Quinten lets out a whoosh of air when we break apart from our kiss. "Girl, you make it hard to stop there."

“Whoo hoo!” yells a guy, and when I look over, I realize we had an audience.

“Get a room!” calls out another guy before an older woman smacks him in the stomach.

I'm so flustered I can't speak and nod in agreement.

"Want to get out of here?"

The fact we're in a busy restaurant with everyone watching us like a reality show and the memory of Quinten between my legs on a motorcycle helps me find the ability to say, "Yes."

He slaps a twenty on the table, and after we stand up, he grabs my hand to squeeze my fingers tight.

“Bye, Quinten,” sings out his cousin who waited on us as we head for the door. “Have fun,“ he says before he laughs.

We move quickly out of the restaurant to his bike. As Quinten grabs my helmet, he glances up at the sky, which is full of more stars than I ever see in LA. He says, "The falls are beautiful when the moon is almost full. Want to take a ride out there to see them?"

"I'd love to."

After I put on my helmet, I climb onto the motorcycle behind Quinten, and he tugs my arms to make them tighter around his waist. He looks over his shoulder at me and inhales sharply. I notice his eyes are shining as if he's tearing up. He breaks into a smile and shakes his head before he sings softly. It's the song he was working on when we first met, the song he sang for me at the audition, but he changes the words slightly.

He croons in a voice that fills me with a yearning to hear it always, "You're wrapped around my heart. Please don't ever let go."

The desperation I see in his eyes reaches out to me, and my mind holds on, because I feel the same way. I never want to be without this man either, and my voice shakes when I say, "I don't think I can." When he turns to start the bike, I press my cheek into his back and let the tears from my overwhelming emotions fall.

The cool night air of the mountains makes me yank the zipper of Juliet's red jacket higher, and I tuck my chin into the raised collar to ward off the chill as we speed down the highway. We pull off onto a dirt road, and Quinten slows down.

He calls back to me, "Look at the stars!"

I gaze up, and my jaw drops in amazement. It's as if I'm looking through glasses that allow me to suddenly see details I didn't know existed, because there are millions more stars visible than before now that we're away from the town. It makes me nostalgic for my simple life in Winter Valley where I grew up, and I realize there's a part of me that's still a small-town girl.

I reply, "Wow! This is amazing!"

We travel for a mile or so before he stops and parks the bike in a small clearing on the side of the road. The moment the motorcycle's engine is cut, I hear the rush of water.

We dismount the bike, and Quinten takes off his helmet and jacket to drape them on the seat. I do the same and take his outstretched hand as he says, "It's a short walk but not one you want to make in those shoes. Want a piggyback?"

I reach down to remove my shoes with the intention of going barefoot.

"Don't," says Quinten. He pumps his eyebrows and turns to squat so I can get on his back. "I like having your legs around my waist."

I chuckle. "Fine."

I hop up and wrap myself around him. He walks with me as if I weigh nothing, and it isn't long before we stop at the edge of a cliff that allows a view of the waterfalls Smokey Falls was named for. It must be a popular spot, because I see a split-log bench. I slide down to the ground, and Quinten pulls me to stand in front of him with my back to his stomach.

"It's about time I wrapped myself around you," he says as he embraces me.

Leaning back, I hold onto his arms and gaze at the water glittering like diamonds as it reflects the moonlight. "This is so beautiful."

"Next month, it will dry up to almost a trickle, but in September, the rains will come to give it new life."

I think about the rock faces along roads that were created by blasting through ledge in Winter Valley. Small waterfalls form walls of ice in the deep cold of winter.

"Does it freeze over in January?"

"Sometimes. But I doubt it's like anything you're used to seeing. I don't think the water ever stops flowing completely." Quinten releases me and takes my shoulders to turn me to face him. "Chelsea, true-mate love is like the waterfall. It's never going to dry up or freeze the way human love can. Do you understand what that means?"

I smile. "It sounds like the stuff songs are made of."

"I'm serious. Life with me means you'll never doubt our love. I can make you happier than anyone else ever will."

"You don't have to sell me, Quinten." I place my hand on his chest and finally admit what I'm feeling. "I love you more than I ever thought possible, and I have no intention of walking away from that."

He scoops me up into the air to twirl and let out a whoop. I laugh, and he sets me back down on my feet. I smile up at him as he takes my face in his hands. "We're going to have an amazing life, Chelsea."

Quinten leans down and kisses me, and it opens the door to the reality of our love as I'm swept away by my desire for nothing else but this man. Now. Without the restraint of being in a public place, I don't hold my emotions in check, and I slide my hands under his shirt. The heat of his skin sears my palms as I grip the firm muscles of his back, and when he moves down to kiss my neck, I let out a small moan of delight.

My nipples harden with my desire as I long for his mouth to travel further down my chest, and I reach up to hold his head as he moves closer. He pulls back to look at me. The heat of his need burns in his eyes as I step back, and I reach down and lift the hem of my shirt over my head.

Quinten tears at his shirt to get it off too. He trembles beneath my touch when I reach out and trace my finger along the impressive indentations of his abdominals. "You are the sexiest man I've ever seen."

He lets out a low noise as my hand slides lower, and I watch as his head falls back and he closes his eyes. "My god, your touch."

I slide my finger behind the waistband of his jeans, which are nearly bursting with his erection, and he groans.

I smile as I remove my hand and reach up to slide a bra strap down my shoulder.

Quinten pushes my fingers aside. "Let me help you with that," he says as he moves both my bra straps down and slips his hands into the cups of my bra to hold my breasts.

My nipples are hardened nubs, and shocks of pleasure shoot through me as he rubs his thumbs over them. I let out a mewl when he leans down to suckle me.

Quinten moves his hands down the sides of my torso as he lowers himself to his knees, and he tugs on the waistband of my jeans as he gazes up at me in a silent question.

I kick off my heels as I unhook my bra to remove it. "Yes," I say as my insides quiver in anticipation. He begins to pull my pants down while leaving my panties, and I take his hands to place them on my hips and encourage him to remove my underwear too. A rumble comes from him as he takes my lead, and when I'm naked, the man grabs my bottom and presses his cheek against my mound to inhale the scent of me.

The primal move makes my knees weak, and I lace my fingers through his hair to hold on tight. Quinten stands and reaches down to grab me by the back of my thighs and lift me up so I'll wrap my legs around his waist. The heat of his stomach on my wet sex just about drives me wild, and I squirm against him.

I say, "This is getting to be a familiar position."

"Good." He walks with me over to the short end of the log bench and lowers us to the ground so that I'm sitting and he's on his knees. Moonlight illuminates Quinten's face as he flashes me his cocky grin, and he spreads my thighs with his hands. "Lean back, babe. I'm going to make you scream."

I chuckle with the urge to give him a snarky reply. But I want what he's promising, so I lean back on my elbows to open myself up further and let Quinten have his way. He laps at me with one long stroke, and a small cry comes from me before he moves in with serious intent. The man's cocky grin was spot on, because the hard wood beneath my back when I lie down in complete submission is trivial compared to the sensations rushing through me. Heat builds in my core and winds its way through me until it explodes into orgasmic bliss that makes me cry out and leaves me trembling in the aftermath.

Quinten sits back as I recover, and when I'm able to open my eyes, I rise on my elbows to see his smirk. "And you claim to have insecurities."

"Any I had about satisfying you have disappeared."

"Who says I'm satisfied? Get up and take off those jeans. We're just getting started."

"Yes, ma'am."

He scrambles to his feet and strips out of his pants in record time, and when I see his cock standing at attention, I let out a sigh. I stand up with the intention of pleasuring him, but Quinten pulls me against his body to kiss me. I reach down and squeeze his thick length. He pulls his head back and looks at me. His eyes are wild with what I think is his wolf hovering at the surface, and my pulse quickens with excitement and a touch of fear.

"I want to be inside you, Chelsea."

I want it too. A tiny voice in my head reminds me that if I do this, I'm going to be hooked on Quinten for life. But I tell it to shut up, because I already am. "Yes," I say, and Quinten turns me by my shoulders.

"That tree," he says softly against my neck as he nudges me forward with his body.

I lean back a little to feel his erection as we walk, and when I get to the tree, I hold on and arch my back to thrust my bottom toward him. Quinten slides his cock along my slippery seam and groans. I let out a small whimper to beg for what I want. He enters me with a grunt of warning, because the moment he's breached my slick canal, a low growl comes from him, and it just about sends me over the edge.

Strong fingers dig into my hips as his wild side comes out, and he pumps quickly, forcefully taking what he needs. Giving me what I want. I dig my nails into the tree as white-hot pleasure burns in me, threatening to consume me in a flash of light. I'm almost there when Quinten suddenly stills. He laps at my neck, and I flinch when I feel the prick of teeth against my tender skin.

"I can't wait to change you," he says.

Yes. A primal need for his mark floods my thoughts. The moment he pulls his mouth back, I reach up and grab the back of his head so he'll come back. Bite me, my mate. Make me yours. As he begins thrusting again, I imagine his fangs sinking into my neck, and my orgasm hits, racking my body like an earthquake. I ride it out with the faint knowledge that Quinten comes too. As he holds me in a sweaty embrace, I quiver with aftershocks and let out a sigh as I bask in our love— the kind of love I could never have imagined and the only kind I'll ever need.