“Well, you should have done.” His fingers wound into her hair. Little sparks of electricity danced over her skin everywhere he touched. “Damn it, I’m still zapping you.”
She caught her breath, nerves tingling. “In a good way.”
“Glad to hear it, because I have no idea how to turn this off.” He tugged her head back, tilted her face up to his. “And I’m not waiting another damn second to kiss you.”
She closed her eyes, savoring the electric jolt of pleasure as their lips met. A low, contented growl rumbled through his chest.
“Honey! Buck!”
Honey started to pull away at the shout, but Buck held her in place. He lingered over the kiss, unhurried, before finally looking up.
“Hi, kids,” he said calmly.
“You’rekissing,” Archie said, his expression a mix of disgust and hope. “That means everything’s ok now, right?”
“Yes.” Buck turned to face the group, though his arm stayed wrapped around her waist. “Everything’s good.”
“You’re not leaving?” Beth asked Honey anxiously.
She smiled at the campers. “No, I’m not.”
“We did it, pack!” Estelle held up her hand. “Go us!”
“It was mostly Ig,” Finley pointed out, as the kids exchanged high fives.
Grinning, Rufus nodded agreement.
Ignatius had gone red. He looked down at his feet, mumbling, “I didn’t do much.”
“Yes, you did.” Flora pounced on Ignatius, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, everyone. Pack hug!”
With a muttered curse, Buck stepped back to avoid getting caught up in the crush. Laughing, Honey let him pull her away. Side by side, they watched the kids swarm Ignatius, hugging him despite his protests. Even Estelle joined in the affectionate, noisy scrum.
“Why didn’t you just let me tell that ass I was going to make you a shifter?” Buck murmured. He glanced down at her, a look of consternation crossing his face. “Shit. You do want to mate, right?”
She smiled, leaning against his shoulder. “I do.”
“Good, because if I don’t make this thing between us official, I’m pretty sure Ragvald will broil me alive.”
“Is that the only reason you want to bite me?” she teased him.
“Not even remotely, woman.” He captured her mouth for another long, lingering kiss before adding, “So why all the song and dance? You didn’t have to change the camp rule about non-shifters. Wasn’t going to make any difference to you.”
“No.” She cast a glance at the kids. “Not to me.”
CHAPTER42
There was an impromptu camp-wide celebration that night. Most of the kids and staff had absolutely no idea what was being celebrated, but that didn’t matter. Everyone was always up for a party.
Honey found Ignatius down by the dock, well away from the music and laughter. She sat next to him on the pebbly shoreline. He didn’t look at her.
“That was a very brave thing you did today,” she said quietly.
“All I did was get my uncle here,” he muttered. He picked up a pebble, tossing it into the lake. “And tell him I didn’t want you to go.”
She watched the last rays of sunlight dip below the edge of the lake, turning the waters to gold. “You were about to do a lot more than that.”
Ignatius looked at her at last. His expression was a miniature copy of his uncle—haughty, indifferent—but his eyes were those of a scared little boy.
