“Have you been out with a buck yet?” she asked.
“No. A bear and a lynx.” I could file that under sentences I never thought I’d say out loud.
“If you want to know what he’s really thinking, get him out in nature. It’s a shifter thing. Has he talked to you about his buck yet? It’s like an alter ego.”
“No.”
“Well, if he’s anything like Sebastian, his buck gets what it wants. All you need to do is make sure it wants you.”
“HOW ARE YOU FEELING about your first official date with Gunnar?” Tessa blocked my view of the front door of the practice facility. “Now that he’s a Bloodhound?”
“Do you know that for sure?” I wished I'd brought him something, besides the bottle of champagne I left in the production van.
“There hasn’t been any news on the website yet either way.” Tessa held up her phone. She used the Bloodhound Insider site like a secret weapon, ambushing my roommates with news of cuts and trades before they had a chance to hear it from their sweeties. There were two games going on with the Bloodhounds—the one on the field, and the one on camera. “I’ve got people inside the stadium. They say nobody else is being brought in for the job.”
I nodded, disappointed that I didn’t get the news from Gunnar himself.
“How do you plan on celebrating?” Tessa asked.
Gunnar came out the door with Sebastian. They were laughing about something, and he didn’t see me yet. For a moment, I forgot about Tessa spoiling his news and relished the feeling of butterflies in my belly. Fresh from practice, he’d tied his long strawberry blonde hair in a topknot, and he wore a T-shirt that clung to his muscles. I’d known they were there, but seeing the definition in his arms, the pure strength and sleekness of his body, was a totally different story. The last of the day's sun caught in his eyes as he scanned the parking lot, his lips curling up in a smile when he saw me.
The way he came over, I wished he kissed me. But he stopped short, the spell broken by the camera.
“I’ve got a bottle of bubbly in the back of the production van.” I knotted my hands in my pockets to keep myself from grabbing him. He looked so much more like his buck like this. I shouldn’t have found that sexy, but I did. “Are we cracking it open?”
He chuckled. “Not exactly what I had in mind for the backseat, but it’s a good place to start.”
Oh, game on, buck. “You made the team?”
“I’ll be kicking on Sunday.” He ran his hand over his beard, caramel eyes wide. “It’s surreal.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I pulled him into a hug. Gunnar held me against his body, his grip strong and sure like there was no other possible outcome of the day. He made the team and he’d quite possibly begin his scoring drive on me, after we cracked that champagne open. “Congratulations.”
He didn’t let me go. I let myself get lost in the heat of his body, and that musky scent that was a mixture of man and nature. My head rested against his heart.
Gunnar needed this. He had something to prove. And tonight, he had something to celebrate.
“Now we can make this official,” he said softly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m a Bloodhound. Thought you were only allowed to date guys on the team?”
“I hope that means you’re staying on the team for a while.” There I went again, getting ahead of myself. I had to take it one date at a time or else I’d create a ridiculous standard no man or buck could ever live up to.
“Maybe the two of you would like some hot tub time?” Tessa’s voice was like a rusty butter knife slicing us apart. “We won’t film you the whole time. Just enough that we get some footage for the show.”
“Sounds like she’s giving us an out.” Gunnar wiggled his eyebrows. “If we do it her way.”
“She’s still scarred from Naomi.” The hot tub was a dangerous idea, especially after that hug. I hadn’t had a chance to prepare for what it would really be like to be alone with Gunnar. When he went from the guy who was nice to my kid to my date. Possibly my lover. Very possibly my lover.
Tessa shook her head. “We still don’t have any usable footage of them together. Unfortunately, you two will pay the price for that. I know it’s weird having us around when things get serious. I promise, we know when to shut the cameras off.”
When I’d gone out with the other guys, there was always a point in the date where the crew quietly collected their things and left. Leaving me alone. Those times, I wished they stayed. But tonight, my goal was to get rid of them as soon as possible. Didn’t mean I planned on going to bed with Gunnar.
Maybe.
But maybe not.
“So that hot tub will probably feel good after your first practice.” I pressed my hands against his chest. Solid muscle. “And I can’t lie and say I don’t want to see you in there.”
“I want to see you in the hot tub, too.” His gaze slid over to Tessa. “Wasn’t exactly my plan for the night, but it’s a pretty damn good idea.”
“What was your plan for the night?”
He pulled me in close again, that incredible cinnamon scent seeping into my pores. I wondered if it was his buck. “After we get rid of them, you’ll find out.”
Chapter Eight
GUNNAR
I talked a good game and so far, my body had followed suit.
“You’re in great physical condition,” Coach had said, sounding as surprised as I was that I passed his test with flying colors. “You should have no problem training for the games.”
There was only so long my body could hold up the bargain. I was making promises to Delilah I wasn’t sure I could keep. But I was sure as hell gonna try.
“We have a clubhouse at the Werewife compound. It’s the common area for the ladies to meet with their mates. That’s how we refer to the members of the Bloodhounds. Doesn’t mean that Delilah’s actually your mate.” Tessa rode with me, giving me a crash course in Werewife 101. I would’ve rather heard it from Delilah, but Tessa urged her to ride in the production van that we followed. I’d rather be stuck with them now rather than later. When the truth came out and I made a fool out of myself in front of thousands of people. “The other Werewives will definitely be curious about the newest Bloodhound, so prepare yourself for that.”
“I’m here for Delilah.” My buck grunted. He hated the unnecessary drama that went with being human.
“What fun is it if you don’t fight for each other?” Tessa gave me a made-for-TV grin when I glared at her. “I bet your buck will like that.”
How does she already know what you are? my buck asked.
Tessa had no idea what she was messing with. “You like to live dangerously, don’t you?”
“Never thought so until I started working on this show.” She laughed. “We have swim trunks for you in the clubhouse. Think of this as a relaxed environment where you can get to know Delilah a little better.”
Right. “At what point do you leave us alone?”
“We always know when the time is right.” She winked as I pulled into the compound parking lot. “Everyone’s so worried about getting rid of us they overlook how important it is to get to that point.”
She laughed as she slammed the passenger door closed. I cut the ignition but didn’t get out of my truck. There were women everywhere I looked, but none of them as beautiful as the one who waited for me in front of the production van. Her look wasn’t over the top like some of the women who called to her and waved as they passed by. Her black hair fell in sleek waves to her shoulders, and her blue eyes pierced my soul.
Nothing will be the same after tonight, my buck rumbled. Which was exactly why I was going to go against my nature and do it. I’d never get what I wanted if I kept doing the same tired shit. Following broken traditions didn’t make anyone happy. Not my herd, not my buck, and certainly not me.
You have much more to lose than you do to gain, my buck warned, back to his old shit.
For the first time, I realized my buck was running scared. It stopped tonight.
But I still couldn’t bring myself to kiss those red lips when I approached her. I was totally consumed with the image in my mind of Delilah, her makeup smeared from our passion, but I couldn’t make it happen. Yet.
“I know, it’s scarier here, isn’t it? It’s like Thunderdome.” She slipped her fingers between mine and squeezed. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”
“Can’t make the same promise.” I expected her to gasp. “If you’re into that sort of thing.”
More foolish promises, my buck said.
“I might be.” Those red lips curled up in a grin, and I wasn’t the only one with a wild side. I’d do whatever it took to prove my buck wrong. Our gazes locked only for a second before Delilah was distracted. “Here they come.”
Three women wearing nothing but bikinis and high heels approached. Looked like I wasn’t the only one in a herd at the compound.
“Hey, Delilah,” the blonde one said, but she wasn’t looking at Delilah. Her gaze raked over my body. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Gunnar,” she said, tugging hard on my hand. “Now if you’ll excuse us.”
“Never seen you before.” The redhead stepped strategically between us so I’d have to knock her over if I followed Delilah. “Are you a Bloodhound?”
“I am.”
Her face lit up. “Well, then I look forward to stealing a little time with you.” She ran her hand over my cheek.
“Don’t hold your breath.” I pulled Delilah closer to me. “I’ve already found my mate.”
What? My buck roared.
We made a break for it down the hill, followed by a chorus of that’s not fair! and why didn’t we get to meet him first! Tessa would have a good time cleaning up that mess. It wasn’t our problem. I had a date in a hot tub. With my mate.
Fool!
Delilah slammed the door behind us when we got in the clubhouse, standing with her back against it and laughing. “That was kinda hot, what you said back there.” But her expression changed. She wanted that kiss.
“It wasn’t something I said to scare them away.” My heart slammed against my ribcage hard enough to drown out my buck’s bitching. “I don’t want to scare you away, either.”
“You won’t.” She peeled herself away from the door, her blue eyes on fire as she came closer.
I had a lot to lose, taking her face in my hands and leaning in for the kiss, but even more to gain as Delilah’s lips moved against mine, soft and steady, but most of all, sure. She wanted this. She wanted me. But I wasn’t ready to go inside. Not yet.
Delilah broke away, her eyebrows furrowed like she thought she’d done something wrong. Told you so. My buck would get its rocks off by torturing me tonight. “I’ll get into my suit. Might take me a minute, if they want me to go into the confessional. Meet you at the hot tub.”
I shouldn’t have let her walk away, not without an explanation. That I didn’t know what I was doing. That I’d given up finding my mate, and now that she was here, I feared it was too late.
I’d never been more alone. No other Bloodhounds were in the locker room. Delilah and I were the only ones scheduled for tonight. Our names were written on a whiteboard. A column marked "notes" was left empty. I missed the camaraderie of a team, but they couldn’t help me tonight. I’d text Sebastian, but I didn’t have the balls to tell him what was bothering me. That the big, bad alpha buck who’d kept a ruthless wolf at bay for the last seven years had never been with a woman.
You’re a fraud, my buck reminded me. And after this little trip to Holiday Falls, everyone in your herd will know it. You’re leaving them weak and vulnerable and not in the way you think.
It was shit like that I'd let hold me back. I’d made careful decisions, and done the things that made the most people happy without considering what I really wanted. I congratulated herdmate after herdmate on finding his destined mate. It was good for all of us. But they all wanted to know when it would be my turn. Without an heir, the herd would fall into chaos.
That wasn’t why I wanted Delilah. For once, I didn’t give a fuck about my herd. I wanted a woman who cared enough about her son to give him one more special Christmas. A woman who’d pushed all her chips into the middle of the table with love once and lost miserably but was still willing to try again. One who offered me her heart in her hands as she whispered words that made my entire body rumble.
I’d make her my queen.
“Sorry. They got me. It’s amazing how they act like they have no idea what’s going to happen,” she said when she entered the hot tub room covered in a towel, but stopped when she saw me standing there. “Did you have to talk to them, too? I didn’t think you had to go into the confessional.”
“No, I didn’t.” The water gurgled and I stepped closer to her. A camera trained on us from the ceiling corner. “But I need to talk to you, before they turn the camera on.”
“It’s always on.” Delilah clutched the towel. “If you don’t want to do this—”
“No.” I wouldn’t let her think it was her giving me doubt for a second. “I just need to let you know that I’ve...never done this before.”
“The hot tub?” She quirked an eyebrow. “It’s just like sitting in a too-warm shallow pool with bubbles.”
“Not the hot tub.” I chuckled, then took a deep breath. For as much as my buck was bitching about this night, he sure liked the way her gaze settled on my bare chest. “The rest of it.”
“I don’t think I know what you’re—” She lifted her gaze. “Are you telling me you haven’t been with a woman?”
“Yeah.” It was my nature to come up with a thousand reasons why not, to make it sound not as bad as it was, but if I was going to change anything, I had to start by rewriting history. “In our herd, we have one destined mate. All the old legends say that the greatest gift that we can give her is ourselves. Mind, body, heart, and soul. I’ve waited for her to come into my life.”
“That’s beautiful.” She took a deep breath, deflating. “There’s some lucky lady out there who’s in for a hell of a ride.”
“It’s you.” I took advantage of her surprise and tipped her chin to meet my gaze. It could’ve been the steam, but I’d swear there were tears in her eyes. “I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you in the store. It was like opening my eyes for the very first time and actually understanding what the hell everyone else had been talking about for so long. You are my mate. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have had the balls to get on the ferry and try out for the Bloodhounds. I did it because I want to be the man you deserve.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks, and this time, the kiss was easy. All I wanted was for the tears to go away. I made my confession and she didn’t run. She didn’t see herself the way I saw her.
You need to make her believe it, fool, my buck said. Make your island her home and keep her and her son safe. She needs that.
For once in our lives, my buck was a genius.
“You already are,” she whispered. The towel fell in a heavy thump at our feet as she looped her hands around my neck. The energy between us when we were this close—skin on skin—made it hard to think. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, okay? Why don’t we get in the hot tub and I’ll show you a thing or two?”
Chapter Nine
DELILAH
“You’re beautiful.” Gunnar gazed up at me from the water, his caramel eyes glowing in the low light of the room. I was still awestruck by his confession—both of them. That he was a virgin, and that I was the woman he’d been waiting for. I was humbled he had the courage to tell me, especially because I’d been searching for that person, too. For him.
That was love. When all those crazy impulses that defied logic and reason came together into pure, unadulterated spirituality. It wasn’t perfect, but it made us whole.
“You’re beautiful,” I echoed, taking my
time stepping into the water. I loved the way Gunnar drank in my every move. He didn’t need experience to make me believe in him. All I had to do was look into his eyes.
I brushed my hand along his cheek once I sat. Little drops of water clung to his beard. He put his hand over mine and squeezed it, then brought it to his lips to give each of my fingers a kiss. It wasn’t the steam making me melt. “I was aiming for rugged and handsome.”
“On the outside, you are those things. But on the inside, you’re beautiful.” I loved the way his damp hair clung to the sides of his face and his neck. Our legs were tangled together because the closer we got, the stronger the attraction. Our heartbeats were like magnets, drawing us in. We were meant to be one. “No matter what happens tonight, or any other night, don’t let anything change who you are.”
His lips curled into a smile against my fingers. “You make me want to take chances.”
I’d been on a crash course with myself to find love again. And I foolishly expected it to be the same as it was with my husband. We followed the rules and reaped the rewards—until we didn’t. Until we both lost everything we had. This time, Gunnar and I collided. He thought he had to live up to some sort of impossible standard to keep me around, and he so didn’t. But I knew exactly what he meant. It was an awesome responsibility to be someone’s soulmate. He was trusting me with so much more than his heart. He offered me his hopes, his dreams, and most importantly, his soul.
I cradled his face in my hands, kissing him with reckless abandon. I ran my tongue along the seam of his lips, loving the way his body shuddered as he let me inside. I expected him to be shy at first, but he matched my intensity, our tongues tangling.
His hands were rough from work and I loved the way they felt as he dragged them down my back. I wound up in his lap, straddling him. So much heat radiated from his body, we were about to turn the tub into pure liquid lava. It was the best kind of burn.
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