Sylvia paced the room in hopes of slowing her racing heart. All she needed was Braxton taking one look at her game and seeing his very likeness and think she was a stalker, or deranged, or who knew what.

As she paced by their open adjoining door, she caught a glimpse of him pulling his shirt off. Long, sinewy arms, and broad, well defined shoulders made air wedge in her throat. She ducked behind the door as he turned and headed toward his bathroom. Sucking in a deep breath, she peeked around the edge of the door and blew it right back out as he dropped his jeans. Two muscular cheeks mooned her, sitting high atop thick, golden-haired thighs. Each step flexed his muscles. Sylvia's body responded in time with a set of Kegals.

She slid down the wall into a puddle of melted desire. Everything about him unraveled her. Never in her life had she been so nervous and turned-on just being in the same room with a guy. Mark had been handsome, and she had definitely been attracted to him. But the fire that burned inside her for Braxton was a mere smolder for Mark. What the hell was happening to her?

Maybe Gerri had been right. She needed to start living again. It had been far too long. Yet guilt still twinged her heart. This was just lust. She had loved Mark with her heart and soul. She barely knew this Braxton guy, but she ached to know more. Something inside her yearned for him.

The humidity from his shower wafted into her room, carrying the rich scent of his body wash. It sent her head into a tailspin picturing that body covered in suds, his hair drenched around his handsome face. Dear lord, she hoped she remembered to pack her vibrator or she'd be on edge all weekend.

As he turned off the water, Sylvia scrambled up from the floor and dashed to her computer. She wouldn't survive if she caught a glimpse of him full-monty coming out of the shower. In a fury, she pulled up the trial of the game for the con tomorrow and ran through it to clear her mind. Until Braxton's face stared back at her from the computer. It was completely eerie how she had dreamed him up, produced his digital likeness, and he ended up being real.

“Oh, hey, is that the game? That looks cool,” Braxton's low sexy voice said from behind her.

In reflex, she slammed the lid closed and spun around. “Where did you come from?”

He folded his arms with a panty-dropping smirk. “Texas, by way of my momma. You?”

“No, I mean, how the hell did you sneak up on me? Weren't you just in the shower?” Her gaze dropped to the towel wrapped around his waist, and she just about fell out of her chair. Droplets of water rolled down his chest dusted with golden-brown hair. She followed the darker patch of hair lining his treasure trail funneling into the towel.

“I came to do a quick check on you before I got dressed. Wanted to make sure you were still okay. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I guess it's the shifter thing. We're stealthy.” He shrugged and every muscle in his torso flexed in a hypnotic rhythm.

“Seriously, you should go out and have a good time tonight. I'll be fine. I know Noah's paying you to be here, but I don't want you to feel trapped with me all weekend.” She barely got the words out of her mouth. She didn't want him to go, but she wouldn't force him to babysit her all night while they were in Sin City. One of them should at least have some fun.

He hitched a shoulder. “Well for one, no one's paying me. I'm here because I'm helping out a friend. Two, who says I feel trapped? Why wouldn't I want to spend the weekend with a beautiful woman?”

After the shock of his words wore off, she pushed aside the fact that they couldn't remotely be true. Launching to her feet, she stood and put some distance between them. “Listen, I'd rather have the truth, than be placated with false compliments. I'm genuinely trying to give you an out here.”

Mainly she needed him out of her space, out of her head, and nowhere near her loins. Pining for a guy she made up is one thing. Pining for the spitting image of him in reality was a whole other bottle of Xanax.

“Who says I want or need an out? And what false compliment? The one where I said you're a beautiful woman? It's not false. You're gorgeous, and it's taking everything in me right now not to kiss you.”

“What?” she gasped and stepped back until she hit the wall behind her.

Braxton inched forward. “Oh, I think you heard me just fine.”

She rolled to her tip-toes and narrowed her eyes. “Well, what if…what if I don't want to kiss you? Just because you're ridiculously sexy in a stupid towel, and have a teddy bear chest, and shampoo commercial hair doesn't mean you're going to get any, buddy.”

Yeah, he was hotter than the fire burning inside her, but she wouldn't give in. She didn't know a thing about the guy. Deep down, she knew he wouldn't hurt her physically. It was emotionally she was worried about. What would happen if she let herself have a fling with the guy? If she let go, let herself be with the first man since Mark and after the weekend she never saw him again. She didn't think she could deal with that.

Then again, maybe what she needed was a rebound guy. A transition man. Someone to get her back in the saddle. Two years was a long time, and she needed a new vibrator. Maybe this would be the perfect opportunity to let go, have fun, and never have to see him again. After all, it was Vegas. What happened in Vegas, stayed there, right? As long as she went in with the preconceived notion that this was just a fling, and would remain a fling. She wouldn't let herself get attached to him.

His lips tilted into that remarkable smirk. “You like the towel?”

“Really? That's what you picked out of that sentence?”

“I tell you what, darlin', I'm going to take me, my sexy towel, and my shampoo hair back into my room and change. You get on that food order and we'll see where the night takes us. No pressure. That is, unless you want me to stay in the towel.”

Sylvia swallowed hard and shrugged, brushing past him. “You can do whatever you wish.”

He clutched her by the elbow and spun her around until her back hit his wet chest. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her ear as he stroked the side of her face with the back of his other hand. “Don't say such things if you don't mean them. Because what I wish right now is that you were the one in the towel.”

And…her vagina exploded. She desperately needed that towel. The timbre of his voice shattered her from the inside, like it was resonant just for her. It flowed with a spark, lighting desire through her veins. Breath caught in her lungs, whooshing out of her in a gasp.

“What I say is truth, I'm incredibly attracted to you. But don't lie to me and tell me you're not attracted to me as well. I can smell your arousal, and it's driving me crazy how much I want you right now.” He slid a finger along the nape of her neck, around to her collarbone. “But, I won't force myself on you.” Just as quick as he enveloped her, he spun her out of his embrace.

Her hair whipped around her like a cloak as she twirled and plunked onto the edge of the bed.

Braxton stalked toward the door to his room, but stopped as something caught his eye, and he inched his way behind the door where Sylvia had hid earlier. “Did you do that? If you didn't, we should probably call the front desk and tell them there's an animal in the room. And I don't mean me.”

“Huh?” Sylvia rose from the bed and glanced at the scratch marks lining the wall, the entire length of which was where she slid to the floor in a dead heat earlier. She glanced at her stubby nails and back to the shredded wallpaper.

---

Braxton shut the door behind him and braced a hand against the wall, blowing out a hard breath. It had never been so hard to play it cool in his entire life. The softness of her skin along his fingers sent a raging fire through him, and he prayed she didn't feel his hand tremble. Her smell, her heat, her voice and nearness was like a drug. His wolf howled deep inside, clawing at him, leaving a scar as big as the scratch marks on her wall.

Which brought up the question, where the hell did they come from? They looked like claw marks, but he didn't make them. Sylvia surely didn't make them. Perhaps they had been there all along and he just didn't notice them when they walked into the room. Still, he had to keep on guard in the event the guy after her was also a shifter.

The door whipped open behind him, startling him from his thoughts. He turned around as Sylvia marched up to him and stopped. With a trembling hand, she reached for his towel and gripped the edge of it, looking up into his eyes. The deep brown in hers held wonder and desire, but also apprehension. He needed to calm her fears before he could fully claim her.

He raised a hand and cupped her by the neck, guiding her head toward his as he leaned in. A breath separated their lips as he hovered over her mouth. But the sizzle in the air around them zipped along his skin.

Her lips parted, inviting him with the whisper of his name, “Braxton…”

“I'm going to kiss you now,” he whispered back against her lips.

“Okay.” He caught her permission on the tip of his tongue as it plunged into her mouth. His lips twisted with hers in a delicious dance of pent-up passion. She kissed him back like she'd been starving.

He held her by the neck, gently curling his fingers into her skin as he made love to her mouth. Nothing had ever tasted so sweet to him as her lips and tongue. It fed the wolf's hunger inside him, but it was a mere appetizer, a teaser of the meal to come.

She gripped his forearm with one hand, pinching his skin with her fingernails as he deepened the kiss, sweeping her mouth. The pleasure and sting crept up his arm and zinged across his body. A soft moan purred in the back of her throat, music to his ears. He slid his free hand across the small of her back, nudging her closer to his body. Her nipples pebbled as they brushed against the thin fabric of her blouse rubbing his chest. His cock twitched, threatening to break free from the towel tented over him.

He needed more of her.

A knock at the door rang from Sylvia's room. “Room Service!”

Sylvia hitched back and broke the kiss. With wide eyes, she brushed her fingertips across her kiss-swollen lips and turned toward her room. “I should probably go get our food.”

“Sylvia…wait…” Braxton called out, but she scurried into the other room faster than a blink.

His body ached for her, longed to be with her. That one simple kiss unleashed his wolf like never before, and he swallowed back the growl burning in his throat. He had to make her his.

He stalked into the other room after her. As soon as she set the tray of food on the desk, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him. Nuzzling her neck, he whispered into her ear, “I want you, Sylvia. I need you like nothing before in my life.”

He desperately wanted to tell her she was his mate. But her being a human, he had no idea how she'd respond to that, and he didn't need to scare her off.

A shiver tore through her body, and she trembled in his arms. “This is all happening really fast.”

“Tell me you don't feel it, and I'll back off. But I know you do. I arouse you, as you do me. I feel it. I smell it. This is meant to be. Let me show you,” he said, pressing his lips against her neck before pulling her supple flesh into his mouth. He caressed her skin with gentle strokes of his tongue before releasing.

Her body flexed, easing at his touch, collapsing against him as a whimper left her body in a whisper. “Braxton…”

His name on her lips in a breathy moan was like a prayer. One he desperately wanted to answer. “Tell me what you want. I will worship your body with my lips and tongue. I will hold you tight, and never let go.” He spun her to face him, lifted her hand, and placed it against his heart. A tingly heat rushed his skin at her touch. In response, his heart thumped an erratic rhythm beneath her fingertips. “Can you feel how you excite me?”

Her eyes widened. “Can this really be happening? I do feel it. You have no idea how much. It's like I literally dreamed you up and here you are. This is absolutely crazy.”

He tilted his head. “What do you mean, dreamed me up?”

She took a visible swallow and left his embrace, walking to her laptop. “I mean this.”

Braxton followed her to the desk and glanced at the screen. Staring back at him was his exact likeness, digitized in a video game. He looked at her and then back to the game. Right down to his Navy SEAL uniform. Shock rattled his bones.

“You…drew that?”

She nodded, biting her lip. It sent a wave of pleasure straight to his dick, and he forced himself to focus back on the fact that a woman he'd never seen before today drew him into a video game, including his military status.

“How is this possible? I mean…did you know I'm a SEAL?” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

Sylvia's eyes widened. “Wait, you're actually a SEAL?”

Braxton nodded. “Yeah. That's freaky, even for me, and I've seen a lot of freaky shit in my lifetime.”

“I shouldn't have said anything. But, you'd find out eventually at the show tomorrow. I've never met you. Never even seen you before today.” She clasped a hand to her head and fell back onto the bed. Braxton climbed onto the bed next to her and eased her to the pillows. “I've had dreams of you. That's where the drawings stemmed from. For a long time, even before Mark.”

He quirked a brow. “Mark?”

She let out a short sigh. “My fiancé. He died two years ago.”

“I'm so sorry.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head.

“He was military, too, home on leave and came to watch me run my first, and last, marathon. I was doing it in memory of my mother who had passed from cancer. A bomb went off at the starting line and killed hundreds of people, including Mark. I was in one of the last groups of runners to start the race, so I wasn't near enough to the blast to be hurt.”

“Oh, shit. That's horrible, I'm so sorry.” Braxton had no idea what to say. What words could possibly heal the hurt of losing a loved one to such an incomprehensible situation?

She curled against him, burying her head against his chest. “I often wonder why I was one of the survivors. Why did he have to be killed? He was in the military, and didn't even die in battle. It was because of me he died.”

Sobs ripped from her chest and he cupped her face, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “You know it wasn't your fault. Shit like that is why I became a SEAL. To put a stop to senseless acts of violence. I want to rid the world of those bastards.” He brushed a tear streaming down her cheek. “I promise I will make the world a safer place for you.”

“You don't even know me, Braxton. I got one man killed. I don't want something bad to happen to you. This is why I don't go anywhere anymore, why I don't do large groups of people. I pretty much became a shut-in after it happened.”

He ran his hand down the back of her head, trying to calm her. “Sylvia, you're my mate. I swear on my life to protect you, always.”

She pulled her head up. “What?”

Words faltered, stuck at the back of his throat. He didn't plan on telling her just yet, but the it sprang from his lips, leaped out of his heart, like he had to tell her. There was no turning back now. “I knew it the minute I saw you, smelled you. Your scent drives me wild. It's intoxicating, like a drug. I need you. There's this heat inside me, from my wolf side. It rages through me, yelling inside me to join with you. Become one with you. You're meant for me. I don't know how to explain it in human terms.”

Her dark-brown eyes glassed over with more tears. “No, this can't be happening…” She sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed and shook her head. “Are you freaking kidding me?”

Confusion struck his head and heart. He blew his shot with her, and regret sucker-punched him. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. Not yet. I didn't mean to scare you. Shit, I suck at this. I thought maybe you felt it, too. That there was a connection.”

“That's the problem. There is a connection.” With a trembling hand, she stroked the side of his face. “I don't know what it means, but the minute I saw you, too, I felt something similar. That's why I nearly passed out. To see the man of my literal dreams standing in my doorway…the man I've dreamed about for half my life.”

Did he just hear her right? “You've dreamed about me?”

She nodded. “For a long time. Before Mark. Hell, since probably puberty,” she said with a laugh and a sigh. “It's like, I always knew you. Knew you were out there somewhere. I just didn't know you were a shifter. But how can I be your mate, I'm a human?”

“We don't question the fates. We just heed their call.” A small smile curled on his lips. “Is it wrong that I'm incredibly turned on that you've been dreaming of me?”

She let out a soft laugh, so melodious and sweet. He loved everything about her. “Don't go getting a big head now.”

“Too late. I've been sporting a big head since I laid eyes on you. Or did you miss that?” He pointed to the towel barely covering his hard-as-a-rock cock.

“I still can't believe you're real,” she said, her voice trailing off as she looked into his eyes.

Heat shot straight to his core from her stare. “I'll show you just how real, if you let me.”

“Oh god, what am I doing?” she whispered, but nodded her head.

“You're letting your mate make love to you. That's what.” He rolled her to her back and straddled her on the bed. “You're allowing nature to do what it has for centuries, bind two people together who are meant to be. We were brought together for a reason. A reason only we will understand as our bodies unite. You were made for me…your soft skin, full hips, supple curves, pouty lips and deep brown eyes that swallow me with one look.”

“You're good. I'll give you that much.” She giggled and ran a hand through his hair.

A groan rolled against the back of his throat. “I love when you do that.”

She pressed her hands to his head, massaging her fingertips through his hair. “I don't know if I can be seen with a guy who has hair better than me.”

He chuckled. “You have gorgeous hair. Worry not, fair maiden. You will always be more beautiful than me.”

The wolf inside him growled, aching to claim her. She was his. All his. And he wouldn't let her go.