Pam gave an extra deep dig. “Horrible. Lost every time.”
He buried his face in the pillow and bit it. Hard.
She giggled. An honest to God, full-out girlish giggle that ended in a snort and TJ couldn’t take it anymore. He whirled, captured her in his arms and dragged her under him.
“Hey, I haven’t got them all yet.” She tangled her hands in his hair and pressed their mouths together, and all the splinters in the world weren’t enough to distract him from finding a condom and pleasing his mate all over again.
And again. On the bed, in the shower. Heck, they barely got supper cooking before his wolf prompted him to press her to the tabletop and take her from behind. The fragrant aroma of tomato sauce filled the cabin, the water for the spaghetti noodles boiled unminded in the pot as he pounded into her. Pam’s shouts of encouragement took them both to the edge quicker than he wanted. Every slide into her body nudged her farther into his heart. She reached back and grabbed his hand, threading their fingers together. He slowed and pressed his front to her back, twisting her head to the side to be able to stare into her eyes.
“This is real, Pam.” He thrust forward slowly, gazes locked together. “You, me. Together like this.”
She tightened her fingers.
Another rock of his hips. Another time being squeezed by her body so tight he could barely breathe. But it was the expression in her eyes that took his breath away.
So much hope, and so much fear. His wolf howled and he fought back the urge to claim her completely. Beat down the desire to take charge before she was ready. TJ closed his eyes and held on to control with a fine thread. All the while, they moved together.
It was probably the only thing that saved him. Pam’s willing presses against him as she rose to meet his thrusts calmed his wolf. Gave him the chance to ease the beast back and return to his human control once more. He tucked one hand around her torso, one hand between her legs to help her along, rubbing her clit in time with their joining until he felt her tighten under him, her orgasm grasping him in waves. He buried himself in her and let his restraints go, wishing with all his heart she was ready to accept all of him.
Forever.
“Another list?”
TJ took another couple of slow paddles, directing their canoe toward the bay they had selected. Day four, and time was slipping away too rapidly. The afternoon sun sparkled around them, the setting as idyllic as any picture postcard, but he felt a sense of urgency he’d never had before in the wilderness. Proving they were mates was like proving to a child the sun would rise in the morning. Facts could only explain so much before you had to let go and trust. “You can put your paddle away and I’ll let you take a peek. Oh, and you can turn around. I’m going to drop anchor while we fish.”
Pam tucked away the paddle and carefully lifted her legs over the gunwales as she rotated. The long line of bare skin showing below the edge of her shorts made his mouth water, and he stared off into the bush and thought of nasty things to divert his mind.
When the canoe stopped rocking he checked to make sure she was seated comfortably, then passed over the papers he’d had stashed in his pocket. She unfolded them and smoothed the creases. “The mate list. Which one are we going to do today?”
“Complementary interests.”
She stared at the paper and he wondered why she looked so sad. Why the burst of pleasure he felt from her faded so quickly to something close to despair. His connection with her had leveled out over the past two days, and he doubted it would grow any stronger until they actually made love without protection and he marked her as his. What they had now was like a shadow reflecting the real connection he considered possible. It was there, undeniable to him, but he ached for more.
Pam put on a happy face and refolded the paper, tucking it into her back pocket. She glanced at the second sheet of paper still lying in her lap and laughed. “Oh my God, are you expecting me to write an essay or something? I’m on holidays. I’m not into reports right now.”
“Hell no, those are topics to discuss. See, most mates I know have common interests. Robyn and Keil, you should see them on the slopes. They’re both totally insane skiers when they’re not leading a group. Erik and Maggie are both classical literature buffs.”
“So you think we should have a bunch of interests in common?”
She settled into the bottom of the canoe and adjusted her lifejacket so she could lean back on the front seat and use it as a backrest. Her long legs stretched out into the center of the craft, and TJ eyed them with longing. He sighed. No. While he’d been more fortunate than usual with his clumsiness so far this week, fooling around in a canoe would not end up a pretty picture.
“TJ?”
He caught her eye and stumbled for words. “I was staring again, wasn’t I?”
She blushed lightly, then tossed her head back, her dark hair bouncing around her shoulders. “I don’t mind. But back to the question…”
“I think we could have things in common, or we could be like Tad and Missy—they often have interests that when you put them together you get something that fits. He makes things out of wood and she enjoys sewing. Together they’ve made all kinds of gifts for the pack, like baby cradles and receiving blankets, and decorative wall quilts and hangers to display them on.”
Pam nodded slowly. “They complete each other. You think we’re going to have matches like that?”
“Over the past couple days as we’ve talked I think I’ve heard a few things, but I don’t want to skew the results and use those as an example. So you pick one item, think of an answer but before you tell me what you would say, I’ll share mine.”
She grinned as she examined the paper. “This could be fun you know.”
Her mischief-maker persona was back. God, he loved it when her eyes got all sparkly and her face lit up. It made it easier to breath. Made the whole of his soul content.
He baited the hooks, added a bobber and cast out the line, passing the first rod to her before setting up his own. Fishing was a great opportunity for long conversations.
Pam ran a finger down the list before glancing at him, an innocent expression plastered to her face. Not. “Okay—what’s your favourite sport for exercise?”
Easy. “Running.” Mostly as a wolf, but that still counted.
She snorted. “Mine is baseball. Well, that one works, we can play fetch together, right?”
He flicked water at her and the boat rocked lightly as she laughed.
“Number two. Favourite thing to do to relax?”
TJ gripped the fishing rod firmly in lieu of reaching for her. “My new response would be to make love with you, but before this week I would have said make music.”
The flash of desire in her eyes was unmistakable. “Stop.”
They stared at each other. Her pulse pounded in the hollow of her throat and he ached. “What’s your answer, Pam?”
She licked her lips. “I was going to say listen to music.”
Yup, she could try to deny it, but there was more and more evidence to prove they were meant to be together.
Her fishing rod quivered and she scrambled upright, the paper falling unminded to the bottom of the canoe. He laughingly coached her through reeling in the fish. For the next two hours they floated and fished, releasing all but one of the rainbow trout while they worked their way through the entire list he’d prepared. By now the paper was wet and smelled like fish, and when the time came to turn the canoe back toward the dock Pam had nothing but content emotions streaming from her.
“You relax, I’ll get us home.” He paddled hard, eyes on the water occasionally. Most of the time his gaze caressed her body where she leaned back, arms resting easily on the gunwales as she glanced around at the nearby mountains.