“No, I just like wandering around my den wearing nothing but a towel.”

She laughed, kissing him soundly. “Why don’t you ever do that at my house?”

He dragged her into the house, thrilled to finally have Dani in his territory. The walls were stucco, painted in varying shades of gray, and unbroken by windows. There was a living room with a ridiculously large TV and a very large collection of DVDs. He led Dani through a door on the left where the bedroom floor sunk to a point in the middle of the room, like a burrow, and was lined with furs, pillows, and blankets. There were candles in hurricane shades on a lot of different surfaces, most of them lightly scented with honey and lemon. In the far corner of the room there was a sunken tub, already filled and churning with water.

“So I caught you in the middle of a bubble bath?”

Zed cleared his throat, striking a manly pose. “Do you see bubbles, abeille?”

She nodded toward the lip of the tub, at a bottle of bubble bath with a giant bee on it. “No, because you haven’t added them yet.”

Zed snatched the bottle of bubble bath and hid it behind his back. “I told you. I prefer baths to showers. For. Reasons.”

“Do I even want to know what the rubber fish is for?”

“Bears don’t have rubber duckies at bath time, we have fish. It’s how cubs learn to catch,” he said, his tone defensive.

“Aw, that’s so sweet . . . and weird,” she said, giggling.

“Do you want to take a bath?”

“Do I get the rubber fish?”

He shook his head. “No, Herr Scalesnstuff is mine, but I’ll let you borrow Dr. Squeakenstein.”

Dani snickered. “Of course, they have names.”

“You are far too overdressed for a bath. Let me help with that.”

Smiling, he stripped her out of her clothes, tossing them aside in a trail leading to the tub. She yanked at his towel, dropping it next to her clothes, and he felt a good portion of his blood head southward.

They slid into the tub, the hot water taking their bodies. Dani sighed, dipping her head back to wet her hair. He gathered her into his arms, sliding his hands down her wet skin. She was sleek as a seal, her breasts bobbing delightfully in the currents.

Zed bit lightly at the curve of her jaw, lifting her arm so he could watch the water paint rivulets against her skin. His hands mapped the curves of her, soft and rounded and all his for the taking. He kissed every bit of her, from her ears to the tips of her toes.