Tonight’s goal was new experiences. In the span of an hour, I’d ticked two items off a bucket list that hadn’t previously existed. Leave with a perfect stranger, and ride a motorcycle. Good progress for a single night’s work, with hopefully more to come. Before now, I’d never tried anything new. I’d been content with my lot in life, training and readying myself to take over the pack. As the heir, it was my duty to obey my father’s every command. And I’d done so without complaint. I’d never taken a moment to consider anything else. Never done anything I knew he would disapprove of.

Until now.

Going home with a random man the night before my wedding certainly ranked in the top five worst decisions I’d ever made, but I didn’t care. Not one bit. Tomorrow I would walk down the aisle and pledge myself to someone I barely knew. I would do my duty to the pack and to my father. So I deserved this. One night to cut loose and have fun, and make my own choices—even horrible ones.

Oddly enough, Jerrik didn’t feel like a bad decision. Nor did he feel random. Right now, pressed up against him with my hands brushing his sides and my thighs pressed against his hips…I felt like I’d always known him. Like I’d been waiting my entire life for this one moment.

A moment I refused to waste.

Pushing those heavy thoughts to the back of my mind, I threw my arms out to the side and tipped my head back. The wind combed through my hair and rushed over my face, the notion of freedom overtaking me. I’d never felt such an adrenaline rush before, not even when leading my men into battle. My entire body hummed with excitement, every knotted nerve alight with newfound energy. I never wanted it to end.

“How you doing back there?” Jerrik shouted over the roar of the engine.

A wide grin spread across my face. I sat up and debated how to respond. If tonight was our only night, I didn’t want to waste a second of it. I wanted to experience this thing called life I’d been missing out on.

Jerrik slowed to take a curve. I tightened my grip around his waist and pressed my face against his back, my hands splayed across his stomach. I could feel the top of his belt buckle brushing against my fingers, tempting me to dip that little bit lower. A hot stab of excitement pooled between my legs as I tinkered with the idea of sliding my hand into his pants. But I wasn’t quite ready for that. Those were Lucy-esque moves.

Instead, I placed my hands on his shoulders and stood, balancing on the footrests. Jerrik’s body stiffened and he snuck a quick glance my way before turning back to the road. I slid my hand down his arm and pulled it away from the handlebar, then swung my leg around to the front. He moved with me, repositioning himself as I sat down in front of him, my back to the road and my legs wrapped around his waist.

Jerrik laughed, a rich sound that gave me goosebumps. “You sure you want to sit there?”

Oh, yeah. Maybe it was reckless, but I didn’t care. Advantage to being a werewolf. We could take risks humans couldn’t.

He shifted gears and the bike started to slow. Curious, I glanced over my shoulder and spotted a red light. Though the roads were empty, and only a few stragglers occupied the sidewalks, he still came to a complete stop.

“You seem to be having fun,” Jerrik commented.

Fun didn’t begin to describe it. I felt alive. I dragged my gaze up his chest, my mouth watering at the sight of that perfect jaw and the sensuous curve of his mouth. There was something I’d wanted to do since we’d met, and with my heart skipping in my chest and my hair tousled from the wind, now seemed like the perfect moment.

Before I talked myself out of it, I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down. Our mouths came together, and my whole world exploded. I sucked in a sharp breath and parted my lips, a rush of desire blazing through my chest when his tongue brushed mine, teasing me with his maddeningly slow strokes.

He growled and pulled me against him, the leather seat digging into my ass. Not that I cared. Nothing in the world could have convinced me to stop. I’d instigated the kiss, but he’d taken full control, his mouth hard and demanding, yet so wickedly talented. He nipped at my bottom lip, feeding at my mouth. I responded with equal abandon, my fingers spearing into his hair as I held on for dear life.

A horn blasted through the air behind us. I jumped and broke from the kiss, my hand flying to my tender mouth.

Jerrik ignored the second honk and instead stared down at me, his eyes burning with golden light. “Jesus. Where the hell have you been my whole life?”

Warmth spread through my cheeks, but before I could answer, he kicked the bike back into drive and shot through the intersection.

I couldn’t concentrate the rest of the ride. My only thought was getting off this bike and finishing what we’d started. I wanted so much more than that small taste. I wanted everything.

He finally pulled into a driveway and parked the bike. My abused ears rang as we climbed off, but I still heard him mutter thank fuck. He grabbed my hand and tugged me up the stairs. I barely had a chance to admire the front porch before we staggered through the door. We laughed as I tripped over a pair of discarded boots, but Jerrik didn’t bother to move them. Instead, he hoisted me up onto his hips and pressed me flat against the wall. His mouth found mine while his hands slid under my shirt and explored the curves of my body.

Too many clothes.

I wanted him naked and above me, or below me. I didn’t much care which. But it needed to happen, and now. Dizzy with anticipation, my fingers and toes tingled with desire. Heat exploded in my stomach when his fingers brushed my nipples, and my pulse kicked into overdrive when he tugged my shirt off.

Hoping not to be left behind, I popped open his buttons and slid his shirt down his arms, pausing to admire the ripped muscles I’d known were hidden beneath. I whistled an appreciative tune under my breath and eyed every inch of him. My own personal Adonis. The broad shoulders, the defined pecs, and the fine dusting of dark hair that disappeared into his jeans. All of him, simply perfect.

And I needed more.

His hand cupped the back of my neck before he pulled me away from the wall and staggered through the house. We slammed into his bedroom, and toppled down onto his bed. I spared a breath to laugh, but Jerrik’s mouth came down on mine, silencing me with a drugging kiss. I moaned against him and arched my body. His hand slipped around my back and removed my bra with a quick flick of his experienced fingers. Once bare to the cool air, his lips sealed around one of my nipples while his thumb brushed the other.

I cried out and reached for his belt, tearing it off in a single pull. His pants went next with me barely pausing to unbutton the fly. In the hurry to undress him, I’d hardly noticed him doing the same. It wasn’t until I lay naked beneath him that I stopped for a breath.

Holy shit. This was happening. Like actually happening.

My nerves crept up on me, and my heart kicked against my ribs. I was about to experience my first one-night stand. At the ripe age of one hundred and two. A baby compared to most werewolves.

Sensing the change of direction in my thoughts, Jerrik lifted his head, his lips a touch swollen. “Reagan?”

Every doubt screamed in my head. What was I doing? Who was he? I didn’t know a thing about him. But he knew everything about me. What if this was a game? A bet to see who could bed Reagan Compton? Thoughts I fought to silence. Worry about them later.

“Shh,” he whispered. He lowered down and brushed his lips against mine.

“I’ve never done this before,” I murmured, deciding honesty might be best in this situation. Better late than never.

His mouth curved into a half grin. “Then let me show you how.”

Yes, please.

He slid down my body, his mouth coming to rest between my thighs. The moment his tongue stroked me, I whimpered and arched against him, my hips rising off the bed. Every lick was maddening, promising a climatic ending but never delivering. Every time I neared the edge, he pulled back, teasing me with the promise of something wonderful.

I thrust my fingers into his hair, begging him to finish what he started.

Jerrik slid a finger within me and moved in time with his tongue, teasing me both inside and out. The pleasure spiked, the warmth blooming within my stomach so suddenly that I cried out when my orgasm burst through me. Every inch of me reveled in the sensation and rode out the waves. Only then did I open my eyes to find Jerrik positioned between my thighs, his length already sheathed in a condom.

He lowered down and claimed my mouth in a demanding kiss that left me breathless. I felt him positioning himself, and when he slid inside me, I gasped, my hands digging into his muscled back. My body shuddered as I adjusted to his width. I wrapped my legs around him and lifted my hips, my head digging into the pillows when he started to move. He began a quick rhythm, his every thrust bringing me that much closer to the edge. Jerrik growled as he moved within me, his rhythm shattering as he thrust deeper and deeper. My hands gripped the sheets when the next orgasm tore through me, my body clenching around him. His head fell forward and he grunted as he finished, the tips of his hair brushing against my chest.

He collapsed next to me, equally breathless.

Wow. I didn’t know what else to think, or if I was even capable of thinking. My head was a mush of erratic thoughts. Thankfully, none of which centered on regret.

After disposing of the condom, Jerrik reached out and pulled me close, resting my head in the nook between his chest and arm. I thought it’d feel weird, but it felt so right. Startlingly and frighteningly right. The thought terrified me. Tomorrow was my wedding. Tonight was not the night to be tempted by the thought of finding something with a different man. I’d meant this to be an adventure, something to remember my single life by. One last crazy night before I took the step down marriage lane. But Jerrik didn’t feel like a one-night stand type guy. And that was more than my befuddled brain could handle at the moment.

“You’re like an open book,” Jerrik murmured before he leaned down and brushed a kiss against my brow. “Stop thinking and just relax.”

“Easier said than done,” I whispered back. My thoughts were crazy loud. Annoyingly so.

He positioned himself until our gazes met. “Do you want to talk about it?”

God, no. These thoughts and fears were for my ears only. Besides, how could he help?

“I’ve been around a really long time,” he said, answering my unspoken thought. “I’ve seen things, experienced things…”

“How long?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

“Oh…” He released a heavy breath. “A while. Longer than most.”

My brows furrowed. What did that mean? I pushed up onto my elbows. “Like three hundred years? Four?”

The right side of his mouth tugged upward. “Longer.”

“Five?”

He exhaled and stretched onto his back.

Longer than five hundred years then. My father was the oldest werewolf I knew at six-hundred-and-thirty years. Could Jerrik be older? The thought astounded me. I didn’t know what to make of it. Generally speaking, werewolves didn’t live past five hundred. Most chose to end their own lives, exhausted or driven mad by the world around them. My father was one of the few who’d made it past the big five-oh-oh, and I’d always believed it was pure stubbornness that kept him hanging around longer than others.

“Jerrik…”

He wrapped his arms around me and drew me back into his chest. “Sleep, dove. Tomorrow is a big day. You’ll need all the rest you can get.”

I caught a flicker of light in his eyes. A flash of gold lightning. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like he didn’t like the idea of tomorrow any more than I did.

Insane, right? We’d only just met.

“What if I don’t want to sleep?” I whispered as I slid my hand over his toned stomach, my target just a little further south. My body still buzzed, orgasmic aftermath and all that. Sleep could wait.

Jerrik turned to me with a smirk. “You young’uns, always so eager.”

I bit back a chuckle and cupped his length, my eyes widening when I found him fully erect.

With a growl, he rolled over and pinned me beneath his massive body. “I’m old. Not dead.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. A sound that quickly turned to a low moan when his hand snaked up my thigh.

Had to make this night count, right?