Page 75 of Brandon’s Mate

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he pounced on her, rolling her over and over. He licked her face with big wet swipes of his scratchy tongue, and then took off, daring her to follow.

They ran shoulder to shoulder after that, the land welcoming Kitty’s wolf, as if she were already bonded to it.

This is a good place, her wolf said. We should stay.

If only they could.

They broke out of the woods at the crest of the hill. The land dropped away below them and the moon, bright and full, was just rising.

Brandon’s pickup was parked at the top, the bed near the cab filled with a nest of colored pillows. The rest of it had a picnic laid out, complete with china, a linen tablecloth, and lit candles glowing in the dark.

Kitty Changed back to human, staring at the magical oasis he’d somehow created. Brandon came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s amazing,” Kitty said. “But… the candles? They can’t have been lit all this time. And how did you keep animals from getting to the food?”

“You’re welcome,” said Remy’s voice from a nearby tree. “Feathered Minion, over and out.” The next minute, a huge snowy own swooped over the pickup, almost blowing out the candles, and rose up into the night.

“Thanks!” Kitty called after him. He dipped a wing in acknowledgement, then floated off into the moonlight.

The picnic was amazing. Antipasto, which Brandon insisted could only be eaten as finger food—from someone else’s fingers. They snuggled into the nest of pillows and fed each other slowly. A lot of food got “accidentally” spilled and had to be eaten off of other body parts besides fingers.

Then there was veal marsala, still warm inside a vacuum-sealed container, with side dishes.

And tiramisu, which turned out to be even messier and more fun than the antipasto. It also turned out that Brandon tasted amazing with whipped cream.

They made love under the full moon, slow and leisurely, with the night breeze shivering across their skin. And it was perfect.

Chapter 31

Brandon lay holding Kitty for a long time, half-buried in their nest of pillows, with her head on his shoulder and her warm skin surrounding him. He wished he could capture this moment like a ship in a bottle, so he could hold onto it forever.

But there were things he had to say, and things he had to ask her.

Finally, looking up at the huge moon hanging in the sky, he said, “I told Colt that when this is over, I’d think about maybe forming a crew. The four of us. That we’d talk about it, and see if my panther could form a new bond.”

He felt the small shift in her muscles as she tensed up. There was something here she didn’t want to talk about, and he needed to know what it was.

If he was going to do this—if he was going to even think about doing this—he needed Kitty behind him. He needed her to believe that he could be an alpha again. He couldn’t do it without her.

“We might even be able to do it here,” he said, trying to figure out if the “where” was the issue. “Once we get rid of the panthers and the evil flying horde, this place would make a good territory, and we could renovate the mansion. I could probably get the owner to sell.”

She still didn’t say anything, and she didn’t relax. He decided to press it.

“I know what Colt wants,” he said. “And I know what Remy wants. But I need to know what you want.”

She waited too long before she answered. Then she kissed his chest and said, “This is a good place. My wolf loves it here.”

He waited, running his fingers through her hair. She didn’t say anything more, but he could feel she was holding something back. Something big—it pressed on the walls inside her like water against a dam.

He gave up being subtle. He sucked at that anyway. “When are you going to tell me?” he asked.

She stiffened. “Tell you what?”

“Whatever it is you’ve been holding back ever since you got here.”

She kissed his chest, and slid her hand down his belly to his dick. “What makes you think I’m holding something back? I am holding something, though.”