That doesn’t mean we’re in a rush to have sex, though. We’ll get there. For now, there are other things we can do as we head in that direction. Lots of other things that keep us plenty entertained on the journey.

We kissed for a while, slow side-by-side kisses and embraces that quickly heated up, turning into deep, hungry, no-holds-barred kissing with Derek on top of me, my legs wrapped around him, his hands under my shirt, unclasping my bra and—

A whistle cut through the forest. Derek’s head whipped toward it, his lip curling in a very canine snarl. I chuckled and reached up, my hands in his hair.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “This is our spot. They’ll steer clear.”

He continued to scowl in the direction of the whistle. I kissed his chin, my lips moving down his neck as I wriggled under him. He turned from the intruders, kissing me again, fingers undoing my bra. I laid my hand over his.

“Wait,” I said. “Let’s just make sure they go past.”

A low growl. I wriggled some more, teasing him. “Wait…wait…” I murmured while tickling kisses down his neck and onto his shoulder, my hands on his back, running over his bare skin, raising goose bumps. I moved against him, and he groaned softly and—

Another whistle.

“Goddamn it!” he said, his head up, eyes narrowing. “That’s Maya, and she knows—”

“Exactly,” I said, easing out from under him. “She knows why she shouldn’t come here, which is exactly why she’s whistling. So she doesn’t stumble on us half naked.” I glanced down at him. “Or mostly naked.”

He grumbled under his breath. I kept looking at him, enjoying the sight before pulling my gaze away with a deep sigh of regret.

“She wouldn’t interrupt if she didn’t have to,” I said. “You know that. Stay here. I’ll go see what’s up.”

Three

Three

We hadn’t come to Badger Lake alone. I don’t think any Cabal would have wanted us badly enough to pour millions of dollars into a community for me, Derek, Simon and Tori. We’re more dangerous than valuable, which was why the St. Cloud Cabal had been so determined to either lock us up or put us down.