Bollocks. Luna had asked Colin the right question, and he’d cocked up his answer so thoroughly he wouldn’t ever forgive himself. A litany of colorful curses marched through his brain as he and Luna mopped up the mess they’d made in the bathroom with several of the fluffy towels hanging from decorative hooks.

He was a selfish sod to have told her that he’d hate knowing she had another lover. And yet, when he’d given his first answer, she’d looked devastated by it. Unable to bear her tragic expression, he’d reassured her by telling her the truth. But what was the truth, really?

If he cared about her, then logically he’d want her to live a full life, complete with sex and maybe, eventually a devoted mate. He definitely wouldn’t want her to pine away for him as she went back to her celibate existence on the island. Well, a part of him did want that, the selfish sod part.

“We soaked the sandwiches.” Luna held out the plate for his inspection. “Maybe we should order some dinner, after all.”

“George would expect us to if he discovered we’d cancelled the restaurant reservations. Since he made them in the first place, someone might have already double-checked with him on that. He’s a powerful figure in Seattle, and I’m sure restaurants have instructions to treat him well.”

“So if I understand this right, we need to order an expensive meal from room service, or George will be offended.”

Colin nodded. “That sums it up.”

“Then I’ll take this back to the wet bar and find a room service menu.”

“He may not expect us to order off the menu.”

Luna turned at the door. She wore naked well. Her body was taut where it needed to be and filled out in all the places that gave a male pleasure. Colin could look at her all day and all night without tiring of the view.

She shifted the plate of soggy food to her other hand. “If we don’t order off the menu, how do we order?”

“We dream up what we want, call room service, and ask them to fix it for us. In fact, it should be something that’s specifically not on the menu.”

Luna shook her head. “Alpha Weres are just plain crazy.”

“That may be true, but remember our goal. We need to show George Trevelyan that we’re not peasants who can be toyed with.”

“But I am a peasant.”

“No, you’re not. Your grandmother is George’s aunt, which puts her in the same league as Sinclair Trevelyan, who was the alpha before he passed on the title to George. Your connections are as powerful as his. Had your father lived, he might even have challenged George for his position.”

“Let’s see if I have this straight. We need the menu so we can make sure we order off the menu. Is that right?”

“Aye.”

Shaking her head, she left the bathroom. “Alphas,” she muttered on her way out.

In principle, Colin agreed that the posturing was ridiculous, but those who ignored the unwritten rules often found themselves outmaneuvered. Wolves had a hierarchy, and pack members understood and respected that. Luna hadn’t grown up that way, so she didn’t get it.

That was another reason to establish her connection with her grandparents. That would establish her standing in the pack, and her grandparents could teach her the rules, especially as they applied to the Trevelyan pack. All that would provide a certain amount of protection.

The decision to open a Were-specific inn had become far more complicated than he liked, but he wasn’t about to back down from it now. Honoring his promise to Luna was the main reason, but now they were in a pissing contest with George, and Colin wasn’t about to lose that, either.

George didn’t just want a buy in, and Colin knew it. He wanted a controlling interest. He would get that over Colin’s dead body. Colin hadn’t realized the scope of George’s ambition until today’s visit to his office.

That was partly because of his inexperience in the alpha role compared with George’s. But Colin didn’t plan to use George as a role model, other than taking note of the older Were’s obvious physical fitness. George had aged far better than Colin’s father.

But Colin had no desire to become a tycoon like George, who obviously relished his role as Seattle’s premiere mover and shaker. Colin smiled. There wasn’t a whole lot of moving and shaking going on in Glenbarra. He’d leave that to the wealthier Weres in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Tossing the towels in a corner of the bathroom, Colin walked into the bedroom as Luna returned carrying a menu and her battered copy of Lady Chatterly. He smiled. “Planning to do some reading?”

She sashayed over to him. “Only if we feel the need.”

He liked the confident way she moved, and he knew part of that was a certainty that he felt possessive about her. It was a double-edged sword, but he couldn’t take back what he’d said. She’d never believe him.

After handing him the menu, she opened the paperback in her hand and stroked the open pages over her breasts. “Eau de Literature,” she said with a very cute French accent that she’d probably picked up in the New Orleans French Quarter.

He couldn’t let that pass. Tossing the menu on the bed, he cupped her breasts, buried his nose between them, and inhaled noisily. She did smell good, but he wasn’t sure if it was old book or aroused Luna that had his cock stirring again.

Luna started laughing, which made her breasts jiggle against his face. No red-blooded male of his acquaintance would be able to feel all that sweetness moving against him and not want to taste, so before he knew it, he was nuzzling and nibbling.

Her sigh of pleasure was all he needed to guide her toward the bed and tumble with her onto the snowy comforter. There he began to enjoy her breasts in earnest now that he didn’t have to lean down to reach them. When he took her nipple in his mouth, she arched upward. She was learning fast.

He meant to fondle her, kiss her all over, and perhaps give her a nice orgasm in the process. But damned if he didn’t soon find his cock buried to the hilt.

Gazing down at her, he apologized. “I didn’t mean to do this.”

Her mouth curved up. “It seems your wee man has a mind of his own.”

“And when he’s in charge of things, I have no mind at all. But you must tell me if this hurts.” He eased out and back in again. His breath hissed out at the splendor of it.

“Am I hurting y’all?”

“No. That was pure delight you heard. But I asked you, first. Did that hurt?”

She grasped his buttocks. “No, and you’ll have to stop treating me like a china doll, Colin. I’m a full-fledged sexual being, now, and I want everything I can get.” Lifting up both legs, she wrapped them around his waist and pulled him in tight. “Like that, your lairdness.”

The pleasure was so intense it brought a low growl from deep in his throat. “You test me, lass.”

“I mean to. I want the full treatment. And forget about the football stats. Just go for it.”

As if he could help himself. She’d mastered the art of clenching her muscles to massage his cock, and that alone would have roused him to action, without her taunts. But the combination was irresistible. His thrusts grew in speed and intensity, and she rose to meet him each and every time.

“Yes,” she murmured. “That’s what I want, Colin. Yes!”

He forgot that she’d been a virgin a mere twenty-four hours ago. He forgot to be careful, to go slow, to make sure she was all right. Her panting cries drove him on. He tried to wait for her, but an orgasm roared through him without warning, and as he plunged forward, shuddering in reaction, she came, her spasms milking even more pleasure from his trembling body.

When it was over, he rolled to his side, bringing her with him. He might have used her unmercifully to satisfy his lust, but he wouldn’t crush her afterward. A part of his fevered brain was still working.

As sanity returned, he drew back and gently combed the hair from her eyes. “That was wrong.”

“No, that was right.” She took a long, shaky breath. “At last you loved me without holding back. I needed to know what that was like, Colin.”

“If I hurt you, I—”

“I’m not hurt, not in the least. I feel glorious.” She narrowed her eyes. “Were there football stats involved?”

“No.” He caressed her smooth hip. “I wanted you too much. I wanted to come inside you, and I didn’t care about anything else. That’s not the sign of a considerate lover.”

“It’s the sign of a lover who’s abandoned himself to the glory of it all. That’s what I wanted, at least once. Even if it never happens again, I had that mad, impetuous…” She leaned over and whispered a four-letter word in his ear.

He laughed. “Aye. You did get that, all right. And I have to admit the smell of old books could have been part of it. You might want to consider a sideline, creating a special perfume for guests who share our strange obsession.”

“It’s an idea. Unique.”

“And now, my sweet temptress, we really should order up dinner.”

“All right.” She glanced down at their entwined bodies. “But are we going to answer the door like this?”

“That would be awkward. I’ve never tried to walk with my cock buried in someone’s—”

“I meant naked.” She pinched his bottom.

“Oh, well, probably not. We’ll put on the bathrobes. A suite like this always has bathrobes.”

“True.” She drew in a breath. “Hold on, brilliant idea coming. Whittier House needs bathrobes!”

“Absolutely. Fluffy, white terrycloth bathrobes.”

“With Whittier House embroidered on the pocket, and…we need an emblem of some kind.”

“Crossed thistles. List the bathrobes for sale in the brochure, in case someone wants to take one home, and you can explain there about crossed thistles being a mainstay of Scottish lore.”

“Colin, the inn is going to be so wonderful.”

He looked into her eyes, alight with the excitement of the venture. “It is.”

“Can you come back for opening weekend?”

His heart twisted. So many duties awaited him at Glenbarra. She had no idea how many. “I don’t know, Luna. But I’ll try.”

She nodded, and seemed willing to drop the subject. He was relieved to let it drop, because he didn’t want her to get her hopes up only to have them dashed if he couldn’t make it. When he changed the subject to ordering dinner, she participated with enthusiasm.

He suggested haggis, but since neither of them would eat it after it arrived, they nixed the idea as being too wasteful. Finally they settled on fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches because it was so ridiculous that it might look new and trendy. Plus it would serve as both dinner and dessert.

“Order six,” Luna said when Colin picked up the phone on the bedside table. “I’m hungry.”

“Then I’ll order ten, because I’m starving to death.”

“Y’all should have said something!”

“While you’re rubbing Eau de Literature on your plump breasts and inviting me to roll around with you on that big bed? I’m not a fool, Luna. Priorities.”

“Well, the good thing about fried peanut butter sandwiches is that they’ll be ready quick.”

“What kind of bread?”

“Plain old white. Wait, they’ll probably have to send out for it. Take whatever they have. We could carry this so far that we faint from lack of food.”

“Let’s see what they have to say for themselves.” Colin thoroughly enjoyed the reaction he got from the room service operator when he made the request. He hung up and glanced over at Luna. “We’re causing a mild panic, but they understand we’re very hungry and will have something up to us in fifteen minutes.”

Luna climbed out of bed. “Then maybe we should locate those bathrobes.”

“I’ll go. You can stay the way you are. It suits you.” He hated to see such a lovely sight hidden away in a bulky terry robe.

“Do you realize I have never been naked in front of another person? That I remember, anyway. I’m sure I was naked in front of my mother when I was little, but once I was at the age when I understood we should wear clothes, I was fanatic about it.”

He gazed at her. “Thank you for trusting me enough to be naked with me.”

“Y’all seem to enjoy it so much, I don’t have the heart to cover up.”

“I do enjoy it. That’s why I’m going to put on the robe and you’re going to stay here, adorning the big bed.”

“That’s something else that always scared me about shifting, and why I haven’t done much of it, once I learned to control it. You have to be naked to start with, or you rip your clothes, and I never had clothes to spare. And then you have to run the risk of being naked again to shift back.”

“Aye.” He wished she’d brought this up after their dinner had been delivered so that he wasn’t listening for a knock on the door with one ear. “So you haven’t shifted much?”

She shook her head. “It scares me. I don’t know what to do once I become a werewolf. Sometimes I’ve gone into the woods, and it’s freeing to run, but…I’ve been alone. It’s not really so great to run through the woods alone. Maybe a male feels differently, but I was always a little afraid.”

“You were right to be cautious.” He couldn’t imagine being a young female Were trying to figure things out on her own. “You didn’t have a pack to protect you.”

“I realized early on that was a disadvantage, but I didn’t know how to hook up with a pack.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know much of anything, except what I could find in books and on the Internet, and those aren’t particularly reliable resources.”

“No. They’re liable to scare you more than help you.”

She nodded. “That’s what happened. I became scared and nervous about my Were heritage. I was hoping maybe my father would help me, but…”

He cursed the family issues that pulled him home. There was so much more he could share with Luna, so much more she needed to know. He’d do the best he could, but he was afraid if he delayed his trip too long, Duncan would grow impatient and tell Molly everything.

“What about Geraldine and the staff at Whittier House?” he asked. “They all seem supportive.”

“They are, but after Henry died, Geraldine lost all interest in shifting. You can probably understand.”

Colin sighed. “I can. The three of us used to go for night runs, but Henry was the leader on those trips. Geraldine was bloody independent in her human body, but she let Henry be in charge when they shifted. I’m sure she missed him terribly.”

“She did. I got the impression that when Henry was alive, the staff would sometimes be invited on the nightly runs, too. But when Geraldine gave it up, the staff didn’t feel right going without her. Dulcie suggested it a few times since I’ve been there, but she didn’t get any takers.”

Colin began to get a picture, and it was heartbreaking. Not only had Luna denied her sexual side, she’d also denied her wolf nature. “How long has it been since you shifted?”

She glanced away, as if trying to remember.

“That long?”

“I’m afraid so. I’ll bet it’s been at least two years.”

“Do you want to try it tonight? With me?”

She stared at him. “In this penthouse?”

“Why not? You can shift, get used to the sensation for an hour or so, and then shift back if you decide it’s time to use the Jacuzzi again or read some Lady Chatterly.”

A knock sounded at the outside door.

“That’ll be our fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.” Colin opened a closet and pulled out the hotel bathrobe he knew would be in there. “Think about my suggestion. I’ll be here to help. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know.” She gazed at him. “You’re a blessing, Colin MacDowell.”

And a curse, he thought as he went to answer the door.