"So what did he say?" Cassie asked, flipping the grilled cheese sandwich over in the pan.

"His voicemail said that he was currently out of town on business," Luke said.

He bent his head under the door frame to enter the galley kitchen. He practically filled the small space with his thick shoulders and broad build.

"He generally calls back within the hour. If push comes to shove, I can always give one of his brothers a ring. They usually know where he's at."

"He sounds like a busy man," she said, scooping up the sandwiches with a spatula and putting them on plates.

"Just like you said. Being the Alpha of the Pack is sort of like being the Mayor of the Town of Aspen Valley."

When she tossed the spatula and pan inside the soapy dish water, he gently grabbed her forearm. "I want to thank you for wanting to do this. It means a lot to me and I'm sure it'll mean a lot to our Alpha as well."

She swallowed, focusing on his eyes and on the statement he just made.

"I want to do it because I feel this is the right thing to do. If the cops of Aspen Valley can't or won't, perhaps the shifters of Aspen Valley will…with the right information."

Luke closed the distance between them. Virtually nothing was stopping them from coming together. Attraction sizzled in the air around them and the blinding heat between them seemed to draw them closer.

"I always thought you had the most perfect set of lips," he whispered. "Even now, they're the most beautiful I've ever seen."

She blushed. "I always wondered what happened to you after the graduation. I imagined that you were living the perfect life with the perfect wife. I was so sure of it. All I could do was hope that I could replicate a real life based on what I imagined for you. Too bad my happily ever after hasn't come true."

"It will," he reassured her.

"The chances seem slim. Most of the women I went to high school with are already engaged or married with kids. Maybe I'll be waiting forever. Maybe I'm only deserving of temporary happiness, " she said.

"And maybe your perfect guy hasn't yet revealed himself," he added.

Cassie didn't know what came over her. She only gave herself up to the moment. She pulled herself up on her toes, grabbed hold of both of his forearms with her hands, and kissed him. A hot surge of electricity shot up through her spine and fanned out across her body. Their lips parted slightly and she reveled in the gentle, but needy way in which he kissed her back. She was swooning, for sure, until he wrapped his big arms around her and held her to him.

It wasn't long before he took control, sliding his tongue against the seam of her lips and then further still until their tongues were entwined as they embraced. He was a great kisser. Very attentive and very thorough.

She pressed her breasts to his chest and slipped a thigh between his strong legs. She heard a deep rumble—a mix between a growl and a moan—erupt from him. The sound of it caused her nipples to pebble instantly.

When she parted a moment to catch her breath, he caught her by surprise by backing her up swiftly and pushing her back against the wall. When his moist lips connected with the delicate skin on her throat, she moaned wantonly. She pulled on the collar of his shirt and gripped the back of his neck, pulling him securely to her body.

He sucked and licked at her neck until she was trembling and writhing against him, practically begging for more. His beard felt surprisingly soft as it rubbed against her skin. Almost like downy smooth fur. His lips were agile and cool against her as he worked to caress and please her. Something tingled along her collarbone—in the exact same spot where he focused most of his attention.

"Oh God…Luke."

He growled into her throat, lapping at the throbbing vein on her neck.

"I was right," he moaned. "You taste like honeysuckles."

"Mmmm," she moaned, closing her eyes and relishing in the way he made love to her lips, face, neck, and throat by showering kisses all over her and using his gentle tongue to stroke and taste.

His cock was big and hard against her. She wanted to do nothing more than yank those pants down his hips and see all of him in the flesh. Her fingers slid under the seam of his belt and along his lower abdomen before swooping lower. His muscles were taut and hard as a rock against her roving hands.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss and took a couple steps back. A chill swept in between them to fill the void, but her body still craved him like a raging hunger.

"I can't. We can't. You're Neil's little si—”

"Don't say it." She held up her hand. "Don't use that as an excuse. I want this. I kissed you because I want you.”

He swallowed visibly and parted his lips. That's when she saw a flash of something long and sharp that couldn't have been regular teeth. Fangs? Canines? They looked oddly out of place.

Cassie stepped forward, taking a closer look.

She placed her hand on the side of his face and he pressed his cheek against her palm and then turned his face inside, breathing in and out deeply.

"You want this too, don't you?"

His only reply was a low, deep growl of confirmation. The feral reaction sent warm chills up her spine. She wanted to embrace him again. She wanted him to hold her tightly and kiss her all night long.

He opened his eyes and caught her gaze. "Yes, I do. I think about you…I know I shouldn't."

At that moment, she saw an image of them on his bed in the throes of passion. She wanted him badly. The sight of his canines slightly piercing the skin on his bottom lip made her think of his thick, hard cock plunging into her pussy.

"Your teeth…Luke. Your teeth are different."

His aroused expression faded, turning into one of shock and revelation. He covered his mouth with his palm and looked away.

"I shouldn't have," he commented. "I'm going to leave now, Cassie. You're not here for me to ruin. I'm certain of that."

"But—”

"Please Cassie. Don't make me break my promise to your brother."

Her shoulders slumped and she frowned as she watched him rush off toward the door. He opened the door and before passing through it, he gave her one last lingering long look before shutting himself out and leaving her behind. Wanting. Needing.

She had suspected something was different about him before. Now she knew the truth. She was her father daughter's, who had been one of the best detectives in the state of Tennessee before he and the love of his life perished in a plane crash. He'd taught her to pick up on subtle, hidden clues well. And the truth didn't bother her. Didn't scare her. She already knew the man inside was more honorable than any other man she'd ever met. That's what mattered.

Luke Lombardi was a shifter.

She wanted him with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

Cassie's fingers went to her bruised lips and then trailed down to the spot right over her collarbone where he had paid the most attention. She concluded that he had kissed her so firmly there that he'd left a lasting mark on her skin. There was no pain. Just a sweet sensation which would remind her that Luke had once touched her the way she'd wanted him to.