As the warm morning light streamed into the cabin, my knot finally subsided. It softened at last. Jules started moving, yawning loudly, and stretching, arching his hot flesh against mine. I knew I had to act fast before I had a brand-new boner problem to contend with. I pulled out of him carefully. He hissed through his teeth as I eased my head out of him. He rolled over and pushed himself onto his hands and knees and then scrambled to his feet. His hand whipped back to his butt as he straightened up. His brow creased deeply, and he pressed his lips tightly together to stop himself from making a sound. I was filled with dread.

“My God, Jules, are you hurt? Did I hurt you?” My voice crept up to a wail.

He rolled his eyes and gave me a careless shrug. “We fucked for hours, okay? It was my first time. Of course, I can feel it.”

“But, but I didn’t want to hurt you.”

I was crushed that he was in pain. Last night had been wild and crazy, and yes, parts of it felt like a fever-dream, but it was without a shadow of a doubt the best night of my life. I wanted it to be the same for Jules. I wanted that desperately.

“I’m fine, Sully. I’ll heal.” His mouth turned up as a cocky grin spread across his face. “Besides,” he said, opening his palms at his sides in a careless shrug, “totally worth it.”

I felt mildly reassured. I got to my feet and started looking around for my jeans.

“Hey, what do you say? Should we shift and run it off?” he asked.

I shifted immediately. My wolf and I were completely aligned. If Jules wanted something, he was going to get it. Stat. I blinked several times. It felt strange for my wolf to be indoors. Wrong almost. It made me feel skittish. I took a few paces toward the door.

“Sully,” called Jules.

I stopped moving and looked back at him. He walked over to me and ran his fingers through the thick fur on my neck. Then he crouched down, wrapping his arms around my neck. His eyes were serious. Vulnerable. I’d read somewhere once that boys sometimes find it easier to tell their secrets to a dog. I was no dog, but I was a distant relation. The look on Jules’s face told me that might be true for him. He pressed his face into my fur and whispered, “Stay close, okay? Don’t run ahead. I don’t want to be far away from you today.”