"And what if I told you I was something straight out of a fairy tale, would you believe me?"
Thinking he was teasing, Dia teased back, "Is this where you tell me you really are Prince Charming?"
When Stone didn't laugh at her joke, Dia took notice of the tension in the air around them and stiffened herself.
"Or, are you the frog under those clothes?"
He grabbed her tightly, almost as if he was afraid she would ask him to let her go. "I'm not Prince Charming, sweetheart."
"Then what are you talking about?" Dia asked him, confused.
"I'm the big bad wolf, Dia."
She started to laugh, thinking he was joking again, but his serious face stopped her.
Quickly getting confused and frustrated with his mood swings, she snapped, "Fine, if you're such a big bad wolf, then how about you prove it to me, then? Do something … wolfy."
One of his eyebrows cocked up. "Wolfy?"
Dia nodded, determined to straighten out this confusing mess. She had no idea what the hell Stone was trying to get at here, but she wasn't one for bullshit. It was best just to cut right through the crap.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she reiterated her command, "Wolfy, mister."
Shrugging his shoulders, Stone started to move, but not in any way she had expected him to. No, the crazy man started stripping his clothes off.
"What the hell are you doing, Stone?" Dia glanced around, worried someone might see him getting naked.
With a laugh in his voice, Stone answered her as he pushed his boots off his feet, "I'm getting wolfy, woman. Give me a minute, would ya?"
Tired of the man acting like a total lunatic, Dia put a hand over her eyes to block the sight of him and shouted, "You will put your clothes back on right this minute, Stone Blaylock, or I will never speak to you again!"
Stone didn't answer her with words … There were grunts. Then a long groan. Followed by … a growl?
Past the point of confusion, and a whole lot worried, Dia peeked between two of her fingers to where Stone should have been standing. But he wasn't there. That was when Dia removed her hand altogether and looked to find a massive wolf in his place.
Dia's fear and adrenaline kicked in right away. She had good reason to be scared, too. The damn wolf was almost twice the size of any wolf she had seen at a zoo, and licking his chops like she was dinner.
She started to take a step back, but that made the wolf growl at her. She froze in place, staring down at an animal who could rip her apart from limb to limb.
The wolf didn't move a muscle, just stood there staring at her, as if he wanted her to see something. It took her a while, probably because she was ready to pee her pants, but Dia finally did see something. Steel blue-gray eyes, the exact same shade as Stone's.
It was as if the wolf knew the moment she had picked up that bit of knowledge, because his mouth spread into a big, wolf grin that flashed all of his sharp teeth.
Dia didn't have time to think or say anything about those eyes or teeth, though, because then something unbelievable happened. The wolf started moving, and not as in moving toward her or away from her. No, the body started changing. Fur receded into skin, the body elongated, and the next thing she knew, there was a very naked Stone standing in front of her, watching for her reaction.
The thing was, Dia was feeling so many different emotions she wasn't sure what reaction to give the man. Or wolf. Or whatever the fuck he was.
They stood there, silently staring at each other for a few minutes, until Stone asked, "Well? You going to say anything?"
Dia opened her mouth … then shut it again. In fact, she did that a few times, making herself look like a gaping fish, until she realized she was in genuine shock.
No matter how hard she tried, no words would come out.
Stone seemed to realize her predicament and stepped closer to her. Holding a hand out, he used one finger to slide it down the side of her face in a gentle caress. "Go ahead and say it, princess. Say the words: ‘You're a shifter'."
Finally, words came out when she opened her mouth, but they weren't the words he wanted her to say.
"You're not a werewolf?"
Stone shook his head. "We go by the name shifter, not werewolf."
"Not a werewolf," Dia said, instead of asking this time.
"Not a werewolf," Stone repeated.
After that, Dia could only think of one thing she wanted to ask him. "Do you get fleas?"
Stone wasn't thrilled with her question and let her know it with a look. "Not funny, mate."
"Mate?" Dia squeaked.
Nodding, he repeated, "Mate."
That was about the time Dia passed out.
Chapter Three
Two months later …
"I don't want you to go."
The growly man watching her from the bed made her smile.
Dia stood there, watching him through the mirror as she ran the brush through her strawberry blonde tresses to get the tangles out that her growly man had helped put in only moments before. She was in nothing but his T-shirt after they had just finished making love a few minutes ago.
While she knew it would be smarter not to play with a brooding alpha wolf shifter, Dia just couldn't help herself. Her man was cranky, and she was half-naked and content. That was certainly a recipe for mischief, right?
To do this, Dia made sure she moved her weight from foot to foot every now and then between brushings so that her mate, Stone, would watch what he knew was her bare ass moving underneath the clothing as she spoke with him.
"I know you don't want me to go, love, but you know I have to." She looked over her shoulder at her frowning mate and smiled. "Besides, Stone, I haven't seen my family since we met and mated two months ago. My parents are ready to send the cops out to make sure I really am okay and not being held hostage by some man they've never met. If I make an appearance so they can see I really am okay, they'll feel better. Plus, Mom needs me to help her after the knee surgery she's about to have. Not to mention all the trouble I've gone to, working double-time to cover my clients so I could close the salon and take this time off. I'll be back in a couple of weeks."
"I'll have someone checking on the salon while you're gone."
"Thank you, handsome," Dia told him with a big grin. She knew that admission meant he was slowly giving in to her leaving.
She looked back toward the mirror, started brushing her hair again, and gave her butt another surreptitious wiggle. She could barely hold in her laugh when she saw the movement had immediately gained Stone's attention. Then she heard him growl.
"You're trying to distract me on purpose, woman."
At that comment, a giggle escaped her, and she watched through the mirror as his head snapped up and he glared at her.
"You should know better than to play with a wolf."
Oh, she had learned that, and many other things about shifters in her time with her mate. Just saying the word mate in her head still made her heart flutter in her chest a little. She couldn't believe how far they had come in such a short period of time. From strangers to soul mates in just a matter of months. But that was how shifters were.
According to Stone, they knew their true mate immediately. It was hard to believe, but with every minute she had spent with him after that day by the castle, Stone had shown her the truth of his claim. There was no doubt in her mind that she was his mate, and that he loved her more than anything else in the world.
Dia had fallen hard and fast, and she wasn't looking back. Not that she would want to. This whole "mate" thing was pretty cool. What woman didn't want a smokin' hot man who wanted to love, protect, and basically worship the ground she walked on? Plus, the sex! She wasn't sure if all shifters were as voracious as Stone, but if they were, all of woman-kind would be searching for a shifter mate. That reminded Dia … She still had a little time to fool around with her mate before she left. What girl wouldn't take that opportunity?
She gave her ass another little wiggle, knowing he was staring at it. Then she had to bite the inside of her cheek not to laugh at the growl she heard from behind her.
Looking back at Stone through the mirror again, she saw the grumpy man she had quickly grown to love more than life itself throw the sheet off his naked body, and then got out of the bed. What a glorious naked body it was. To her, it was the epitome of perfection.
Stone was tall, well over six feet, and built with lots of lean muscles. That shaggy hair she loved to run her fingers through and would never cut short, complimented his beautiful eyes. He also had a strong, square jaw that helped to accentuate his plump bottom lip. It might seem silly, but she really loved that lip. Or biting it, at least.