The Mating Game: Big Bad Wolf(28)

Ryker led the way, tearing through the underbrush and racing around the longleaf pines that dominated the area. The forest floor was covered with a thick mat of pine needles, and running through them smelled like Christmas.

The night sky was cloudless, and a fat yellow moon lit their way with soft golden light. After a few minutes, they burst from the tree line and Ryker led her to a crystal-clear lake with a crescent of sandy beach. By the lakeside, there were several picnic tables and a brick fire pit.

By the side of the lake, they both shifted into human form. A cool breeze whipped through the air and dragged ripples along the black, mirrored surface of the lake.

“This is our watering hole. Been swimming in here since I was a cub,” he said proudly.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, looking around. The stars and moon reflected in the lake, and the only sound was the chirping of crickets.

She glanced at Ryker’s perfect body and turned and scurried into the water, shivering slightly in the chill.

Ryker followed her, laughing. “What’s the hurry?” he asked, splashing through the lake to get closer to her.

“I don’t like to be seen naked,” she admitted.

“Why not? You’ve got a gorgeous body,” he said.

They stood on the sandy bottom of the lake, close but not touching. There was no traffic out here; it felt as if they were hundreds of miles away from civilization. “You are so lucky, growing up with all this,” she said.

He grinned. “It’s true. Even when were just scraping by, we had all of this.” Then a more serious look drifted across his face.

“What is it?” she said.

“We’re pretty much mortgaged to the hilt,” he said. “The company’s kind of on the brink. We could succeed or fail at this point, and if we fail, we lose all of this.”

“Then you won’t fail,” Daisy said with conviction. She’d do whatever it took to help him and his pack.

Ryker nodded, but his face was still somber.

“What do you want to do? What would your dream job be, if you could do anything?” she asked.

He looked surprised. “Nobody’s asked me that before. I guess everybody assumes that running this company is my dream job. I like certain aspects of it…like mentoring kids at the gym. What I really like is being in the stables mucking around with the horses, but that doesn’t pay the bills.”

Then he noticed that she was shivering, and he reached out and pulled her close to him.

“What are you doing?” she asked, but she leaned in to his hard, muscular body. She felt his thick cock pressing into the softness of her stomach, and the bunched muscles in his arms as he held her close.

“Keeping you warm,” he said, pressing up against her.

The warmth of his body spread through her, and she felt tingly from head to toe.

Perfection. He’d called her perfection.

He bent down and kissed her, and the world fell away from her. One arm looped around her waist, firmly pressing her close. His free hand tangled in her hair. His kiss was firm and commanding, his tongue probing hers, swirling…

Then suddenly he jerked away like he’d been stung, tipped his head back, and sniffed at the air. She scented it at the same time – they weren’t alone out here.

“Hey!” he roared. “Who’s out here? Mom, I swear I’m going to kill you!”

“Don’t let me interrupt!” his mother called out from the bushes. “I left you two some dinner on the shore. I’m going home now – you carry on!”

Ryker let out a stream of curses and went barreling out of the water. Daisy saw a small gray wolf running through the bushes, legs churning madly. His mom was high-tailing it out of there.

She scurried out of the water and, feeling chilly, shifted back into wolf form. Ryker followed her, and they jogged back to his house.

They were standing by the bathroom, toweling themselves off, when the phone rang in the kitchen.

“It’s my mother,” Ryker said with a dark scowl. “She’s the only one who calls me on the landline. And she can call all night. I’m going to go get dressed.”

Daisy wrapped the towel around herself and went into the kitchen to answer the phone.

“Harrison residence,” she said.

“Is Ryker there?” Harriet asked, sounding aggrieved.

“Uh, he’s pretty mad right now. He doesn’t want to speak to you.”

“Well, he has some nerve! I’m his mother!” Harriet said indignantly. “All I’m trying to do is make sure he doesn’t mess this up. He shouldn’t have brought you out there without a picnic.”

Daisy bit back a response and didn’t say anything.