Arizona grabbed Garrett’s hand and pulled him onto the path in the woods. Elated by their successful night, she wanted to skip all the way back to his house. Pretending to be in love with him had been much easier than she’d expected. Granted, he didn’t make it hard to pretend. He’d been the perfect gentleman all night. Holding out her chair, freshening up her drink, fetching her food. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he really cared about her.

“We totally pulled it off,” she said.

“Yes we did.”

When he grabbed her and swung her in a circle, she laughed. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he set her down. For a second, they didn’t move. Moonlight glinted in his dark blue eyes. She’d never met anyone who could be so expressive without moving a muscle. Desire and longing flickered in his gaze as she pulled away. Getting too close would be dangerous. She needed to be careful.

“I have to confess something,” he said as they continued down the path.

“What?”

“I kind of liked having a fiancée. I know this is going to sound bad, but I’m sick of pushing away the other women in the pack. They don’t understand why I’m not interested in a long-term relationship. Most of them only care about my position in the clan anyway. If I took over, they’d essentially become co-leader of the clan.”

“Power-hungry.”

“Exactly.”

“You don’t want a woman who only wants you because you can advance their position in the pack. You deserve real love. A kind of love that lasts a lifetime,” she said in a wistful tone.

“I don’t think it will ever happen,” he said.

“Why not? You’re charming and good-looking.”

“Tell me more…”

“And not at all humble,” she said.

“Humble is my middle name.”

“Sure it is.”

“Okay, you caught me.”

His deep baritone sent tendrils of desire straight to her sex. Touching him at dinner had been torture. Every time their fingers grazed, bolts of electric fire tingled in her pussy. And when he’d pressed her against him on the dance floor, she’d nearly melted into a puddle of wanton need.

As they approached his house, a wild impulse to invite him into her room took hold. She pushed it away and tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other on the uneven path. But she couldn’t ignore the zing of lust when he glanced her way.

She hoped the overwhelming urge to drag him to bed would be gone by the time they reached the door to her bedroom, but it wasn’t. She stopped in front of the door and turned to him. His gaze dropped to her lips. Without thinking, she darted her tongue out to wet her lips.

Walk away. This is a bad idea.

She needed to run into the room and lock the door behind her, but couldn’t force her feet to move.

“I guess this is goodnight,” he said in a husky tone.

“Yes,” she chirped.

As he took a step forward, she backed into the door.

“I had a crazy thought…”

“You did?”

“Mm-hmm,” he murmured. He caressed the edge of her cheek with his knuckles. “Do you want to hear it?”

“No.”

Oh God, yes!

“It’s a bad idea,” he whispered.

“Terrible.”

“You don’t even know what it is yet.”

“I can guess,” she said breathlessly.

When his gaze dropped to her lips again, she trembled in anticipation.

He caged her between his hands. There was nowhere to go, not that she wanted to be anywhere else. But this was a terrible idea and she should stop him before he—

As his lips grazed her cheek, he murmured, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she choked.

He stepped back quickly and started down the hall. Before she knew what she was doing, she chased him and grabbed his arm.

“If I turn around, I won’t stop,” he growled.

She spun him around and pushed him against the wall. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled his head down so she could reach him. The moment she crushed her lips against his, a low roar rumbled up from his throat. Surprised, she released him and stumbled back. He advanced like a stealthy predator stalking its prey. The hunger in his eyes stopped her heart. And when they came together again, she didn’t hold back.

He claimed her with his lips. Passionate, demanding, hot kisses annihilated any hesitation on her part. She clung to him, wrapping a leg around his thigh and grinding her pussy against the bulge in his jeans. She’d never been so reckless before, so utterly shameless, but she didn’t care.

As his tongue parted her lips, she gasped. White-hot heat pooled in her pussy. Slick and desperate to feel every inch of him, she reached for his shirt. The buttons popped open with little effort. She moaned as she slid her hands across the taut muscles in his chest. Rock hard. A sparse smattering of hair. Chiseled abs. Short-circuiting her brain.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled away.

“We should stop.”

“We should,” she said without conviction.

He began to button his shirt. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his chest.

“It wouldn’t be a good idea,” he said.

“A bad one.”

“This isn’t permanent.”

“I know. I’m only here until your dad dies and then I’m going to have to figure something else out,” she snapped.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to.”

“I can’t stay here forever.”

“No, but don’t worry about the future right now. Right now all we need to worry about is keeping my dad happy.”

“You’re right.”

“Try to get some sleep,” he said.

“I will.”

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“What?” she asked.

“Why did you kiss me?”

His smile melted every inch of her body. He didn’t have the right to look so damn hot. It wasn’t fair.

“I don’t know.”

She really didn’t. Maybe lust had fried her brain. She’d never thrown herself at a man before. Granted, she’d never dated a man with ridiculously sexy washboard abs. God, those abs.

“Okay then. Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight.”

She hurried into the bedroom before she could do something she’d regret. Lips tingling, her body blazing with unfulfilled need, she paced the room for fifteen minutes before giving up. An ice-cold shower should stop the raging inferno of lust still burning inside her. And if that didn't help, she’d be in real trouble.

After gathering up a nightgown and towel, she walked down the hall toward the bathroom. The sound of water splashing in the shower stopped her. She inched forward to find the door cracked open. She wasn’t going to look. That would be really, really bad. An invasion of privacy. Totally out of the question.

She took another step. One little peek wouldn’t hurt. She had to know if the hard lump poking against his jeans was the real deal. Just one quick glance and she’d be out of there.

Misty steam billowed out from the door. She pushed it open another inch. She couldn’t quite make out his shape with all the damn moisture in the air. The clear shower curtain bent the light at an angle, making it hard to decipher the exact outline of his body. As she squinted and narrowed her eyes, his form came into view.

Huge.

Jaw-dropping, panty-melting, pussy-pounding huge. It was so big it couldn’t possibly fit. She’d never been with a guy so well-endowed. This had to be a shifter thing. Long, thick, veiny, sexy cocks. Definitely a shifter thing. Not that she’d ever seen another shifter cock. She’d only been with two other guys, never a shifter. Were they all this… this…massive?

“Well, are you coming in or not?”

She froze. Busted!

“Uh, I was just…” Excuses evaporated faster than she could formulate another one.

He pushed open the shower curtain. Rivulets of water cascaded down his body, rolling over his abs, trailing down the V pointing toward the object of her obsession, dripping off his cock and splashing against the tile below. Wet. Mesmerizing. Erotic.

He turned off the water and grabbed a white, fluffy towel. She’d never been so jealous of a towel in her life. As he wrapped it around his hips, she backed out of the room.

“I’m so sorry,” she stammered.

As she turned to leave, he grabbed her arm.

“Hold on there.” He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her up against his damp skin. “Didn’t you want to see everything?”

She wanted to shrivel up and sink through the floor. But before she could move a muscle, he dipped to brush a soft kiss across her lips. And he didn’t stop there. As he trailed warm kisses down her neck, she sighed and dug her nails into his biceps. His low, sexy grown vibrated along every nerve ending. And by the time his lips nibbled across her collarbone, she’d forgotten why this was a bad idea.

“No strings?” she whispered.

“None.”

If they didn’t have any expectations, then it would be one night of pleasure, nothing more. No expectations. No disappointments. Just pure pleasure. So why not?

* * *

As soon as she moaned his name, Garrett knew she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Dying to touch every inch of her curves, he reached for the zipper on the side of her dress.

“If you want me to stop...”

“Shut up and kiss me,” she said.

He plunged forward, yanking down the zipper while backing her into the wall. As he slid her dress down, she undulated her hips against him. With nothing to protect him from her sultry touch, his cock jumped at even the slightest graze of fabric or the gentlest brush of her hips. His bear roared, desperate to mark every inch of her with his tongue and teeth. It took every last ounce of strength to rein in the beast.

When the dress cleared her shoulders, he kissed an invisible path across her skin. He pulled the garment lower to reveal two creamy globes of succulent flesh. He’d been dying to lick her nipples. They’d been poking against the fabric half the night, taunting and teasing. And now he could finally taste her.

He sucked one plump nipple into his mouth while scooping up the other in his palm. She scratched her nails down his back, leaving a path of fiery pain in her wake. The exquisite mix of pain and pleasure send blood rushing to his cock. He yanked the dress past her waist and over her hips. When it pooled at his feet, he stepped back to feast on her beauty. She reminded him of a Baroque painting he’d seen in Paris. Stunning.

Her gaze dropped and her hands moved to cover her body.

“Don’t do that,” he said. “You’re the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.”

“You don’t have to flatter me.”

“I’m not.” He moved to take her into his arms. “I couldn’t lie anyway. I’m naked and I’m harder than I’ve ever been, so the evidence is pretty noticeable.”

“How hard are you?” she murmured seductively.

Before he could respond, she wrapped her hand around his cock. He groaned and bent to kiss the side of her neck. She skimmed her fingers down the length of him before returning to stroke him. His hips pushed forward of their own volition. He wanted to bury himself in her heat but didn’t want to rush. This might be the only time they had together, so he wanted to savor every moment.

“All that pretending got to us,” she whispered.

“You’d make a great actress.”

“So would you.”

Their cover story may have been an act, but his body’s response to her wasn’t. He couldn’t fake this level of arousal. And he doubted she could either, but to be sure, he trailed his fingers down to brush her pussy lips. She shivered and groaned.

“You’re so wet for me,” he murmured.

“Touch me.”

“I am.”

“Touch me here.” She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her soft mound.

She didn’t have to ask twice. He grazed the sopping-wet folds before sliding one finger in to tease her. When she angled her hips forward, he pushed another inside. With slow, deliberate strokes, he dipped inside, stroking, probing, straying only to swirl around her clit before diving back in.

“We hardly know each other,” she murmured. “How can I trust you?”

“I’d never hurt you,” he said. “You’re safe with me.”

“Then take me.”

His cock swelled, dying to plunge inside, but he needed a condom.

“Don’t move,” he said.

He rifled through the drawers and grabbed a foil packet. After tearing it open he slid it on. Screw trying to make it to a bed. He lifted her and set her butt on the edge of the sink. She spread her thighs, inviting him to make good on his promise.

As he slid into her, his mind snapped and pure sensation overwhelmed him. Tight. Hot. Wet. His.

He banished the fleeting thought before it could take root. Now wasn’t the time to get possessive; he already had her exactly where he wanted her. Except…he wanted to go deeper, harder, faster, and couldn’t do it with the damn counter in the way.

He grabbed her under her legs and backed away from the sink until his back smacked against the wall. Much better. He held her tight, dragging her up and down his cock, loving the way she clung to him. Her inner walls squeezed him so tight he saw stars. Breath coming in short gasps, he rolled to pin her to the wall.

Thrusting, pounding, pushing her closer to the edge, he gauged her readiness in the tiny puffs of air bursting from her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed and she ground her hips into his. And when her mouth formed an O, he knew exactly how to make her come. He flicked her clit with the pad of his thumb.

She exploded.

The rhythmic pulse of her orgasm against his cock was too much. His rushed over the precipice, joining her in an orgasm that made his toes curl. He could hardly stand as hot spurts of his seed blasted from his body.

As he slowly lowered her to the ground, her eyes opened. She started at him with a stunned expression.

“We can’t make this part of our agreement,” she whispered.

“We shouldn’t, but I think we just did.”