And she’d find work, the kind that satisfied her. She didn’t need a great deal of money. She’d be blissfully content puttering around some little cottage of her own, doing the painting, the repairs, watching her garden grow.

If she found something nearby, she wouldn’t have to leave the wolf.

Or Liam.

With that thought, she shook her head. No, she couldn’t add Liam into the equation, or make him part of the reason she was considering settling in the area. He was his own man, and would come and go when and where he pleased.

Just like the wolf, she realized, and sighed. Neither one of them was hers, after all. They were both loners, both beautiful creatures who belonged to no one. And who’d come into her life—helped change it in some ways, she supposed. Though the biggest changes were up to her.

It seemed that after three weeks in the little cabin in the clearing, she was ready to make them. Not just drifting anymore, she thought. Not just wondering. Time to take definite steps.

The subtle tug at her mind had her eyes narrowing, her head angling as if to hear something soft whispered in the distance. It was almost as if she could hear her name, quietly called.

He’d said to come to him, she remembered. That she’d know when the time was right. Well, there was no time like the present, no better time than when she was in such a decisive mood. And after the visit, she’d drive into town and see that Realtor.

*  *  *

He knew she was coming. He’d been careful to keep his contact with her limited over the past several days. Perhaps he hadn’t been able to stay away completely. He did worry about her just a bit, thinking of her alone and more out of her element than she knew.

But it was easy enough to check up on her, to walk to her door and have her open it for him. He could hardly deny he enjoyed the way she welcomed him, bending down to stroke his head and back or nuzzle her face against his throat.

She had no fear of the wolf, he mused. He made her wary only when he was a man.

But she was coming to the man, and would have to deal with him. He thought his plan a good one, for both of them. One that would give her the opportunity to explore her own talents—and would give each of them time to learn more about the other.

He wouldn’t touch her again until they did. He’d promised himself that. It was too difficult to sample and not take fully. And on those nights he allowed himself to take her with his mind, he left her glowing and satisfied. And left himself oddly unfulfilled.