Dancer's Heart Read online

  “I’d love that, sweetheart,” he said.

  “I have a feeling that there’s some wolfy thing we need to do, though.”

  He nodded. “I need to let my alphas know that I’ve found you and set up a time to meet with them.”

  She sat up. “Will they let me stay?”

  He frowned, stopping in the middle of tugging up his jeans. “Why wouldn’t they?”

  “I’m not a wolf.”

  “That doesn’t matter. You won’t be allowed to join the pack, but we’re truemates, and they can’t – and won’t – separate us.”

  “Oh, okay.” She smiled in relief. “I thought you might want to come back to my sleuth to live, and it would be cool if you did, but I like it here already. I’d like to stay.”

  It was his turn to be relieved. When he’d woken up that morning and stared at his gorgeous, sleeping mate, he’d wondered if she would want to go back to her home. He wouldn’t fault her for that – it was her home and her mom was still there – but he had hoped she would want to stay. He enjoyed living in Wilde Creek, but the truth was that anywhere with Dani would be home for him. The address didn’t matter, only that they were together.

  “We don’t have to decide today, sweetheart, but if you’d like to stay in Wilde Creek, then that would be fine with me. Right now, though, we’re on our honeymoon, so let’s just enjoy it.”

  “Okay. Honeymoon?”

  “Technically I guess you might call it the mating-moon?” he said with a chuckle.

  “Mating-moon. I like it.”

  He finished pulling on his jeans and leaned over to kiss her. “How do you like your coffee?”

  “Lots of milk and sugar. Do you want help?”

  “Just keep your sexy self in bed until I get back.”

  She leaned back against the pillows, looking like a fallen angel. “Hurry back.”

  He groaned and forced himself to walk out of the bedroom instead of climbing back next to her and seeing how many more times he could get her to scream his name. After starting the coffee, he grabbed eggs and bacon from the refrigerator and loaded up two skillets on the stove. While everything cooked, he called Acksel on his cell.

  “Good morning, Alpha,” he said when Acksel answered. “I found my truemate last night and I wanted to let you know. Her name is Dani Grayson.”

  There was a long moment of silence, and then Acksel cleared his throat and said, “You did? That’s great, Adam.”

  “What’s great? Who is it?” Brynn demanded.

  Acksel explained and Brynn squealed in excitement. “Tell him I said congratulations and I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Acksel chuckled. “I take it you heard that?”

  “I did, thank you both.”

  “Of course. I’m sure you’re enjoying your time with your new mate. We would like to meet her. How about seven on Monday night? You can bring her to the house and we’ll have dinner.”

  “That sounds great. See you in a few days.”

  “Take care of your new mate.”

  “I will, Alpha.”

  Adam ended the call and tended to the food on the stove. He placed the cooked eggs and bacon on two plates and set them on a tray. After making toast and fixing the coffee the way Dani had said she liked it, he carried the tray into the bedroom and set it on the bed next to her. When he joined her, she said, “You made breakfast too? You’re too good to be true.”

  “Oh?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Sure. You’re sexy as hell, you rocked my world, and you can cook. You may be the perfect man.”

  “Only maybe?”

  “Well, I haven’t seen if you leave the toilet seat up or not.”

  “I’ll be sure to put it down for you.”

  “Well, that seals it, then. You’re perfect.”

  His wolf pranced in his head. “I think you’re the perfect one, Dani. Beautiful, sexy, and you taste like sugar and peppermint.”

  Her cheeks pinked. “Thank you for breakfast, Adam.”

  As they ate, she told him about her journey with her brother. “We’d only been on the road for two days, but it felt like a lot longer. Row only wanted to camp. I couldn’t get him to agree to a hotel.”

  “Not much for camping?”

  “I don’t mind some aspects of camping, but in the snow? Not so much. I would go stay in a cabin, or go camping in the summer or the fall, but not tent-camping in the winter. It’s just too cold. Even with our extra warm sleeping bags and a heater, I still had to sleep in all my clothes, and I couldn’t get comfortable. You’re not a camper, are you?”

  He laughed. “No, sweetheart, I promise.”

  She let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Good. Anyway, we stopped in town and Row suggested we go for a run in our shifted forms. When we parked near the woods, we could hear the wolves howling. Row said we couldn’t shift, and that’s when I…guess I felt you. I knew I had to get into the woods, but I wasn’t really sure why. It wasn’t until I saw you that I knew we were mates.”

  “I felt the same way. I was following your scent, but I didn’t understand exactly what I was following until I saw you.”

  “It’s pretty cool that we found each other like we did. To think, we could have driven right by this town and you and I might never have met.” She shivered.

  “Fate’s a funny thing, but I’m really thankful it was on our side last night.”

  “Me too.”

  After breakfast, Adam took care of the dishes, and was thrilled to find that Dani was just as anxious to get back to bed as he was. As they reveled in their time together, he was amazed at how freeing it was to have found his truemate. He’d worried about his scars ever since he’d gotten old enough to be interested in females. Although he’d had sex over the years with pack females, he’d known that what they shared together was fleeting. It was about the good feelings that accompanied sex, the quick rush of pleasure that followed a climax, and the way it felt so good to fuck before hunting. He’d known with absolute certainty that what he’d experienced then hadn’t been a shadow of what love was like. Even though he’d known Dani less than a day, he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. He was already falling for her. She was perfect. She was his.

  “I’m sticky,” she said, her voice rough and a humorous glimmer in her eyes.

  Scooping her up into his arms, he slid from the bed and said, “Sorry, sweetheart.”

  She nuzzled his throat. “It’s not a bad thing, necessarily, but if we’re going to take a nap, I don’t want to sleep on the wet spot.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll change the sheets while you shower.”

  She clucked her tongue. “You do laundry, too? Now I know you’re too good to be true.”

  “My dad didn’t really do much in the way of housework. I had to learn how to take care of myself, because he was more interested in seeing the bottom of a bottle than making sure I had clean clothes or food to eat. I moved out as soon as I turned eighteen, but I feel like I’ve been on my own for a lot longer than that because of his behavior.”

  He put her down in the bathroom and turned on the shower. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed the space between his shoulders. Her warm breath skirted over his skin, and he rested his hands on top of hers. “I know it probably sounds childish, but I hate your dad. I hate that he didn’t act like a proper father and didn’t take care of you. I hate that you know how to do laundry because you had to fend for yourself.”

  He closed his eyes against a swell of emotion. He’d hated his dad for years, too, until he’d realized that actively hating him took a lot of effort and didn’t allow him to move on. That Dani was angry on his behalf for things that had happened well before they’d known each other made him grateful for his mate’s tender heart.

  He turned in her arms and cupped her face. “I promise to be a good father to our kids. My dad’s footsteps are ones I never want to follow in.”

  “I never doubted that for a second,” she said.
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br />   Pushing the shower curtain aside, he held Dani’s hand while she stepped into the tub and turned her back to the spray. She didn’t let go of his hand, tugging until he joined her. “If we shower together, we’re going to get distracted.”

  “I know,” she said, wiggling her brows. Her warm, wet hands closed around his erection, and he tugged the shower curtain closed and cupped her face.

  “Mine.”

  * * * * *

  Adam couldn’t get enough of Dani; she was addictive. They’d made love in the shower until the water chilled, and then they’d been drying off and heating each other up when he heard his truck pull up outside of the house.

  “Yay, I’ll have clothes!” Dani said.

  “Stay here, I’ll get your things,” Adam said, kissing her swiftly and moving out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He dressed in a pair of jeans and walked to the front door, unlocking it and tugging it open. He blinked at the bright sunshine.

  “Hey,” he said, yawning. “Dani’s in the shower; she’ll be glad to see her bags.”

  Kammie followed Row into the house. Adam shut the door behind them and led Row back to the master bedroom, watching as he dropped the bags on the bed and disappeared back into the front room. Adam closed the bedroom door and Dani came out of the bathroom, dropping the towel that had been tucked around her body, and unzipped a large suitcase.

  The sight of her bare body made him growl, wanting to forget that they had company in the other room.

  “Stop growling at me, you know how much I love that,” Dani said.

  “Sorry, sweetheart.” Adam scrubbed his hands over his eyes and willed his wolf to calm down.

  “You don’t have to apologize, but my brother and his new mate are waiting to talk to us and I’m pretty sure that neither of them are interested in hearing me scream your name.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

  “Just until they take off.”

  Dani dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a thick sweater. He took her hand, and they walked together out to the front room.

  “Thanks for bringing my clothes, Row,” Dani said.

  Row tossed the truck keys to Adam, who placed them on the coffee table. “Have a seat. Are you guys hungry or thirsty?” he asked. Although he didn’t want anyone to interrupt his mating-moon with Dani, he wasn’t about to shove her brother out the door.

  “We can’t stay. We need to check in with your alphas and pick up Kammie’s things from the woods,” Row said.

  “Oh, okay,” Dani said as she plopped on the couch with Adam and snuggled close to him. He put his arm around her, loving how easily she fit against him. “Adam talked to Acksel this morning, but told him we wouldn’t be leaving the house anytime soon. We’re going to have dinner at his house on Monday night.”

  Dani looked up at Adam, and he envisioned her naked and spread before him, her skin pinking as he brought her to climax again and again. Row grimaced and cleared his throat in a way that sounded suspiciously like a growl.

  “Kammie and I haven’t discussed everything yet, but I’m planning to take her home so we can mate officially.”

  “How weird is it that we both found our mates?” Dani smiled, not taking her gaze from Adam.

  “Anyway,” Kammie said suddenly, “we’ll leave you guys alone.”

  Row said, “You need to call Mom.”

  “I will,” she said, glancing at her brother and then swiftly returning her gaze to Adam’s.

  “Are you going to go meet your people?”

  “I don’t think so,” Dani said, sighing quietly as she faced her brother. “Adam’s my family now. I know that Fayar would probably let us use the sacred cave, but I’d rather follow the pack’s traditions for mating since we’re going to be staying here.”

  “Kammie and I will leave in a few days.”

  “Be sure to call before you come over next time,” Adam said. Dani grinned at him.

  Row growled in annoyance but said nothing. Dani stood quickly and went to hug each of them in turn. “Let me know when you’re heading home. I want to say goodbye.”

  “We’re coming back here,” Row said. “This is Kammie’s home, and that means it’s mine now.”

  “What about Mom?”

  “She can come with us if she’d like, but she’s got her life in the sleuth.” Row kissed Dani on the cheek and gathered Kammie close, ushering her out the door.

  “That’s interesting,” Dani said as she shut and locked the door.

  “Because he wants to come back here to live?” Adam asked, closing the distance between them.

  He slid his arms around her and pulled her close. She melted against him with a happy sigh. “Yeah. He was talking about taking a job training the young males in the sleuth when we got back from our trip to meet my people. But he found his mate, so maybe that changed his plans.”

  “We need to talk about my work,” he said, frowning.

  “Later,” Dani purred, scratching his back lightly with her fingernails. “Much later.”

  Chapter 4

  The following morning, Row called and asked to stop by with Kammie to say goodbye. Kammie, for whatever reason, had decided they should go to the sleuth sooner rather than later.

  “We’ll bring Mom back with us,” Row said. “I know she wants to meet Adam.”

  “If you really loved me, you’d bring my stuff back with you.”

  He looked down at her, his eyes flashing with emotion. “I do love you, Dani. You’re a wonderful little sister, and I’m glad you found your truemate.”

  “Adam will keep me safe,” she said.

  Row looked over her head where she knew Adam was watching them. “I know he will. I’ll always care that you’re safe and loved, but you’ve got a good male.”

  She gave him and Kammie a final hug, and then shut the door. Turning to face Adam, she said, “Kammie has a hard time of things in the pack, doesn’t she?”

  “Yeah. Being forced to be a low-ranked omega isn’t easy for anyone.”

  She tilted her head and looked at her handsome mate. He had the most soulful blue eyes. When they sparkled with desire, it made everything inside her go haywire. “So, I don’t understand this omega stuff, because the sleuth isn’t ranked like the pack is. Before we go meet with your alphas, I’d like to know what the deal is with everything.”

  He smiled. “Of course. I wanted to talk about my job anyway.” He looked past her shoulder to the front window. “It’s sunny. Want to go for a walk?”

  “It’s pretty cold,” she pointed out.

  “I’ll keep you warm.”

  After dressing in her winter coat and matching magenta hat and gloves, she took Adam’s hand and followed him out of the kitchen’s sliding door into the backyard. The yard was ample, edged on three sides with small shrubs. Beyond the shrubs were the woods where she’d met Adam.

  They passed by the shrubs and walked into the woods. The morning sunlight filtered through the trees, making the snow shimmer. “It’s so pretty here,” Dani said.

  “I’m sure it’s pretty in Oakville.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you sure you want to stay in Wilde Creek?” he asked.

  “Of course. Don’t you want to?”

  He was quiet for a moment, and then said, “I do. But I want your happiness more than I want anything for myself. If you’d be happier with your sleuth, then that’s where I’d be happy, too.”

  She glanced at him and the frown that tugged the corners of his full mouth downward. “I’m not going anywhere, you know.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “What?”

  “I mean, I’m not taking off, period. I feel like you’re trying to be extra-nice to get me to stick around. We’re truemates. Where you are is where I am.”

  His frown eased and his gaze softened. They stopped walking and turned to face each other, his hands resting on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Dani. You probably think I’m an idiot.”

>   “Never.”

  He chuckled mirthlessly. “I have no idea how to be a good mate to you. My mom died when I was a kid, and all my dad did was carouse with human women.” He rested one hand over his heart. “I know you won’t leave, but part of me is still terrified you will. I can’t shake the feeling that I have to do everything possible not to lose you.”

  She stepped close and slipped her hands inside his coat until she had her arms wrapped around his waist, her hands linked at his back. “Things are still new between us, so a little worry is understandable, but I’m very happy to have found you. I don’t have any plans to leave, because being with you makes me feel like I’m whole, like I didn’t know I had this missing piece of myself until we met. I’d be empty without you. I don’t want that, ever.”

  He pressed his lips to hers, and in spite of the chill in the air, she felt warm from the inside out. The woods seemed to go entirely silent, a reverent sort of quiet that Dani wished would last forever. All too soon, Adam’s lips left hers and he stared into her eyes, his gaze searching and full of emotion. “I was only half existing before you came into my life, Dani. I never, ever want to go back to that place.”

  “Trust in me, Adam,” she said earnestly.

  “I do. I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone.”

  She beamed. Their hands clasped again and they continued their walk. “I know that you don’t know much about wolf hierarchy, so I’ll try to cover the basics. Our pack is what I’d call medium-sized. There are over a hundred members including kids who aren’t old enough to shift, all the way through our retirees. At the top of the pack is the alpha male – that’s Acksel. His truemate is Brynn, who’s human and pregnant with his pup.

  “Under Acksel, the males are ranked according to fighting ability. Ren is the beta – he’s basically Acksel’s right-hand. Sam is the theto, and he’s in charge of the protectors, who are the highest-ranked males. The protectors are like a wolf police force; they do things like patrol town and guard the alphas and anyone else that needs it. Then there are the omegas.”

  He stopped talking, and all she could hear was the crackle of the icy branches as they moved in the light breeze.