“Why don’t you make some coffee before I shove this fork up your nose?”

“I’ll make the coffee,” a soft, feminine voice announced.

Naya strolled into the kitchen wearing nothing but her white nightie, and Wheeler almost catapulted out of his chair.

***

I didn’t like waking up alone, even though I’d done it a million times before. What I did like was that Wheeler had stayed with me all night. We had some sexy times, but he opened up to me in a way no other man had. Not only that, but somehow he’d managed to break down my own walls. I could be myself with Wheeler without fear of judgment or that I wasn’t enough. It was the way he smoothed his hand over my hair when I had startled myself awake with a nightmare about Misha. He listened to me talk about her without any snide remarks. When he held me in his arms, I felt relevant—like my thoughts and feelings mattered to someone.

While my heart sank when I’d found the bed empty, I decided to hold my chin high. I kept reminding myself we had a pact behind closed doors, but on the outside, there were no promises. Wheeler wasn’t in love with me, and he wasn’t going to hold my hand in front of his pack and put a claim on me. I was just an exotic dancer who had spiced up his sex life.

“Don’t be foolish,” I whispered to myself, walking down the hall barefoot. “Stop those silly thoughts right now.”

Thoughts that I might actually love him. That would be disastrous! A panther and a wolf? I couldn’t afford to soften my heart for a man who would be ashamed to admit we’d slept together. He had slipped out before dawn, for God’s sake.

As I neared the kitchen, I overheard Wheeler telling someone to make coffee.

“I’ll make the coffee,” I offered.

Wheeler lurched out of his seat, his fingertips pressed against the table.

I pivoted around and put my hands on my hips. “What?”

“You should cover yourself up,” he said, voice tight, muscles flexing beneath his tats.

I glanced down. “I am covered. This is more than what I wear to work. My gown will hardly raise any eyebrows in this house.”

William walked by me with silent amusement on his face. While he rummaged through the fridge, I put on a pot of coffee and watched Wheeler reluctantly sit back down.

I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to be naughty around him, but I made it into a game. Wheeler didn’t want me parading around in front of the Weston pack in my sleeping clothes, which I found delightfully amusing since Shifters didn’t consider nudity a big deal. So I leisurely strolled down the row of cabinets and opened a drawer in front of him. The dish towel dropped on the floor, and I took my sweet time bending all the way over to pick it up.