping his balls and riding the heel of her hand up his long, thick shaft. He groaned, the sound strangled and growl-like though his shift was under control. One hundred percent, he discovered to his shock.

Channeling the energy from the change into erotic play, he hooked one arm around her waist, bending quickly to sweep her off her feet, his other arm behind her knees, the movement and her close proximity letting her scent waft over him.

Zach needed to bury his face between her legs, to feel her hips rub up, seeking out pleasure from his tongue. To be folded into the heady scent of Sophia, her thighs covering his ears, the soft skin of her pussy the only world he knew for as long as it took to shake hers, like an earthquake was the only path away from the madness of need.

If you’re going through hell, keep going.

And if you’re licking your woman to ecstasy, do the same.

No gentleman in this moment, he released her without fanfare, her skirt riding up those luscious thighs, his hands parting her legs before she could say a word. Expecting no protest, he not only found no argument—

He found no panties.

His fingers slid slowly into the sweet, wet warmth of her. “You came here prepared,” he said in a low voice choked with desire.

“I hoped you were prepared. I can tell you’ve been practicing.”

“Practicing sex? I don’t need training for that.”

“Mmmm,” she replied, arching her back slightly, the long, slow sigh that poured out of her turning into a woman’s moan. “No, my dear. You certainly do not.” His nose twitched with the layers of scent that emanated from her, sparking a lust that made him reach under her, palms filled with her generous ass, his fingers moving to touch every inch of her, finally coming to rest at the small of her back as he moved in and lifted her up, his tongue tasting her.

The vibration that rocked him as she uttered his name, the press of her fingernails against his scalp as she urged him on, made every hair on his body stand tall, the wildfire ripple ringing through him, making his erection even harder. A ripping sound, muted by her thighs, came with her hands on his shoulders as she tore the shreds of his shirt open, spreading it over his broad shoulders.

Slipping one finger, then two, inside her gloriously hot, wet pussy, Zach continued the perfectly timed thrumming with his tongue, playing her until she screamed his name, her fingernails scratching his shoulders, her clit pushing against him with abandon.

He was over her, kissing her with lips that tasted like ambrosia, her hands scrambling for his pants button, unleashing him fast. He paused, clothing in tatters along his limbs but not because of an unexpected shift.

Because of passion.

“In me. Now,” she ordered, making him grin. He licked his lips as he looked down at her, Sophia’s eyes glazed in the half-aware state of a woman who’s just orgasmed, her skin lightly coated with sweat, her hands grabby and insistent.

For the first time since the lab accident, Zach possessed something novel.

Control.

“Have you lost your mind?” she asked, half irritated, half joking as she shoved his pants and boxer briefs down, moving on the bed closer to him, ready to be filled.

“No,” he answered, his hands going to her shoulders as he backed up, away from her, knees bent down against the mattress. He looked her over, the spill of dark hair tickling the backs of his hands, her chest rising and falling with impatience. Exertion.

Frustration.

“No? Why aren’t you in me?”

“Is that what you want?”

Her lips parted, jaw dropping slightly in astonishment, eyes going wide with a strangely erotic reproach. “I have never been shy about stating my sexual needs, Zach. If I say I want you in me, I mean it.”

He took his finger and slid it from her shoulder, down her collarbone, lightly tracing a path to her nipple. She jerked, then closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, opening them again.

“How does it feel?” he asked, sliding slowly out of his torn shirt, knowing she watched. As he looked back at her while he pulled his pants off, he knew the agony his procrastination was causing.

He grinned.

This was going to be fun.

“How does what feel?”

“Wanting sex and not being able to have it.” As he spoke the words, he moved onto his knees, cock standing tall like a sentry, full and ready before her. He crossed his arms over his broad, naked chest and smirked.

“You wouldn’t,” she said in a low voice that got louder toward the end, a whimper that quickly became a roar.

“I might.”

She sat up, mimicking his stance, her back arched so her big, voluptuous breasts nearly grazed his pecs. The tip of his erection began to ache. If she did that again, he was going to explode. But if he moved away, she won.

Zach wasn’t about to let that happen.

Heedless of the fabric, Sophia tore her dress off, flinging it to the ground, and turned with a saucy grin, eyebrows up, brown eyes blazing with a challenge. Her nipples were tighter than rosebuds, like pink diamonds hardened by desire. He knew she was throbbing, her clit ready, his cock more than capable of taking her up on her invitation and make himself at home. Becoming her body’s houseguest would be an honor, and if she let him bring her coffee in bed, let him make her breakfast—literally, make her his breakfast—so much the better.

But first he needed to get a little revenge.

“You know, your lessons really made a difference,” he murmured as he kept her gaze and drew his right thumb to his mouth, his tongue poking between his lips and licking the pad. Her breath quickened as he reached forward and cupped one full breast in his big palm, moving the wet thumb in lazy circles around her hard nipple. The areola tightened in response, her gasp assuring him that other pink, wet parts of her had just clenched too.

“This is really, really—unfair,” she said, her words interrupted by a hitched sound as her voice grew breathy. In retaliation, she boldly wrapped her fingers around his cock and stroked up, letting her grip loosen at the last section, the featherlight touch at his cap making him suck in air between his teeth.

He bent to take her other nipple into his mouth, teasing it with the lightest of bites, continuing to stroke the other breast as her hand froze on his erection, her body consumed by his attentions.

Good.

He was, indeed, in control.

A wave of heat rushed over him from behind, fluttering up from his ass to the crown of his scalp like a million burning butterflies chasing a ghost. Sophia’s hand began to move again, and this time she mimicked him, her palm going to her mouth as he pulled away from her breast, her tongue tantalizing as she licked the skin, then returned to her place at the root of his shaft.

That single pull was electric, all wet friction and surge. Growling, he pushed her back and entered her in one fluid movement that had no beginning, no end, no strategy, no hesitation.

“Oh, Sophia, you,” he said, the words his last as she tightened around him at the same time he was pulled into her body, the pure, primal beauty of her naked skin against his making him pause. As she hooked her ankles across his back, calves tightening like a pleasure drawstring, he looked down at her.

And stopped.

She was luminous, her eyes closed, the pulse at her throat beating so hard against her long, graceful neck that it was performance art. For eight months he’d been so lonely, so broken, slowly coming out of a physical hell that turned emotional and psychological as recovery stretched into weeks and months, his body forever altered in ways he didn’t know were biologically possible.

He was a freak.

But he wanted to be Sophia’s freak.

“Zach,” she whispered, pulling him down for a kiss without opening her eyes, the thick drumbeat that he’d felt before a quiet, distant pulse, like slow rain on a tin roof. As her tongue took its time against his, her lips kissing the corner of his mouth, his chin, the tip of her teeth scratching against his jawbone stubble, the beat intensified. His ears rushed like oceans were inside him, his heart slamming hard to find hers, their bodies slick with sweat and oil and spit and a deep, abiding togetherness that made him tense.

Because now that he had this, he could never live without it.

Her fingers went down the slope from his back to his ass, her palms widening as she grabbed him and dug in, his thrust so hard, so complete he felt like he drilled through the earth. She moved against him in rhythm, setting a pace he quickly matched, moving faster and faster as she tremored, a violent shiver that told him she was close.

“Not yet,” she said, her voice guarded.

“Is this part of the training?” he rasped, pressing his forehead against her neck, his body about to become even more foreign as his climax rose, ready to take him to oblivion.

“No. This is just me.”

Without an explanation, he sensed she needed more, his hand going to her hip, tracing her ass, moving under her. A teasing touch between her pussy and ass made her groan, a sound of contentment that urged him on, his finger moving in circles around her tight hole.

And that was enough, it seemed, for she came with a quivering intensity that made her pull the pillow from the head of the bed and bite it, one hand clenching the sheets and comforter in a twisting desperation, yanking the sheet off the bed, her body humming under him. Zach kept the pace and lost himself in her, the moment he orgasmed blending with her body until they clenched and released together like a heartbeat, every muscle a sensual feast of movement.

He collapsed on top of her, lost.

Yet profoundly found.

“That was marvelous,” she said, brushing sweat-soaked hair off his brow with a low chuckle.

“Why, thank you,” he muttered, proud.

“Oh, I didn’t mean the sex.”

“What?” If she’d thrown a bucket full of ice on him, he’d have been less shocked.

“You didn’t shift. You controlled yourself.”

“Back up. What’s this about the sex not being marvelous?”

She laughed, her voice unfurling like a line of flags flapping in the wind on a sunny day. She looked down at their still-joined bodies and gave him an arch look. “That was perfectly fine.”

“‘Perfectly fine’? ‘Perfectly fine’? ‘Perfectly fine’ is an eight-dollar bottle of pinot noir, Sophia. ‘Perfectly fine’ is the third sequel in a sci-fi franchise. Sex like that is more than perfectly fine.” Separating their bodies slowly, he found his heart was skipping beats, rushing to catch up to the implications of her words.

She stopped him, her grasp on his shoulders firm and unyielding. “Don’t let ego get in the way. I mean it when I say the sex was perfectly fine. What was even better was your control.”

“I want the sex to be better than my control.”

The bite on his nipple was unexpected, shooting a zing into the root of his cock. “It will be. The next time. I couldn’t help myself. I was distracted.”

“Distracted? The sex was bad because you were distracted?” He looked around the very minimalist guest room. “Did the fire sprinkler in the ceiling start talking to you?”

“Zach.”

He matched her tone. “Sophia.” As his bare ass hit the comforter, he raised his arms, threading his fingers behind his head, settling in. Crossing his feet at the ankles, he let the air chill his skin.

“You’re taking this personally. It was me.”

“Of course I’m taking this personally!” he nearly shouted. “How could I not take it personally! I just made love to you and—”

Her fingers covered his lips, shushing him. “Stop. Listen. You’re being too reactive.”

“I’m human.”

“No, Zach. You’re not. That’s the whole point. We had sex…” Her voice trailed off and she restarted, eyes darting to sneak looks at him. “We made love without your shifting uncontrollably. I was marveling at it. Forgive me.”

“Forgive you? I have no reason to forgive you.”

“Forgive me for not explaining this well. I’m not accustomed to having to explain a damn thing to the men I bed.” So casual, those words that came from her mouth. So simple. So easy.

So gutting.

“The men you bed,” he repeated, knowing they’d just stepped into emotional land mine territory. She was tracing figure eights on his bicep but stopped at his words.

“Yes. You know I have insatiable tastes. Is that a problem?”

“What? No.” The only problem was that Zach didn’t know whether she’d really been disappointed by the sex just now. Maybe the distraction explanation was a cover to save his feelings? She’d slept with so many men. So, so many. Maybe he wasn’t making the cut?

Her tone went cold, her hand moving off him. Shifting a few inches away from him, she made sure their bodies no longer touched. “Is that what this is about? Your fragile male ego immediately jumps there?”

“What ego? And where?” The dizzying pace of topic change was killing him.

“You think because I was distracted thinking about your amazing ability not to shift that I was comparing you to other lovers.”

The words made him act before he thought, Sophia under him again, this time with her hands above her head, pinned in place by Zach. “No,” he barked, eyes on hers, his knees on either side of her hips, full weight holding her in place. “Absolutely not. I don’t give a rat’s ass who else you’ve fucked, because not a single one of them matters now.”

Her eyes gleamed. “Now?”

“Now that we’re… you know.”

Sophia seemed to recognize the gravity of his words, one corner of her mouth crawling up with a sneaky look. “And you’ve mastered the controlled shift, Zach. Our ‘you knowing’ is working.”

Clearly he’d given the right answer.

Kissing her softly, he released her and resumed his spot next to her, strands of her hair mingling with the curly locks on his chest.

“That wasn’t just perfectly fine,” she finally admitted. “It was fabulous.”

“Now you’re playing to my ego.”

“I never lie about sex.”

“What do you lie about?”

He was surprised by his own conversational tone, realizing this was their version of pillow talk.

She laughed and answered, “How much I love Jess. Derry’s fian…cée.” The way she struggled with the term made her feelings clear.

“You don’t like her?”

“I had to fake it for a while.”

“Were you successful?”

“No. But I love her now. She’s wonderful.” Sophia grinned. “I never thought anyone would tame Derry. She did. Therefore, I have no choice but to accept her.”

“Is that a shifter thing? Some sort of in-world rule?”

Her face twisted with confusion. “No. It’s typical human behavior. Perhaps a touch of the pack is in there, but no. Standard sister-in-law dynamics. You know.”

“No. I don’t.”

“Don’t you have siblings?”

“No. Only child.”

“Oh! I am so sorry!”

“Why are you sorry? It’s not like a disease.”

Her laugh made him feel more comfortable, the conversation itself one he experienced with a split mind. Half of him loved the growing closeness of conversation that bonded them.

The other half wondered where this was going.

“I just can’t imagine not having my brothers.”

He shrugged. “I can’t imagine what I never had.”

“I imagined about you,” she said, tossing off the comment with that imperial air she held. “When you turned me down in the elevator at the Plat. I imagined a thousand times what sex would be like with you.”

“Me?” He looked down at himself. “Back then?”

“Back then, now—you’re the same Zach.”

“Hardly.”

“I wouldn’t have made you an offer if I hadn’t been attracted to you, Zach. Then or now.”

Women didn’t speak to him this way. She was direct and clear. Linear and rational. He found it arousing and fascinating. She was an enigma, a mystery.

And he wanted to spend a lifetime understanding her.

* * *

Sophia awoke the next morning in Zach’s bed. The long night had become a lingering, leisurely morning. She should have felt deliciously limp with pleasure.

In truth, she was terrified.

To the core.

And when she was scared, she defended herself with a shell. “Perfectly fine” was the understatement of the millennium. She’d been with more than enough sexual partners to know, within less than a minute of physical contact, whether the sex would be amazing or pedestrian.

What she’d experienced with Zach was unlike any other erotic contact with a person, human or shifter. She’d lost herself in his body, her soul seeking out a part of him to join a rhythm bigger than the two of them. An uneasy feeling crept into her bones as she revealed more of her heart to him. Being vulnerable was not in her nature.

Yet he elicited it in her. She wanted to open her legs, her mouth, her hands, her heart to him.

Which meant making poor choices along the way. She was deeply skilled in the art of casual sex, but a total rookie when it came to Zach.

Sophia needed control.

Being in his room wasn’t helping, the naked, raw feeling of being flayed and open too much, too sensitive. It had been over twelve hours since she’d arrived to “test him.” Too many hours on his borrowed turf. At the same time, she didn’t want to leave him. Couldn’t bear the thought.

“Let’s go,” she said abruptly, climbing off the bed and searching for her discarded clothes. The dress was barely wearable, but she would wrap her coat around it.

“Go where?” Zach scrambled to find his own clothes, hastily dressing.

“To my place.”

“You have a place? Here? Is it a room like this?”

“What?” Her laugh burbled up, unable to be contained. “God, no.” Looking around the guest quarters, she made a mental note to chastise Asher for torturing visitors with such a boring room. “I have my own cabin on the grounds.”

His face lit up, golden eyes fringed with those kissable lashes. “Sounds good to me. I feel like a prisoner in here.”

“It is a cold room,” she said with a sniff. “And my shower has six heads.” A glance at the bathroom made her roll her eyes. “Yours is inadequate.”

“For what?”

Last night, they’d showered separately. Such a waste. She held his gaze and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” he said in a low voice. “I do like the way you think.” His lips curled into a devious grin, hands reaching for her as she fast-walked out of there, taking him outside.

As they walked, they both inhaled the crisp autumn air. Struck by the morning sun, the lake’s surface reflected the mountains behind them like a mirror. They turned onto the path to the Stantons’ private cabins. With each step, the woods thickened around them, enveloping them in privacy. The lake was now hidden behind the trees. Sophia strode ahead in her excitement, invigorated by the outdoors, the pleasurable memories of their night together, and the erotic anticipation of the future.

Zach caught up to her and put one hand on the small of her back, a possession she rather enjoyed. After five minutes of hard walking, she stopped and pointed.

“That’s my cabin, at the end of the path,” she said.

“Behind the house?”

“No, that’s it. That’s my cabin. I suppose it is a little large.” She was suddenly shy about sharing her private retreat with him. She didn’t live at the ranch full time, but she thought of her two-story cabin, with its personal hot springs, lake view, and sauna, as home.

He snaked an arm around her waist. “It’s beautiful.” Pulling her toward him, he bent his head and caught her earlobe between his teeth. “Beautiful,” he groaned, sliding his hand up to her breast and squeezing, stroking, claiming.

It took every ounce of strength she possessed to put her hand on his and push it away—instead of moving it down to the hot, needy center between her legs. “Remember, Zach,” she said, somewhat breathlessly, “you need to learn control. Without it, Asher will never give you total freedom.”

He growled, buried his head in her hair for a moment, inhaling deeply, then released her. “You’re right,” he said. “Sorry.”

God, how she wanted him. Swallowing hard, she led him up the stone steps to the massive wood door and pushed it open.

“Cool door,” Zach said. “Was it crafted by hand?”

Without thinking, she replied honestly. “A former lover installed it ages ago when I rejected his marriage proposal.”

Zach froze in the doorway. “You dumped him, and he gave you a door?”

“I think he meant for it to show how I let him in once but then locked him out forever.”

After a long moment, Zach crossed the threshold. “I see you kept the door.”

She cringed. Mentioning former lovers was probably a mistake. “It’s a nice door.”

“Unlocked, ironically.”

Hearing the so-very-male insecurity in his voice, she put her hand on his shoulder. “It is locked to him.”

And with that small touch, an electrical current shot through her arm and throughout her body, setting her on fire.

Oh God, oh God. She felt the thick muscle of his bicep through his torn shirt and began shaking with the urge to tear it away, press her lips to his hot male skin, and taste her way around his body until he shouted her name.

Sophia, he said in her mind.

Trembling with frustration, she buried her face in her hands. “Zach, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” She looked up into his eyes. “I’m supposed to be the one showing you how to control yourself and your urges, but…” She trailed off, her mouth going dry.

His voice dropped an octave. “But?”

To hell with it. She flung her arms around his neck and pressed against his hard body. “I want you again now.”

“Thank God.” He thrust his hand under her coat, between her legs, and dragged the fabric of her ruined dress up over her hips, sliding his palm over her wet folds as he clamped his mouth over hers.

She flung a hand behind her for balance, knocking over a lamp on the marble table near the hall closet. When she twisted away to pick up the lamp, he caught her around the waist and tackled her to the thick Persian rug. The sunken living room was just around the corner, and several bedrooms were available upstairs, but neither of them were willing to wait that long. She could feel his desire as if it were her own.

He tore his pants off—not bothering with the fastener or zipper first—and climbed on top of her. She reached up to his shirt, fumbled with the buttons, and then pushed it off his broad shoulders and down his arms with a slow attention to detail she could only manage because she’d just had him. But it felt too long ago, and her body was already aching for him and his for her.

“Your scars,” she whispered, frowning. “From—”

“My first shift.”

Kissing a line down from collarbone to bicep, she felt him groan, muscles tight in some places, loosening in others.

She reached down for his cock, hard and massive, and wrapped her fingers around it as she sucked his tongue into her mouth. He groaned, sliding to one side so his hip was on the floor, protecting her from his weight, and she wriggled down to kiss him, holding his erection with two hands as she prepared to guide it between her lips—

Just as the front door opened.

“Oh! Excuse me!” It was her sister-in-law, Lilah.

The door slammed shut.

“Oh no,” Sophia muttered, reluctantly lifting her head away from the pleasure in her hands.

“Don’t stop,” Zach said, tunneling his fingers through her hair.

Well, Lilah had gone… and slammed the door behind her…

Sophia slid his cock into her mouth and delighted in the sound of Zach’s moaning, the jerking of his body.

The door opened again. “I don’t care if she just got out of the shower,” Gavin was saying, “shifters abandoned modesty eons ago—”

Zach sat up and put his arms around Sophia, who was completely naked except for the shredded remains of her dress and a pair of high heels. Cute of him to try to shield her but rather hopeless given his massive cock jammed in her mouth. She removed it, brushing away wetness from the corner of her mouth with an overly dainty gesture.

“Gavin,” Sophia said, lifting her chin and staying where she was. “How nice of you to drop in.”

Her second-oldest brother recoiled, covering his eyes with one arm. “Oh for God’s sake, Lilah said you were getting out of the shower.”

“Not yet,” Sophia said, “but we probably will soon. Do you want an estimated time for that so you can come back then?”

A choking sound drew her attention to her companion. Blushing furiously, he was doing his best imitation of the crimson Persian rug under their naked bottoms.

She took pity on him. “Gavin, do you mind waiting outside? Zach… We want some privacy. Please.” She put steel in her voice. Gavin could be as impossible as Asher when it came to their only sister.

Gavin had recovered from his shock and was now scowling at Zach. “For his sake, I pray this interaction was voluntary, Sophia,” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “Asher was just telling me—”

Sophia got to her feet, indifferent to her nudity. Gavin was right; as shifters, they were so frequently undressed in front of one another, modesty was a foolish affectation. “Don’t listen to Asher,” she said. “He’s so worried about Tomas, he can’t think straight.”

“I swear to God, Mr. Stanton,” Zach said, reverting back to his old identity as the devoted scientist in Gavin’s biotech firm, “I would never touch your sister unless she invited me to.”

“And being Sophia, of course she did,” Gavin said sourly, shaking his head.

“Hey,” Sophia said.

“Asher needs to talk to all of us together now that we’re here,” Gavin said, turning to the door. “And Lilah’s waiting outside. Now I know why she looked like she was about to give birth on your front step. I want to get her back to the house so she can rest. We just arrived. She and I were both hoping you could see to her as soon as… ah… is convenient. She has some cramping I don’t like.”

“I imagine she doesn’t like it either,” Sophia said.

Zach had put on his pants, but the fly was ripped, and they kept falling down. He shoved his hands in his pockets to hold them up, looking to Sophia’s eyes rather manly in spite of the situation. Shirtless was a good look for him. He had just the right amount of hair dusting his chest—dark and thick but not gorilla. The happy trail pointed right at the broken zipper, reminding her of the pleasures her family had interrupted.

“Sophia,” Gavin snapped.

“What?”

He shook his head in disgust. “Please come to the main house as soon as possible.” His scowl deepened. “Alone.”

She moved to Zach’s side, caught his hand in hers. “Why alone?”

“It’s a family meeting,” Gavin said. “Family.” He stepped outside and closed the door between them.

“You’re an only child, yes?” she asked Zach, who looked perplexed by the question.

“Yes. Why?”

“That sounds heavenly right now.”