“You probably don’t want to stand so close. I just ran five miles.”

He stepped even closer, and she couldn’t do anything else but watch, fascinated as he closed his eyes, bent and breathed her in. “You smell delicious. Woman. Magick. Hard work. Your muscles are loose and warm. You still smell of sleep.”

She gulped, licking her lips. She knew what else he was going to smell because he’d already told her he could scent her arousal, and she was that all the sudden. Hot. Nipples hard and tingling, her pu**y slick.

“Jesus, this is f**king torture.” He shook himself a moment and stepped back. “Go get showered or I’m going to do what your body is begging me to.”

She blinked at him, mouth opened. She should have been outraged. Denying that claim, but she’d have been a liar and they both would have known it. He wasn’t angry. His words were tortured.

She willed herself into the bathroom and showered quickly, turning the water ice cold at the end before she headed back out to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said as she entered the room.

“For what?” She checked her weapon before sliding her shoulder harness on. They needed to go back to that gas station. She also needed to check in with Pam at Portland PD to see if they’d received any new info.

He moved to her, tipping her chin up, and all the hard work the cold shower had done fell away as want slammed into her again. “I shouldn’t have said that. You didn’t deserve it.”

Unable to help it, she smiled. “Yeah? You think I’m too fragile to face that I was hot for you and you knew it?”

He groaned. “Why do you do this to me?”

She got serious. “What?” Without meaning to, she reached up to touch his cheek, and he leaned into her palm.

“I want you. A whole lot.”

She’d be such a liarpants if she denied she wanted him right back. But there were other things right then to deal with.

“Yes. I want you too. But, Allie. I need to focus on that right now.”

He swallowed, and she breathed in deep as he slid an arm around her waist, dipping his head to kiss her. His progress was slow enough that she could have stepped back or stopped things.

As if.

She tipped her head up, pressing herself closer, and when his lips came down on hers, it was like everything sort of clicked into place. He was like the thing in her life she hadn’t known she was missing but now she did.

His tongue slid over the curve of her bottom lip, and she opened to him, sucking it inside her mouth. He grunted, pressing his c**k against her belly. Her nails dug into his sides, holding him close as his taste filled her.

The hand he had at her back slid down to cup the swell of her ass, hauling her closer. She wanted him to toss her on the bed and f**k her senseless, exhaust her. But they didn’t have time for that. Not right then.

He broke away, breath coming fast. “That was…it’ll get me through the next hours.” His eyes held that light she’d already begun to associate with his wolf. “We should go. Pam is going to meet us for breakfast. I hope you’re hungry, this place serves a great breakfast.”

“I’m beginning to think all the places you eat serve heaping plates of food.”

He slid a hand over that rock-hard belly and grinned like a pirate. “A benefit of shifter metabolism.”

She grabbed her stuff and followed him out into the hallway. Damon already stood near the elevator. She waved.

“Morning.”

He nodded her way. “Morning, Michelle. Listen,” he said as they all took the elevator to the lobby, “my mate, my wife, she’s a witch and she wanted me to invite you over when you got a chance. She’s excited to meet you and said to tell you there’s a sizeable community of witches here in Portland. They’re affiliated with Clan Owen.”

“Oh. Well…thank you. Thank her, I mean. I don’t know how long I’ll be around, but I appreciate the invite and I’m always happy to meet other witches. I don’t know very many.” Her mother pretended she was human. The only other witches she was close to who didn’t hide it were Allie and Kathy.

Damon’s gaze shifted to Josh quickly before he replied. “I’ll tell her. Just let me know. Maybe we can grab a coffee. Or you two can have a drink since Josh and I can’t really get drunk.”

She smiled. “That must sort of suck.”

Josh patted his belly again. “There are other benefits. I’d rather be able to eat like a horse.”

She snorted a laugh. “You ate like a horse before you got bit too.”

He grinned. “Yeah, but that seventeen-year-old-boy metabolism only lasts so long.”

They drove over to a small diner where she ordered a pot of coffee and a stack of pancakes. Damon and Josh of course ordered enough food for four people but the server didn’t even bat an eye.

Pam the cop came in right as their food arrived. She asked the server to bring a farmer’s breakfast and more coffee, and then she turned to Josh, nodding.

“No further sightings of the SUV north of here. One more west of that gas station. Charlie hasn’t been very helpful. He lawyered up right away. Our contact in the coroner’s office says the dead guy was human.”

“There was magick in the room.”

Pam nodded. “Whatever ripped him apart wasn’t human, that’s for sure. No teeth marks found so at least it’s not going to be pinned on Weres. Given the time of death, it couldn’t have been a Vampire. I’m not sure what else would have had the power to do that.”