It’s still not okay, but at least he admits he was wrong. “Alright. Thanks for talking to me about it.” Slowly, he reaches for me and pulls me back to his chest. Feeling a little better about this morning, I close my eyes and relax.

CHAPTER 16

Masen’s hands running through my hair wakes me. “Are you going to sleep all day, baby?”

I’m curled around him warm and comfy. “I’m so sleepy,” comes out just above a whisper.

He chuckles. “I have a few things to do in the office. Then, I thought we could go for a swim. My wolf is getting restless, the exercise will do us good. Did you want to come with me or stay here and snooze sleepyhead?” he asks playfully.

“I don’t know about a swim. It’s only in the seventies, seems kinda cold, but my wolf would like to run,” I say liking the idea.

He hesitates. “I can’t run with you, Little One,” he states ruefully. “Not until I Mark you. It’s just too dangerous. Okay, baby?”

Confused, I ask, “Why’s it dangerous?”

He runs his hands through his hair, grabbing and pulling. “He would Mark you, not wait until you’re ready.”

Sometimes, I’m so clueless. “Yeah, okay, I wasn’t thinking sorry,” I say sheepishly.

Masen works for a few hours while I explore the house a little more. Knowing he built this house for us makes me look at every detail differently. I haven’t even made it upstairs yet by the time he comes looking for me, wearing long, board shorts and the same black t-shirt he had on earlier. He’s carrying a couple towels. “You ready to swim?”

I can’t help but smile at his hopeful tone. “We’ll see,” is all I say. It’s still warm when we make it outside. The sun blankets the pond, the water is a clear, dark blue with a sandy bottom and beach area. “I thought I had it good living across from torch lake, but this is like your own mini lake without all the tourists. It’s beautiful, Masen.” I smile up to him.

“I’m glad you like it.”

My stomach drops, when looking right at me, he reaches behind his back and pulls his shirt over his head then off his arms revealing his bare chest. My throat goes dry. The sun highlights his wide chest and every ripple on his abdomen. His shorts hang low enough I can just see where his pubic hair starts. Who knew that would be so sexy? The deep vee inside his hips bunches as he turns to drop his shirt. I look up to see his blue eyes watching me. Biting the corner of my lip, I watch as his big hand runs down his chiseled chest, and bumps along his abdominal muscles stopping right before he reaches his shorts. Holy hell, that was hot. I don’t know what I want more, him to take the shorts off or for his hand to continue under them. When one finger glides under the tie, my eyes jerk up to meet his. The left side of his mouth is lifted, he’s playing with me. The bastard.