Zuri glanced at her cell phone again. He’d told her he’d be there at noon and for her to be dressed comfortably. She’d taken him literally and put on a pair of jeans, a cute top from her favorite big girl store, and flat black booties.

She’d actually opened a window to decide if she was dressed appropriately. She was. With a denim jacket to match her jeans, she was ready for a chilly day. But where was Savage?

Okay, so he wasn’t technically late, yet. He still had five minutes to show up, but she’d hoped he would be early. A knock at her door made her jump to her feet. She grabbed her cross-body bag and rushed to open it.

Dear god. The man was so damn sexy. His beard was trimmed but still managed to look wild. His thick brows and piercing eyes drew her gaze to them immediately. His hair had been slightly trimmed as well and she frowned, unsure how she felt about that. He still looked dangerously alpha, but she liked his hair long.

A slow, way too sexy for his own good grin spread over his lips. “Are you done?”

She blinked. “Sorry?”

“Every emotion went through your eyes just now. Desire, curiosity and then confusion. I’m gathering you noticed something you didn’t like because you frowned.”

She grinned and walked out of the house with him. “You gotta stop doing that weird shifter smell thing. It freaks me out.”

“Actually, your face speaks for you. What didn’t you like? Am I not dressed to your liking?”

She shut the door and followed him to his truck. “No, it’s not that. You look great. I noticed you cut your hair.”

“It’ll grow back in a few days.” He opened the passenger door for her and stopped her right before she got inside. “If you prefer it long, I’ll do that,” he cupped her jaw and leaned down to kiss her. “For you, I’ll do anything.”

He picked her up and placed her in the passenger seat and closed her door once she was safely inside. She was sitting in a daze for a few minutes before she realized she had no idea where they were going.

“Where are we going?” She watched him handle the steering wheel with effortless grace. He had one of those huge pick-up trucks, which probably made sense with his logging business, and the fact he was huge himself, but intimidated the hell out of her. She liked small cars. One more thing they had different between them.

He glanced at her and winked, his mischievous grin tempting her to kiss him. “Don’t worry. I have a feeling you’re going to like today.”

She laughed. “You sound pretty confident.”

His eyes turned golden. “I am. I am also confident that you’ll realize after today there’s no point in questioning us.”

She glanced back at the road and wondered what the heck he could have planned. They drove to the neighboring state then pulled into the state fair parking lot. She sat up in her seat, her mind already conjuring images of the yummy treats she could have.

Once he parked, he helped her down from the truck again and soon they were walking through the controlled chaos, her with a banana split funnel cake, and him with an elephant ear and bottled water. She moaned with every bite and didn’t care how sticky her fingers or face got. They sat under a tree and watched children run around playing, going from ride to ride.

“Do you like your ice cream on fried dough?” he asked.

She grinned and nodded. “You ate your elephant ear before we’d walked ten feet from the food truck.”

He shrugged. “I’m pretty good at eating. Never had problems with that task.”

She laughed and scooped up more ice cream, but it was melting and it dripped down her lips as she ate it. There was no time to lick her lips or wipe it away. He was there, gliding his tongue from her chin up to her lips and then sucking on them. He groaned and kissed her hard, taking the powdered sugar on her lips with the kiss.

When he pulled back, he was licking his lips and she was looking around, hoping nobody heard her moaning.

“Don’t be embarrassed, beautiful,” he scooted closer and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re mates.”

She finished her funnel cake, happy she hadn’t had lunch because it had been worth it. Oh, it probably had enough calories and fat for her to not need to eat for a week, but she didn’t care. She was having a good time.

They went on a few rides and she was reminded of why she loved the carnival so much. She felt like a little kid. The adrenaline rush on some of the fast rides along with the ability to just hang out, eat terribly, and enjoy his company were great reminders that she needed to get back to living life.

It was almost four hours later when they got back in his truck.

She turned to him with a smile. “Thank you! I had such a great time. I ate things I haven’t had in like ten years. I rode a rollercoaster.”

He laughed. “And you were fearless with your hands in the air.”

She sat back with a sigh. “I laughed a lot. I had a really good time. People watching and just hanging out. I hadn’t done that in too long.”

He turned on the truck and winked at her. “I hope you’re not ready to go home yet, there a few other things I have planned for us.”