Tania was folding and ironing clothes when her cell phone rang. She picked it up without checking the caller ID, only to be surprised when she heard Noah's voice on the other line.

"Leo tells me that a little miss Fischer was looking for me."

"Noah." Her heart did a million flips and she smiled.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I lost your number."

"That's okay. I'm glad you thought about me. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't call me."

"Yeah, well, I had to run a few errands this morning during business hours."

"What are you doing now?" he asked.

"Folding and ironing clothes," she said.

"On a Saturday night?"

She laughed. "Yeah. So now you know I'm not exactly the life of the party type of girl."

"That's quite alright with me. You've got the skills I'm looking for."

She blushed. "You must be halfway to Minnesota by now."

"No, I haven't even left the state."

"What? I thought you left yesterday."

"I was supposed to. My cousin and I laid low at a friend's house for a while. We were headed out when I got the message from Leo. I was meaning to give you a call when I got back to Minnesota, but once I reached the county line, I couldn't do it. I told Victor I'd meet him back in Timber Rock and I turned around."

"You didn't."

"I did. I realized that I just didn't want to talk to you, I wanted to see you too," he said.

"You didn't have to do that. Aren't you trying to get back to Timber Rock?"

"Yeah, I was," he said. "Want to do something else besides fold clothes?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then what's your suite number?"

Tania's eyes widened. "What?"

"You said your apartment was off of Rosewood Avenue. There's only one set of apartment buildings off of Rosewood. Rosewood View. What's your suite number?"

"It's 808. You're full of surprises, Noah. I can't believe you turned back around to come see me. I haven't even done my hair yet. I'm in my PJs."

He chuckled. "That's even better. I've got a pair of PJs in my trunk bag. If you want, I can put them on so we're even."

She laughed and ran to look through the window when she heard a motorcycle pull up in the parking space right outside of her unit.

"I see you. Just come on up. We're on the second level."

They didn't hang up until she opened the door and he was standing in her foyer.

Noah took a moment to assess her. The messy bun atop her head. Her face that was utterly smooth, bare, and devoid of makeup courtesy of the avocado mask she'd just peeled off. Her pink fuzzy slippers. And the black and pink PJs she was wearing, and oversized top and too short shorts.

He put his motorcycle helmet and keys on the stand next to the foyer and slid his palm against her face, caressing her face until his palm was at the back of her neck.

"You look beautiful in your PJs."

She moved toward him, pressing herself into. She lifted one hand and pushed the door closed behind him. She kept stepping toward him, making him walk back until his back was up against it.

"Well…" He chuckled. "Is this you seducing me? Because it's working."

She blushed. "I'm young, but not stupid. I doubt you came here to eat steak and potatoes."

"Nah…just you," he breathed.

Tania unzipped his coat, pushing it off his shoulders, down his arms, and then tossing it on the sofa. He seemed pleased with the way she was taking charge. She was super pleased with the way he was letting her. She wrapped her hands around his neck and took his mouth in a kiss. She wanted him so badly, she couldn't understand it. She'd never wanted sex this badly. There were other ways to get herself off, but it seemed that she couldn't deny Noah like she could deny the countless other men that had offered her a night and more. But she didn't want a night and more, she wanted Noah.

Pulling out of the kiss, Noah held Tania close so he could look down at her. "Tania…I…I have to tell you something."

She waited, her eyes boring into his amber and green ones—waiting for the confession that she knew would come.

He swallowed nearly a dozen times. She could see the nervously lump and rise and fall on his throat as he contemplated what he would say to her.

"I…" He bit his lip.

"I know what you," Tania told him.

He blinked. "You do?"

Tania nodded. "I figured it out already. I knew when we first met that something was different about you. And I thought about it some more and about the way you carry yourself. And then I thought about how Brenda, my ex-boss told me that Leo only hired shifter bouncers and security guards. Men who could take a hard hit without curling up into a ball or backing out…that's exactly what she said."

"Yes, I'm a shifter. Does that bother you?"

"Why would it?" She turned the question on him. "That won't stop me from kissing you. Should it?"

He kissed her again, which sealed the deal for her. She craved him and his kiss.

Tania took his hand and pulled her further into the apartment. "I share this place with a roommate. I told you that, right?"

"Yeah," he said, looking around at stuff.

"She's not here, but let's go hang out in my room. You can take your boots off, prop your feet up…whatever. I know you've been on the road and you're probably tired." She turned around. "Are you hungry, by any chance?"

His pupils were just about fully dilated now. His eyes had changed a deep amber. "Yes."

"I made a casser—"

"Not for food. For you."

Noah followed her to her room willingly where she lured him inside. He closed the door behind him and turned his attention back to her.

He tipped her chin upward and his lips settled onto hers. The kiss was sweet and demanding.

Light, sensuous sips to her lips at first. And then firm roving caresses that coaxed her mouth open. He tasted sweet and hot at the same time, and she closed her eyes, relishing in the sinful urges that she hadn’t had in a very long time.

He dragged his hand through her hair before caressing her at the small of her back. She arched into him, molding her body against him. He swung her around and her back hit the wall. Her hands were all over him, helping him rid himself of his shirt. He grabbed her about the waist, molding her to him. She felt his desire. Hard, hot, and ready, pulsing against her.

Noah tore his lips away from her and his gaze bore into hers.

She immediately wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck and pulled him back down to her. Persuading him to join her in a deeper kiss, one that ignited the flames between her legs. Their tongues swirled deliriously together. The taste of him was orgasmic. One taste was all it took. She couldn’t get enough of it.

They separated for air, but his lips remained on her. The tip of his tongue sliced across the vein on her neck and he sucked at her flesh. Each delicious stroke of his tongue had her shuddering with passion.

He pulled down her straps down her shoulders, baring her breasts. He pressed kisses on her bare flesh. When his lips touched her birthmark for the first time, she gasped. The mark seemed to have a mind of its own, heating her flesh. The contrast of his lips to her skin was like icy to hot. Her knees were like putty and she placed her hands gently on either side of his head, coaxing him to her most sensitive areas. She moaned when he dipped his head and his lips closed in on her nipple. His body held her firmly to the door as he bent to please and suckle.

“Noah,” she moaned.

A low growl rumbled in his throat in answer.

He kneaded a globe in his hand and skillfully teased the nipples until they were taut. Her pussy clenched in exquisite pleasure as he took a wet tongue to the other breast. He suckled hungrily on her, and she propped herself on the door. It was the only think she could do to hold herself up, as her legs became weak from Noah's licks and caresses.

He made her turn around and placed her palms against the wall. She turned to protest.

"I won't hurt you," he reassured her.

The sound of her zipper being undone joined with the sound of their synchronized heavy breathing. He pushed the shorts down her hips until they were all the way down her legs. His hot roving tongue traced the crook of her neck.

"You're beautiful. Just perfect for me. You must know that, right?"

She nodded. A whimper escaped her lips as he gave the back of her neck full attention, nipping and sucking until she was thrusting her hips back, urging him for something more.

“Do you want this?” he whispered against her shoulder.

“Yes, I want you.”

Noah traced the edges of her lace panties, slipping under the fabric. His fingers brushed against the lips of her pussy. Heavenly sensations washed through her and she bit her bottom lip to keep from uttering another cry. He parted her, stroking her clit and sending her nerves in a frenzy. He pushed two fingers up into her and pumped. The other hand played with her nipples. She was soaking wet and her pussy clenched for something more. Before long, he’d worked her so well that she trembled against him, reaching her climax in his embrace.

Tania turned around, barely able to stand, to find his finger between his lips. The sight of it turned her on. She reached between them and tore his zipper open. In only seconds, his cock was free of the confines of his jeans and boxer briefs. When she caught a glance of nothing but serious rigid length and rock-hard muscle, she knew she wouldn’t be able to resist him.

He was big and perfect. It was almost surreal. Her fingers curled around him, testing his firmness. He groaned, a shock expression on his face. It was her turn to play. She forced him back until his legs hit her bed. He lifted his head to the ceiling and moaned as she caressed every inch of him. She examined him in every vivid detail. The way the head plumped like a ripe berry when he was extremely aroused. The way the blood rushed against the veins and pulsed against her fingers. His cockhead was damp with precum.

Her tongue instinctively ran across her lips before she licked up the sweet drop, dipping inside the delicate slit for more. It would only take minutes, and she could have him on the verge of coming. His legs were even shaking. Before long, he had his fingers caught in the bun atop her head, holding her mouth to his perfect cock.

Tania dragged her tongue against the vein leading up the bulbous tip and took him inside her. She rolled it around and sucked on the head. He pulled out of her mouth and tipped her chin.

“Are you teasing me?” Noah lifted her to her feet, and kissed her.

She grinned. “No, you just have the most perfect cock I've ever seen.”

He chuckled. "And I know how to use it."

He led her onto the bed and her body sunk into the plush comforter. She blushed as he stood over her and rid himself of the rest of the garments covering him. If his cock was perfect, his body was exquisite. Christ, the man was a god. Lean and ripped. It looked like he spent countless hours in the gym lifting weights. He ran his fingers through his hair and bit the corner of his lip. The look in his eyes was hungry and feral. He was still rock solid from what her mouth did to him. He was beyond ready for what she wanted.

She spread her legs and glanced at him coyly.

He wasted no time as he knelt on the bed in front of her, parting her thighs, and sliding her panties aside. When first his tongue sliced through her, she gasped. He darted in and out of the folds of her sex with his tongue, but paid no immediate attention to her aching clit. Tania grabbed handfuls of the comforter and bit back her cries. He licked her with leisurely strokes. He pushed her thighs open wide using his shoulders and touched her softly with the pads of his fingers.

“I love your taste, Tania. I'm already addicted,” he said, between licks.

She lifted her hips slightly off the bed, offering herself in total to him.

He slid his four-day-old stubble against her thighs, and she trembled even more.

He sipped at her juices, and at the swollen lips of her pussy until he took her pleasure to new heights. He licked at her clit, but not enough to send her over the edge. She was on the verge of orgasm. So close…

“Please.”

“Do you want to come for me, Tania?”

“Yes.”

He captured the aching bud, sucking and licking until she was writhing on the bed. His palms cupped her ass and he pulled her closer to his mouth. When he buried his tongue within her, her thighs quaked. She let go, cried out in pleasure and let all her inhibitions go. Her release was more than sexual and all the tension in her body disappeared.

When she was sated, Noah crawled over her with a sinister grin on his face. She captured his face between her palms and pulled him down for a kiss.

"You've got a condom, right?" she whispered against his lips.

"No. There's been no one for me in a long time. You wanna stop?"

"Heck no. You've just got talent then because I've never had an orgasm like that before," she commented, reaching over and opening her nightstand. She fumbled with a box of unopened condoms, tore into the plastic, and handed one to him.

Noah did his thing with the condom and then rolled over so that she was on top, lifted her hips, and positioned his cock at the entrance of her pussy. She slid down, biting her lips as she took him inch by inch. It had been a while for her and she was tight. His thickness fit snugly inside of her. The controlled and blissful expression on his face told her that it was just as good for him as well.

“God…Tania,” he said, guiding her hips further down until she had taken all of him.

Tania began moving on him, pumping her hips slowly at first and adjusting to his size. Her clit still pulsed from her climax earlier.

“Look at me when you’re fucking me, Tania.”

She did, knowing that she would get lost in his amber and green eyes. She was lost in them. Utterly, completely lost.

He lifted the top half of his body and took her lips in a kiss. The angle created warm friction between them and just the right amount of pressure to her clit. His mouth clamped over a nipple and he suckled her as she rode him. A delicious sensation rushed through her and her core tightened into what flourished into yet another orgasm.

Without parting them, he repositioned and cradled her until her back hit the bed. He grabbed the outsides of her thighs and pushed into her, burying himself deep. Once he began to move, every cell in her body relinquished itself to the moment. As she’d done many, many times before she let her fingers become tangled in his hair.

He drove into her over and over again with precision and accuracy. Her pussy milked him as though it were deprived. He pressed his damp forehead against hers. His thrusts intensified, and she felt him grow tense above her.

“Tania…”

The way her name rolled off his tongue triggered a gratifying feeling that gripped her, taking her deeper into the moment. She raised her hips to meet his and wound her arms securely around him. Noah's erection seemed to grow thick and long inside of her as his body plunged into what was the start of a climax. As he pulsated within her throughout his orgasm, he held her tightly and securely to his chest.

Tania gasped when hot seed seared her insides. The sensation spread throughout her, reaching the surface and sending tremors across her skin. It was as though he were branding her from the inside out. She was already addicted. Sprung. And even now, she knew she couldn't just let him walk away and out of her life…just like that.

Tania fought to regain normal breathing and reign in her control.

“That was awesome,” Noah whispered, and then he took her in his arms as he lay out beside her.

“Yes, it was.” She curled up against him. "I wish we had more time."

He kissed the top of her head. "We're going to make time."

"Do you still have to leave?"

He was silent for a long moment. The sound of their delayed breathing filled the air. She knew what the answer was.

"Do you still want me to come with you?"

"Yes," he replied almost instantly.

Tania smiled and threaded her fingers with his. She looked down at their joined hands for a second, and then she brought his hand up and admired the natural-like imprint on the inside of his left wrist.

"Your birthmark looks like mine," she said.

"There's a reason for that," he said.

"I was wondering why you asked me about mine that first night we met. I know it's kind of weird looking and all—"

"It's not weird looking. It's beautiful," he said.

"The mark appeared right when I first started maturing and becoming a woman. My best friend, Eliana says it looks like a toy boat."

Noah chuckled. "A toy boat. That's cute."

"When I was younger, I used to cover it up. I didn't know what it was."

"It's special. Like an imprinting. To humans, it's nothing more than a birthmark, but shifters call it a mate mark because intended mates carry matching mark."

"What do you think a boat has to do with us?" she asked.

"Hmmm…that's a good question. Not sure why we're given what we're given. My mom was shifter. My dad, human. I think that's partly why he left me behind. He didn't think that he could raise a shifter son."

"And your mom passed, right?"

"Yes. My aunt says she breast-fed me for three days then they found her unconscious one night. She died later at the local hospital of internal bleeding. Official cause of death was still up in the air even after she was buried, but it was pregnancy-related. But you know what? My mom gave me my name…Noah. Can you guess why?"

When it dawned on her, Tania smiled.

"My aunt told me that my mom said my mate mark looked more like an ark than anything else," he confirmed.

"That's unique. The concept of us having matching mate marks is romantic too. But you can't mean mate…as in together forever…"

"Actually, that's what it means. Not only do shifters imprint on their lovers, they also mate for life. Our matching mate mark tells us that we're meant to be. We met for a reason. Now that we've found each other, there's nothing that will stop us from coming together and procreating like we were meant to do."

"Procreating?" She grinned. "I've always wanted a family. I've never had one. Just my foster moms and dads, some of the group home counselor. Some of my sisters from the orphanage. Eliana's like a sister to me."

"I've accepted you and so will my family."

Tania couldn't help but think back on the times she wished she had a family and a real home. A birth mom and a dad. Found abandoned on a bus in Aspen Valley at just four months old, she was labeled a Jane Doe baby. Hadn't even been given a name until she was officially registered with the foster care system. The thought of having Noah in her life gave her promise.

"Are you sure they'll accept me? You've known these people for years."

"You're my mate. You carry my mark. Of course," he said.

"I was thinking hard about last night when I got home and I thought you'd already left for Minnesota. To tell you the truth, if I hadn't found someone that knew your contact information I probably would've taken a bus to Timber Rock to find you."

He laughed softly. "See? That's our mating instincts at work. And I'd like nothing more than for you to step foot on my home territory. Then I know you'd be there to stay. I couldn't let you leave."

"I wouldn't want to," she said, snuggling up to him.

"Well, even though I'm the best-est guy you'll ever meet, I must say, my home town is the real deal. Is that even a word? The best-est?"

She giggled. "No."

"Well, I made it up because I like to invent stuff like that. I think you'd really like it there. It's like Aspen Valley, but on a larger scale."

"I always thought about moving to a big city one day. I hadn't thought of giving a bigger town a shot," Tania replied.

"But no rushing things, okay? We'll take this one day at a time."

"It's a little late for that. That was the best-est sex I've ever had."

They laughed and then he said, "It was that way for me too, but I never had any doubts about you."

They let silence will the air again and then she said, "I think I understand why you would have to leave here eventually."

He looked down at her, locking their gazes. His eyes told her that he was curious to know what she knew.

"You're part of a Pack, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"It's in Timber Rock. Minnesota."

"I'm an Omega and I work closely with my Alpha. For the past couple months, I've been talking with the enforcers of the Aspen Valley Wolf Pack about some issues they've been having. And their Alpha too. My stay was never meant to be permanent, but when the Alpha sends me on a mission, I go…and then I return and I report to him. It's my duty and my responsibility."

"Wow, you sound all important. That's so sexy." She grinned and lifted her lips to kiss him. "Omega. I like the sound of that."

"Lower ranking and Alpha appointed, but a rank no doubt. Not that many shifters are chosen to be a part of my Alpha's closest circle. Not all shifters attain ranking either. I was honored when he chose me." Then he said, "We're going to make this work, Tania. One day at a time. There's distance between us now. Someday, not even the distance will keep us apart."

She sighed. "I've never left Aspen Valley, that's all. I want to, but then I don't. I've been through a lot."

"I know. I understand. I won't force you anywhere you don't want to be. I'll wait for you as long as you need me to."

"That's sweet," she said, tracing the corded muscles on his chest.

"I mean it. So, are we even now?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, resting her head on his chest and listening to his heart beat.

"We're both naked. No street clothes. No PJs. Skin to skin. Just the way I like it."

"Yes, we're even now, Noah."