His fingers found her wet and willing, and his strokes made her wild. The feel of his touch was so much more pleasurable than in the dreams, so much more real and exquisite, reminding her of their love bouts before she’d left him. Without being able to cling to the moment, the climax crashed over her with ecstatic fervor, and she felt that elusive high she always had with him. Before she could cry out, his mouth was on hers, and he was pressing his erection inside her, thrusting, savagely claiming her as much as she was taking him in deeper, holding him, wanting him, claiming him back.

Her senses were revved, she realized with blissful shock. Because of the wolf in her, every sense she possessed was stronger, more alert, more attuned. The musky male scent of him, the sound of his heart beating rapidly, of his breath coming hard, the feel of the hairs on his chest and his chin brushing against her sensitive skin—and she felt the earth-shattering climax hit her once again. She moaned with pure pleasure as he thrust one last time and sank against her, spent only for the moment. Because with Jake, once was never enough.

***

Late the next morning, Alicia woke to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and eggs and ham cooking in the kitchen. She looked up at Jake, whose arms and legs were wrapped around her, but she wasn’t sure if he was being protective or purely possessive.

She loved being with him like this, yet she felt an odd sense of disquiet. She thought it might be because she still worried about Mario and his men causing trouble for Jake and his people.

Jake smiled sleepily down at her and kissed the top of her head. “I think they finally gave up on waiting for me to cook breakfast for them this morning. You were sleeping so soundly that I wouldn’t have disturbed you for the world.”

She sighed. “They’ll be annoyed with me then.”

He chuckled. “No. We all love to cook. I just tend to get up earlier than anyone else.”

She slid her hand between them and touched his rigid erection. “I know,” she said coyly.

He grinned at her. “Waking up to you has been my fondest desire.”

She stroked his chest with her fingernail and looked up at him. “I didn’t dream last night about you. The first time in seven weeks. Did you dream about me?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t need to.” He kissed her cheek.

“What time is it?”

“Late morning. Everyone will be heading to work—should have been already—all except Lelandi. She’s working on a psychology degree through an online college program so she can study at home. Sheriff Peter and some other men are hanging around outside in the event Mario or his men learn you’re here.”

“I didn’t want to cause trouble for you and your family,” she said with regret.

He held her tighter. “I wouldn’t have allowed any harm to come to you. You shouldn’t have left your hotel like you did. I saw Mario’s note to you in your hotel room, Alicia. I know you thought Mario would have me killed. But it couldn’t have happened.”

“I couldn’t know that,” she said quietly. “You said you didn’t even have a gun.”

“Not on me. I realize you were afraid for my life. I realize, too, how hard it had to have been for you to have left me. And I know you couldn’t quit thinking of me.”

She chuckled and tweaked his nipple. “You think so, do you?”

“I know so.” He gave her a smart-ass smirk. “That’s why,” he said, brushing his thumb softly against her cheek, “you’ve been dream mating with me. And that’s why you went to the art gallery to find out where I was living. Then when they were after you, that’s why you headed toward Silver Town—to find me.”

She took a deep breath and snuggled against his chest, her breasts feeling heavier than normal and the tingling renewed again. She’d missed her period, thinking at first that it had to do with her werewolf changes. But with every passing day, she feared that might not be the reason at all.

She couldn’t deal with this right now and tried to pull away from Jake. But he wouldn’t let her go.

“Can you get my bags from the police in Crestview today?”

“They’ll need to talk to you about what happened first, most likely.”

“I will. But I need my bags.”

“I told you I’d take you shopping as soon as you can manage. When the new moon appears, you won’t change at all.”

“I won’t?” She relaxed a little. Was that why she hadn’t shifted for two of the weeks out of the past seven? There was hope for her to live a seminormal life yet.

He caressed her shoulder with his fingertips in a slow, lazy pattern. “No. Only royals, so called because they have so few human links in their past, can change at will during any phase of the moon. The rest of us can’t. So it’ll be a good time for you to enjoy seeing the area, circulate a bit, and get to meet the pack.”

“That’s why for about a week, on two different occasions, I thought the virus had passed. That I was cured.”

He raised his brows.

“I guessed I wasn’t cured of the condition when I shape-shifted at the art gallery. I’m so sorry Mary thought you had gotten me pregnant.”

“I will get you that way,” he said, smiling, rubbing his hand over her belly. “Just a little later than she would believe.”

For a minute, Alicia barely breathed under Jake’s skillful caresses. She took a deep steadying breath. “I swore after my first two disastrous marriages that I’d never get married again. That was before I ran into you, or I should say, you began to follow me. I kept bemoaning the fact that I’d met you too late—after I’d gotten myself into this mess with the Mob—and I was afraid they’d kill you.”

His fingers stilled on her belly, and he finally really looked at her. “It’s not happening. Trust me in this. From the moment I met you, we were in this together.”

She sighed. “Then I was a werewolf. And if I came to see you in Silver Town, even though that’s exactly where I was headed because I had no other alternative, I knew I’d bite you and turn you.”

He smiled. “So see, that proves you wanted me.”

“Yeah, in the worst way. But I couldn’t do that to you.”

“No worries there.”

She looked anxious, but he couldn’t figure out what was still bothering her. Before he could ask, she blurted out, “I don’t want to have a child out of wedlock.”

“We couldn’t have had a child before you were turned. Well, except in rare instances. Lelandi’s brother, Leidolf, was telling us about a case he learned of on the Oregon coast. But it’s so rare that there’s nothing to be concerned about. If you conceived werewolf babies, they wouldn’t be considered born out of wedlock anyway. Not once you’re mated.”

She stared at him, then pulled free and sat up in bed. “Don’t tell me the rules for marriage are different for werewolves.”

Jake frowned at her. Then he slowly rose to a sitting position. “We’re dream mated, which means we were meant to be together. We consummated the relationship last night—several times, I might add. We’re mated, Alicia, for life. That’s how werewolves do it. Just like our wolf counterparts do. We don’t have a wedding per se. No divorces either. I thought you knew that.”

She closed her eyes and groaned, then opened them and tried to leave the bed, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “I thought you understood.”

“How could I?” She pulled her hand free, and this time he let her go. She grabbed her clothes and headed for Jake’s bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Jake stared after her in disbelief. She was his. He was hers. Had to be, according to the dream-mating scenario. Hell. He would never have taken her without her first agreeing to the conditions. Although he would have worked damn hard early on at convincing her to agree. They were meant to be together, but he would have waited until she realized the truth.

He cursed himself for not better understanding her newness at being a werewolf. And vowed to make it up to her. But there was no taking back what they had done.

For life, that’s how werewolves mated, just like their wolf cousins. He wanted to join her in the shower and convince her how right they were for each other. But the shower turned off, and he waited instead.

She finally emerged from the bathroom. He caught sight of her reddened eyes, and he felt his whole world deflate.

“Alicia,” he said, moving to take her into his arms, “we’re meant to be together.”

“I think I might be pregnant,” she sobbed, her tear-streaked cheek planted against his bare chest, her fingers curled into fists at her side, her whole body language showing defeat. “I should have let you know before we were… mated. Now from what you say your kind practices, you’re stuck with me.” She gritted her teeth and looked at him with such a woeful expression, he quickly moved in close to her.

Being stuck with her forever was just how he wanted to be. He gathered her in his arms and tried to console her, but his thoughts were swirling as he tried to sort out the possibility of her being pregnant. “I wanted you from the first time I saw you. This changes nothing between us. But you said you only think you’re pregnant? You don’t know for certain?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah. I don’t know for certain, but… it’s possible.”

“I couldn’t have made you pregnant,” he said, glumly.

“So you already said.”

That’s what was eating at her. Only one person could have made her pregnant, he thought, if she was right in her assumption. The bastard who bit her.

“Ferdinand Massaro?” He tried to keep his tone consoling, but if the bastard had made her pregnant, he had raped her.

She let out a ragged sigh. “I didn’t think he’d done anything to me. Except bitten me. But I’ve been feeling… different. And my… period is… late. But I thought maybe it was all this stress with the werewolf shifting that was making me feel strange and had thrown me off my regular cycle.”