Ryan pulled the truck back on the highway, trying to daydream his way out of his raging boner. Frankly, the fact that he’d tasted her at all was a mistake, and he knew it. But he couldn’t have helped it in that moment if he’d tried. It had been less about his desire, and more about wanting to just have his hands on her. Wanting to…claim her.

His tongue was the best he could do.

And he shouldn’t even have done that.

Watching her come had been pure torture. He’d longed to claim her—he still did, with every fiber of his being, but that was one thing he could not do. Not now.

No matter how much he wanted to.

She looked good in the simple yellow dress he’d chosen for her. He’d even gotten her panties and a bra, so she looked like a normal human being again, instead of like she’d just gotten drilled and left his house in the only clothes she could find. And she looked damn sexy in boots. Perfect. A rodeo cowboy’s dream.

His phone buzzed in the cup holder, and Ryan didn’t wait for Kate to pick it up this time. They were on the open road, and he’d taken the side highways to avoid the crush of Dallas-Fort Worth, so there were practically no cars.

“Did you take my truck?” came Dee’s voice, pretty sharply, through his phone.

“I did, I’m sorry. It was an emergency.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Is Kate with you?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Me, jackass. And no one else.”

He shifted his gaze toward the passenger seat, but Kate had curled up like she was trying to sleep. He had no doubt she needed it, after everything that had happened that day.

“Yes, she’s with me.”

“Good. Julian is here. He’s worried about her, and that made me worry, too.”

Kate’s voice jolted him a little. “How is Julian?” Not asleep after all.

“He’s fine,” Dee said after Ryan repeated the question to her. “We just had lunch, and I noticed you weren’t here. Bracken said you were on the road somewhere and I put two and two together.”

“It was a split-second decision. I knew you had Will there, so I figured it would be the easiest to take your vehicle.”

“And when can I expect to get my truck back?” she asked, with a wry edge to her voice.

“We can’t come back to the VonBrandts’ house. Not now.” The sentence sounded ominous, like some kind of threat, but it was the hard truth. Kate’s grandfather would still be there, at least through the shift…

Holy shit.

Ryan glanced at the clock. It was just after noon. If he remembered the moon phases right, they would all start shifting uncontrollably in about five hours.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Dee was saying something to him, but he couldn’t quite process it. He was too busy calculating the minimum safe distance to Durant. They would make it before the shift began, but then that would mean…Kate would be shifting with him, in his hometown. Like he was bringing his mate home for good.

God, could he do that to her? And then take her to Falcon?

But they didn’t have time to get all the way to Manhattan before the shift, and he hadn’t even called Falcon yet. His friend would take her on principle, but he needed some prep time. Shit. This wasn’t all as sewn up as he’d hoped.

He couldn’t take her home to his house. That was promising too much, and it would be too tempting to just fall into the fantasy in his head, where he and Kate would run through the prairie grass and make love under the moonlight, and then make love in his bed, back at his house, where she would be his.

No. Can’t go home.

“Does Jace still have that land out on the southern reach?” he asked, trying to think straight. “Or did he sell it already?”

“I think there might be a sale pending, but he still—”

“And that old dust bowl cabin’s still there? In that little gully?”

“I don’t know why it wouldn’t be.”

“Good. Tell your brother I’m gonna spend the shift there. But don’t tell him about Kate. Let’s try to keep that as quiet as we can.” He watched Kate pull her legs over toward the door and curl up. The dress fell away in the back, exposing more of her creamy thighs.

Dammit, she would try the patience of a saint.

If he were a saint, which he wasn’t.

“Why keep it quiet?”

“Because I think her family may send someone looking for her.” Ryan clenched his teeth, thinking of the way her grandfather had hurt her. It had been so merciless and premeditated. Thank the gods they were far away from him. But that still didn’t make Kate safe.

“Yeah, Julian said the scene with Christian was pretty gruesome.”

Ryan’s ears perked up, and he saw Kate’s back and shoulders tense. It was like her whole body went on alert, but she didn’t turn over. He held back his questions about this Christian. He’d have to text his cousin to get the full story.

“Well, if you can keep it quiet that she’s with me, I would appreciate it. I don’t want anyone knowing where we are.”

“I can do that,” she said, a promise in her voice. “Okay, I have to run. Tonya wants me to help her with something and I need to catch Will before they head back into town for supplies.”

“You know that Will is the enemy, as far as Kate is concerned,” Ryan said, lowering his voice. “You can’t tell him anything.”

“But Ryan—”

“Nope. He’s a Quade.”

“But he’s my mate, he’d never—”

“No, Dee. He’s bonded to that asshole alpha and I don’t want him or any other Quade to know anything about where Kate is right now, okay?”

She agreed and hung up. Ryan kept driving, shooting regular glances at Kate in the passenger seat. She seemed to have calmed down a little, and he was glad for that. If his mate needed anything right now, it was rest. Safety. Probably could do with another orgasm or two. He’d have to see about that when they got to Durant.

“The shift is in five hours,” he said out loud, putting the phone back into the cup holder.

“I know.” Kate’s voice was small and quiet, but at least she was talking.

“I’m going to take you to my cousin’s cabin in Durant.”

She turned over, her dress re-situating so there was no more thigh showing. How was it possible that he was disappointed by that? Look but don’t touch had always been his motto, but with Kate…he wanted to touch. Everywhere. Always.

“And you’re going to leave me there?”

“No. We’re going to shift together. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we figure everything out.” He shook his head, looking around at the dense trees that wouldn’t let him see too far off the road. It was strange to be driving back home with his mate beside him.

“What is there to figure out?” she asked, gazing at him with tired eyes. “You’ve got your five-year plan.”

Ryan swallowed, pulling onto a new road with a little more traffic than the last one. It was only about three more hours to Durant. Then they would shift, and he could take Kate to bond to her new alpha.

“Falcon’s pack, up in Manhattan, Kansas, is small and pretty insular. Only about ten wolves. But he’s a strong alpha, and they’re a close family. I can take you up there after the shift.”

“Manhattan, Kansas?” she repeated, a touch of incredulity in her voice. “Is that far enough away from you?”

The words stung, but she was right. He could already feel the bond pulling at him. Even just having his face against her sex was working on him. “It doesn’t matter,” he said aloud, though he meant the words for himself. “If it’ll keep you safe, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Fine.” She snuggled against the window and he almost reached for her. If she was going to snuggle somewhere, it should be against him. Into his side. His body.

But that would put her in unfortunate proximity of his still-half-mast boner. His dick would get the picture when she was farther away. When he couldn’t see her.

He kept trying to keep his eyes off the flesh of her legs. Upon further reflection, he wished he hadn’t gone the dress route. He’d assumed it would be easier for her to wear a dress—a single piece of clothing would be easier to remove when the shift came.

But the dress left too much of her skin exposed. And every last bit of her filled him with temptation.

“You’ll like Falcon,” he said. “He’s a good alpha. And there are a couple of girls your age in his pack. They’ll…” He trailed off, unsure of exactly what he meant to say. Distract you? Keep you company? Come on, Ryan.

“You can stop trying to convince me,” she said on a sigh, relaxing down into her crossed arms. “Whatever you want, Ryan.”

I want you, Kate. But he couldn’t say that out loud. It seemed to only make her more sad when he admitted that he wanted her. He did, though. More than he’d let himself believe until he felt her come on his tongue. Until he tasted her.

Now he couldn’t think about anything else.

“It’s only a couple more hours until Durant,” he said. “You should sleep if you’re still tired. We’ll stop in Durant and eat something before we go out to the cabin. I don’t want you to have to shift on an empty stomach.”

She curled up her legs and turned her body away from him. He’d been feeling the lack of her ever since he let go of her back in Tyler, and he didn’t like it.

At this rate, he just didn’t know if he’d be able to let Kate go.