He holds the back of my head, his muscles firm against me, clasping me like a giant crab claw.
I feel warm. I feel home.
With both hands cupping his face I kiss him and kiss him and kiss him.
“I’ve missed you,” I say, pressing back against his chest.
“Hold up.” He leans back, straightening out his arms, holding me at length so he can get a proper look. “You look different.”
My face heats up. “I do?”
“Mmm, worldly,” he says. “Intrepid.”
“You mean tired.” I roll my eyes playfully.
“No, you look . . .”
He moves a curl out of my face. My hair is longer than it used to be. With all the moving around I’ve not had much of a chance to visit a barber, and I know my pale skin is bronzer than it was. Plus, with all the hiking and lugging my bags around I’ve stacked on a bit of muscle for the first time in my life. But I also haven’t slept in about sixteen hours, and it must show.
“Rugged,” he says finally, with a smile and nod.
“Whatever, I probably just need a shower.”
“No, you look good. Tough. It’s sexy.”
“Uh-huh.”
I take this chance to fully absorb his appearance as well.
For the most part he looks the same. A little more stubble around his chin maybe. His hair is cropped a smidge closer than normal. He’s wearing a loose gray T-shirt and black joggers.
He catches me looking. “It’s okay, I look the same, you can say it.”
My thumb traces his cheekbone and down to the corner of his lips.
There is something there in his eyes, a sort of openness that’s new, something I can’t quite put my finger on and then I realize. He looks relaxed.
“You seem happy,” I say.
“That’s because you’re here!”
With that he pulls me back toward him, wraps me up, and lifts me off the ground, kissing me in midair.
Our lips stay pressed together as he spins us in a circle before lowering me to the ground.
“The kids all gone?” I ask when I’m back on the earth, glancing toward the cabins.
“Last stragglers left this afternoon.”
Jasper was the alpha’s representative at this year’s Blue Moon Festival, just one of his many responsibilities as the future alpha, responsibilities that are stacking up now he’s done with college.
“Any drama this year?”
He presses his lips together and shakes his head. “Nope. Just lots of hormonal werewolves running around the woods, finding their soulmates. It was kind of boring actually.”
“Well.” I shrug. “We’re used to things being pretty spicy.”
“True. You want to get cleaned up and eat something?”
