Chance kissed this woman as though doing so would save him. He’d not realized how much he’d needed this until she’d walked into his life.

He had no doubts that she was his mate. The need to lose himself inside her was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. He’d wanted to fuck different women plenty of times—had fucked different women plenty of times—but he’d never reacted to them in the way he did to this human woman he’d found in the forest.

Human.

How could she be human and smell this way?

Right now, Chance didn’t care. All he cared about was taking her for himself.

Her mouth was sweet and warm and hungry. She kissed him back with the same fervor as he kissed her. Her body arched and writhed beneath him, and while he was prepared for her to push him away and tell him to stop, she didn’t.

The silly apron he’d worn to save her blushes was now tented comically with his erection. He didn’t know why he’d bothered, except that he’d instinctively picked up that she’d have been more comfortable with him tending to her if at least that part of his body was covered. He shouldn’t have bothered. It wasn’t going to stay hidden for long.

His hand reached down, beneath the skirt she wore. He thrust up between her thighs, seeking for the place he most desired. His fingers met with her panties, and he yanked them to one side. Already, she was wet—he’d smelled it on her back in the forest—and he wasted no time in parting her folds and pushing first one finger and then a second inside her. She groaned, and her lips parted. He kissed her harder again, knowing she was focusing on the feel of his fingers inside her, but wanting her to continue to kiss him. Her inner muscles clamped down hard on his digits, and he pushed deeper. He felt her reach for him, batting away the stupid apron. Then her slender hand wrapped around the hard length of his cock and it was his turn to groan. Fuck, had anything ever felt as good as her fingers wrapped around him? She pumped him, matching the speed of his fingers pushing inside her with the movement of her hand. Her other hand dug into his shoulder, the blunt nails leaving ellipses in his skin.

“Oh, fuck, I want you,” she gasped.

Her good leg wrapped around his hip, pulling him toward her, fitting him between her thighs. Her skirt was rucked up around her hips, and with a quick movement, he slipped his fingers from her body and quickly yanked her underwear away. He pushed up her shirt, wanting to get his hands on her breasts, even as he slotted between her thighs. She guided him in, her hand on his dick, putting him into position. And then he nudged forward, the head of his cock pushing between her pussy lips and sliding into the tight, wet heat waiting for him.

They gasped against each other’s mouths, both focusing purely on the sensation now, the feel of him penetrating her. He held still for a moment, absorbing the sensation of having her wrapped around his cock, and then she lifted her hips at the same time as he pushed forward, and he slid balls deep.

She kissed his neck, his shoulder, sank in her teeth, as he pulled out and thrust again, still moving slowly but this time with more force. Their bodies met, hips slamming together as their momentum built. Their breathing came fast, panting, both giving cries of pleasure. The sound was animalistic, and he felt his orgasm building, starting low in his balls and creeping higher.

“Oh, God,” she cried. “I’m going to come.”

Those were like magic words for him, letting him know it was okay to do the same. He felt her pussy tighten and release, pulsing around him, milking him, and then he let himself go as well, thrusting hard into her, filling her deep.

“Shit, I can’t believe we just did that.” She pulled away from him, tugging her underwear back into place, dragging her dress down to cover her body, and scooting to the far side of the booth, creating distance between them.

He didn’t want that.

“That was really fucking stupid,” she said, putting her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry.”

He blinked in surprise. “What are you sorry for?”

“I don’t know. Letting it get this far, I guess. I should have told you to let me go outside the restaurant. I mean,” she gave a small laugh, “I don’t even know your name.”

“My name is Chance.”

She gave a small smile. “I’m Maya.”

He returned the smile. “Good to meet you, Maya.” He liked the way her name sounded on his tongue.

“I hope you don’t introduce yourself to every girl you meet that way.”

“No, only you.”

“What the hell happened there? I mean, seriously? I don’t go around fucking guys whose names I don’t even know, and I certainly don’t go around fucking guys who turn into wolves.”

He slid onto the seat and settled beside her. “Yeah, about that...”

Her blue eyes widened. “Uh-oh. Why do I not think I’m going to like the sound of this?”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mean to worry you. It’s just that I felt something when we first met. I still feel it now. Do you have any idea what I’m talking about?”

The lift of her eyebrows told him that she didn’t.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but when I caught the scent of you out in the forest, I would have sworn I’d caught the scent of my mate.”

Her eyes widened again and she reared away from him. “Your mate? Oh, my God. You’re already married? I should have known it. I’m such an idiot.”

He lifted his hand in defense. “No, no. That’s not what I meant at all. I’m most definitely single, Maya. I meant that when I caught the scent of you, I thought you were my mate.” He paused and then added, “I still do.”

Her mouth dropped. “Your mate? I can’t be your mate. I’m human.”

He frowned. “Yeah, I know that. Which makes this whole thing a little confusing.”

“You’re telling me!”

They sat back, looking at each other.

He had to know. “But you feel it, too, don’t you? This pull that’s bringing us together. You might not have scented it about me, but you felt it. I saw the way you reacted to me out in the forest.”

“Well, you are kind of hot and you were doing this whole ‘wolf turns into man and stands stark naked’ thing. It was hard for me not to react.”

He smiled. “Okay, but other than that, did you feel anything different?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I did. Like someone attached electric wires to my body and gave me a jolt that woke up parts of me I didn’t even know had been asleep.”

His smile widened. She’d described it perfectly.

Her teeth dug into her lower lip as she thought. “But, if we’re supposed to be mates, and we just... you know... then doesn’t that mean we’re now mated? And don’t wolves mate for life?”

He nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly right. There’s just one problem.”

“I’m not a wolf,” she filled in for him.

He sat back, thinking hard. “The way I feel right now, Maya, is that I want to scoop you up and take you back to the pack with me, take you to my home, show you my bed and then set about making lots of wolf pups with you.” Her face paled, and he laughed. “But I know you humans do things differently, so don’t panic. I don’t even know if you and I could have wolf pups together. I honestly have no idea how this works. So here’s what we can do. I can leave you now, let you get your head together, and then come back and see you another night. Or else we can go back to my pack and go and see my alpha. Maybe he’ll be able to shed some light on why this is happening.”

She visibly swallowed. “Your alpha? They’ll be wolves, right? Will they want to hurt me?”

He frowned. “Hurt you? Why would they want to hurt you?”

“Because of the rules—we don’t go into the forest alone, on a full moon. It’s for everyone’s safety.”

“Listen to me. First of all, you’ll be with me, and I’ll never let anything happen to you. Secondly, the wolves would never intentionally hurt a human.”

“What about unintentionally?”

“Accidents happen, as they do the other way around with humans harming wolves. Just remember that I’ll be with you at all times.”

“Promise?” she said.

It seemed she was considering his suggestion to take her back to his pack, and Chance struggled to hold back his joy. “Promise.”