^“I’m driving you back to your place in Bond. You can get your jeep tomorrow. It’s too late, and too dark,” Aidan said firmly.

I appreciated that Aidan was worried about me, but I wasn’t used to anybody telling me what to do. Still, I was an outsider in this culture, fumbling through the darkness clumsily on blind instinct and luck. I didn’t like being at anyone’s mercy, even if he had silky black hair and icy blue eyes to die for.

But I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. The day had drained me more than I cared to admit.

“You did well in there. You held your own. I was impressed, and a little surprised, to tell you the truth,” Aidan said after a moment.

“Surprised? Did you think I’d fold from intimidation? Sheesh, you haven’t seen what I’ve been up against.”

“I thought you were a new lawyer. You know, wet behind the ears.”

“Well… I, uh, haven’t had a lot of courtroom experience. But I’ve done mock trials in my classes. And I interned for a judge last summer.” My face grew red with embarrassment. I’d been trying to make myself seem more experienced than I was, and Aidan caught me in the lie.

“I guess that counts for something.” His dark eyes danced. I’d seen men look at me that way before, and I knew it meant they wanted me. Even though Aidan was a shifter, he had that same, hungry look in his eyes.

“I didn’t know you were the Big Kahuna,” I said, changing the subject.

“The what?” His brow furrowed.

“The pack’s alpha. That council member said you were. That means you’re in charge, right? Everybody has to do what you say. You’re practically royalty.”

“You watch too many movies,” he grimaced. “I’m the alpha of our pack, but there’s an alpha above me who oversees all the packs. He’s a shifter more powerful than I can even begin to explain.”

“So, you’re like a middle manager then?”

“Wow, you make it sound so sexy. Why is it that you humans have to categorize everything to understand it?” He laughed sarcastically.

“And you don’t? We’re more alike than you think.”

“Maybe that’s why I trust you.” His voice softened. “I don’t trust humans, but I trust you. You’re different somehow, aren’t you?”

I blushed. “I don’t think I’m that different. I want what’s best for my client. I’m sworn to represent Chase to the best of my ability, using all the resources I can find. So, that’s what I’m doing.” I paused. “Or at least that’s what I’m trying to do.”

He shook his head and laughed. “I was trying to compliment you, and you took it as a criticism. Maybe I don’t understand humans after all.” He ran his fingers through his tousled locks. “Or maybe just women.”

My body tensed. I wanted to ask him if he had a woman in his life. A mate, I think they called it in the shifter world. The question was on the tip of my tongue, but I held back. It was too forward, and it was none of my business, besides.

Aidan inhaled my scent, but it didn’t seem odd to me. It was as if he was trying to figure out pieces of information, nonverbal cues that could tell him more than words ever could explain.

“And you? Who is your mate?” He said matter-of-factly.

“My mate?” My eyes widened and I pursed my lips. It was funny hearing him call it that, when I knew he meant my boyfriend.

“I dated someone briefly in law school, but he’s not in the picture anymore. It was just casual, anyway. Nothing serious.”

Aidan looked at me, puzzled. “If you were my girl, it would be serious. I wouldn’t let you out of my sight. And you’d be damn sure you knew how much you meant to me. I’d die if it meant protecting you.”

I flinched. Everything he’d said sounded so chauvinistic, and it was the exact opposite of what I stood for. I was a strong woman. I could keep things casual and not feel insulted when a guy didn’t call me for days. But the way Aidan was so protective and masculine stirred a desire in me I couldn’t explain.

I believed him when he’d said he’d die to protect me. That was the difference between human men and shifters.

I shook back my hair, and pressed my chilled hands to my hot cheeks. I’d never met anyone so virile and as ruggedly handsome as Aidan. His dark hair and his deep penetrating eyes accented his firm, delicious lips. I wanted him to kiss me so I could taste the luscious flavor of his mouth. I leaned towards him, hoping he’d take the hint.

He wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. I dipped my head and burrowed it into his shoulder. My heart raced. He smelled good—woodsy, and masculine. I smelled the hint of campfire on his skin. I wanted to uncover all the secrets locked inside him. Everything about Aidan was so foreign, and veiled in mystery.

His chin nuzzled into the crown of my head for a moment. Then, he pushed the stray tendrils of hair from my face.

“I have to take you home now, but I don’t want to,” he sighed. “If you need anything, you call me.” He slipped a piece of paper into my hand, and folded it into quarters.

“Anything? Like a glass of water?” I laughed, acutely aware that my professional distance had flown out the window. I couldn’t help but flirt shamelessly with him.

“If it was an excuse to see you, then I’d be there in a heartbeat.”

I tried to hold back how my heart fluttered in his presence. I’d never had a man who wanted to take care of me like that. It felt so strange, and yet so seductive. But getting close to a shifter, even if he was heavenly, was a bad idea. I could see that as clear as day, but I didn’t know if I cared to heed my own warning.

The storm had passed, and the dark sky overhead was illuminated with starlight. I’d never seen the stars look like that, so brilliant and bright. They truly looked like diamonds sparkling in the heavens. I’d spent my childhood living in a place where we never saw the stars because the city lights were so bright. It felt magical to be under this natural, magnificent canopy, with someone who took my breath away.

Aidan’s arms held me tight, shielding me from the cold. I pressed my face into his shoulder, and burrowed my head further in the warmth and protection of his thick coat. After a moment, his hand traced along my jaw and pointed it upwards towards the stars.

The sky was suddenly awash with brilliant green and yellow colors streaming down on us from above. The Northern Lights. I’d heard about them, but I’d never witnessed them in person before.

“I never knew anything could be so beautiful,” I murmured.

“I was thinking the same thing.” His voice went quiet, and he held me close as we watched nature’s magical light show dance over our heads.

I liked the way he breathed into my hair, and the way his body connected to mine as he rubbed his chin against the top of my head. As I pressed closer to him, I felt the hard outline of his bulge against my thigh. I forced back the urge to massage it, even though my hand felt drawn to him like a magnet to steel.

That was surely crossing a professional line. But up here in Alaska, the rules didn’t seem to apply. It was a wilderness, in every sense of the word. I wanted to get lost in Aidan’s eyes, and discover what it felt like for a shifter to take me as his own for the very first time.