“Country mouse,” he whispered against Becca’s hair as they got out of the truck. He looked around with a lopsided grin on his face. “Cabin life. Who’da thunk.”

She gave him a playful shove. “Hey, it beats sucking tailpipe fumes on the way to your beach.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “Maybe now we’ll have the best of both.”

The thought gave her the warm fuzzes and her cat purred. She closed her eyes for just a moment. This man was making her fall head over tail for him with every passing second.

They barely walked half a dozen paces when Lyssa waved from the council cabin’s porch as others came out to gawk as well.

Jaylon leaned in to Becca’s ear. “Why the stares? You’d think they never saw a wolf shifter before.”

“Not for a very long time, babe,” she replied. “Leopards have vivid imaginations. I’m sure they imagined everything from a sophisticated priss to a caveman dragging me by the hair.”

He laughed. “More like towing you by the nipple clips you’ve got hidden in your bag.”

“Ssh! It’s bad enough they can smell your scent on me. I don’t need nosy ears picking out the dirty details, too.”

The smirk on Lyssa’s face said it all as they walked to the base of the cabin’s steps.

“Wow, you two give new meaning to the term whirlwind romance. Yowza! Talk about an afterglow,” her friend said with a wink.

“No comments from the peanut gallery, missy,” Becca said, giving Lys a quick hug.

“Makes no difference to me,” Lyssa shot back with a smirk, “but if Jaylon were my fella, I wouldn’t want him ambushed because I was too chicken shit to tell him what he’s walking into.”

“Lyssa!”

Jay watched the interchange with an amused look. “What is she talking about, Bec?”

Lyssa crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, Becca. Why don’t you tell the man?”

“I already did, Miss Snoop Face. Jay knows the whole story.” She stuck her tongue out and then plastered a sugary smile on her lips. “Jaylon, this is Lyssa Foster. My so-called best friend and all around pain in the ass.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lyssa.” Jay grinned at the playful standoff and extended his hand.

“I’d say the pleasure was all Becca’s,” Lys laughed, wiggling her nose, “but, it’s nice to finally meet you, too.”

Becca shot Lyssa a look. “You are evil, you know that, right?”

“No, I’m not. I’m your conscience and you love me.”

Grinning, Jaylon winked at Becca’s honey-blonde friend. “Conscience? Wow. Now I’m curious.”

Becca sighed, exchanging glances between the two. “It means Lyssa’s got plans to tell you every embarrassing moment of my life since we were kids.”

Lyssa winked at Jay. “Well, not every moment. Just the juicier ones.”

Becca lifted one hand with a laugh. “If that’s going to make you happy, Lys, go ahead. You can’t scare Jay off. We’re a done deal.”

Lyssa batted her eyes. “Who said anything about scaring him off? Besides, he’s too deep in the Barrens to get back to civilization without help, so that makes him a captive audience.”

Becca groaned.

Jay laughed, adjusting the strap to his overnight bag “On that note, I think I’m going to need a cup of coffee.”

Lyssa chuckled. “Boy, you’re going to need something stronger than that if you’re going to face Lucilla and the rest of the council. At least my stories are entertaining.”

“Are we having fun yet?” Becca tugged on Jaylon’s arm. “Ugh! C’mon. Let’s get you settled before you face the finicky four.”

He laughed again, letting her tow him to the biggest cabin across the center commons. “Finicky four?”

She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.”

“I’d like to wait to meet them, if that’s all right with you. At least until my father arrives with Matheus.”

Becca stopped short and blinked. “Your father is coming here?”

He nodded. “I called him last night and filled him in on what’s been happening and he insisted on being here when I meet your council. Matheus is coming as well. He’s the most senior member of our council and the shifter equivalent of a constitutional lawyer. Dad said the moment the old man heard the term Levirate, he packed his bag to accompany him. No one could talk him out of it.”

Becca was dumbfounded. “We could have waited in Burlington for them to arrive. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “Surprise!”

She pressed her lips together. “Jaylon, if we are going to make this work, you can’t keep secrets from me. This is important. Lucilla and the rest of the council will take this unannounced visit as a bad sign.”

Jay frowned. “Sign? There are no signs. Like you told Lyssa, we’re a done deal, Becca. Having my father and my own council with me as I face yours, especially with what’s hanging over my head, is a good thing. I don’t like feeling outnumbered and neither should you.”

She lifted one hand and let it drop. “I don’t like feeling outnumbered, but it seems that’s my lot in life. I just wish you would have told me.”

Jay raised her fingers to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. I keep forgetting you’re the Prowl Leader here. It won’t happen again.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask why that little tidbit was so easy to forget, but she didn’t. They had bigger fish to fry.

“When are your father and Matheus arriving? And how, for that matter? The Leap isn’t the easiest place to find in the Barrens. That’s by design,” she asked.

“The two are taking a helicopter and then I arranged for a 4x4 rental. I think it’s a Range Rover. I sent them the GPS coordinates from your satellite navigation, so they should be fine. They’re set to arrive sometime this afternoon.”

Jaylon pulled her in for a kiss. “Maybe you could show me around the Pinelands until they get here. That way once they’ve arrived, we can get them settled and then meet with your council, prepared for whatever they throw at us.”

Becca exhaled. “They’re not planning to throw anything at us, Jay. We made that a moot point last night.” Her hand instinctively traveled to the marks on her neck and shoulder.

“And again this morning,” he murmured low and a slow, sexy grin spread across his lips as he kissed her again. “Care to make it a triple?” He slid his hand up her arm and laced his fingers with hers over his mark.

A tingle started at the nape of Becca’s neck and worked its way to her stomach, setting her butterflies winging. She licked her lips. “Three is definitely a charm.”