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If this had been a true race, I wouldn’t have gotten more than a couple of steps away from him. But the wolf gave me a head start, and I made it all the way to the bottom step of my deck before he nipped at the hem of my shirt. “You got me!” I cried.
He barked in response and dashed toward the trees that lined the back of the yard. I thought I was in pretty good shape, but it didn’t take long before I was panting. He led me on a merry chase, closing the distance between the trees and me and darting away before I could touch him.
Bending over, I pressed my hands against my thighs and gasped, “No fair. You’re way too good at this. I can’t catch my breath.”
He trotted over to check on me—just like I knew he would. When he pressed his snout against the back of my knee, I reached down to rest my hand on his back. Then I shrieked, “Haha! Tag, you’re it again,” before pivoting to dart away.
His wolf let out a broken howl that sounded an awful lot like he was laughing, and I giggled as I ran. I didn’t get far, though. When I was halfway to the deck, a warm male body pressed against my back, and strong arms wrapped around my body to lift me off the ground. “I can’t believe you tricked me like that. I was worried about you.”
I wiggled in his hold until he set me back down so I could turn and twine my arms around his neck. “Sorry, babe. I don’t have many advantages against you. It was my only chance of winning.”
There was an approving gleam in his dark eyes. “My pretty baby hates to lose, huh?”
I freaking loved his nickname for me, but when he added “my” in front of it…holy crap. My panties were drenched. “I’m a much more gracious winner.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He brushed his mouth against mine before nipping at my bottom lip. “Luckily, we won’t be on opposite teams except when it’s just the two of us.”
He shook his head and smiled. “I can’t remember the last time my wolf played like that.”
I was glad I could give that back to him. My heart had ached for the boy he’d been when he’d left his childhood pack after his father died when he was only seventeen. I hated that he’d been on his own for a decade before he found Keane’s pack in the wilderness, but his experiences while he’d been a loner had shaped the amazing man he was today. And they’d been a big part of what had brought us together since he had helped Ramsey while she was recovering because they had that in common. If another member of his pack had been the one she’d befriended, we might never have met.
Shaking my head to clear that line of thought, I focused on the here and now. “I’m looking forward to doing it again soon.”
“My wolf won’t fall for the same trick twice,” he warned.
I quirked a brow. “Want to bet on it?”
“I guess it would depend on the stakes.” He laughed and shook his head. “Since you’d probably win.”
“It should be something good because there’s no probably about it.” I flashed him a confident grin. “I’d definitely win. Your wolf wouldn’t risk the chance that I might actually be hurt.”
“I’m glad you know that you’ll always be safe with him.”
His wolf was big and fierce enough to scare most shifters, but I knew he’d never hurt me. Neither would the man, no matter how much I pushed his buttons. “Because he’s a big sweetie.”
“My wolf is not sweet. He’s a savage beast,” he growled, hoisting me over his shoulder to stalk the rest of the way to the house.
I giggled as he stomped across the deck and through the door, which earned me a playful swat against my butt. “Okay, okay. I admit it. You’re a big, scary hunk of a man.”
“That’s more like it,” he murmured before setting me on my feet.
“It’s a good thing I have a privacy fence.” My gaze raked down his sexy body, stalling between his legs as his dick hardened and a drop of precome beaded at the tip. “I’d hate to have to kill someone for seeing you like this. Kace wouldn’t be happy about it.”
“I’m sure the alpha is just as territorial over his mate. He’d understand,” he assured me with a smile as he pressed my back against the nearest wall and crowded against me. “But my wolf loves how vicious you can be.”
I peered up at his face. “And you?”
“I already knew you were fierce.” He wagged his brows as he snagged the pair of athletic shorts he’d left on the table and tugged them on. “I’ve seen for myself how good you are with a knife.”
“You should probably warn the rest of your pack about my knife skills so they don’t mess with me.”
His brows drew together. “My pack?”
With everything we’d talked about over the past week, the one topic that we had avoided was where we were going to live. “I figured you’d want to take me up to your cabin so I could meet them before we moved up there.”
His eyes widened, and his head jerked back as though he was blown away by the suggestion. “I didn’t think that was really an option now that I have you.”
“How come?”
