October! Yay! My favorite month is here at last.

This month is very busy for me. There is the Northshield Crown Tournament on October 13.  I move on October 26-27. I don’t have the full amount of packing to do, since most of my stuff is still in storage. But I have plenty here to put in boxes and move., not to mention my bed, tv, computers, desks, sewing machines, etc.

And today Sammie the mommy kitty went to the vet to be spayed. Poor girl. That cannot be pleasant. And her eight week old kitten is wandering all around the house crying. He must miss his momma. She will come home tomorrow, and then she needs to be isolated from him for a while so he doesn’t hurt her.

Here is this week’s snip. Because this is an open blog and anyone can read it regardless of age, I am not posting the wedding night love scene. You’ll have to wait to read it when the book comes out! But there are some hints here about how things went for Cole and Gina. 😉

Chapter 10

Gina thought the next three days were the best of her whole life. The weather was cold and wet. The sound of sleet hitting the window and the wind whistling around the house made Gina glad to be able to stay indoors. It was warm and cozy in their room. Her mother-in-law delivered their meals to their door so they didn’t leave except to use the bathroom. The days were lazy and full of quiet conversations and kisses that turned hot. The nights were full of lovemaking and snuggles and more conversations.

Cole was bossy even in bed, but also tender. Best of all, he listened to her talk with great attention, and didn’t interrupt her when she spoke. He really listened to what she had to say. That attention and courtesy was a new thing for her. Major Ellis rarely let her finish a sentence. Jon and Tanner had barely let her speak at all.

The fourth morning after their wedding was clear and sunny. Gina lay with her cheek on Cole’s shoulder watching the light grow bright against the closed drapes, while he combed his fingers through her hair. Both were still breathing hard from the last set of orgasms.

“Was it good for you?” Cole asked.

The anxious note in his voice made her smile. “Better than good.”

He relaxed. “I’m sorry about that first night.”

“I know. You’ve said so about twenty times. It’s normal.”

Cole slid his shoulder back so he could look into her eyes. “My dad told me the first time would hurt my mate, but I didn’t expect you to cry.”

She stiffened. “I’m not a baby. It hurt.”

“I know.”

His anguish loosened her muscles. “And it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Well, it was still a teensy bit uncomfortable, but she liked it. And she loved the gentle way he held her after sex, like now. And even that first time, when the burning pain made her squirm and cry, was a million times better with Cole than it would have been with Ellis or the Allersens. She opened her mouth to tell him so but stopped. None of those men had any business being mentioned in this room. This was a special, private place for only her and Cole. She kissed her husband’s chin instead.

“Any pain was worth it,” she told him firmly.

He framed her face with one big hand and kissed her back, a long, slow kiss. “I love you.”

She returned his kiss. “I suppose our honeymoon is over now.”

“It is.” Regret deepened his voice. “Time to re-join the world and find out what is going on in Omaha.”

They made it downstairs in time for breakfast. The table in the private dining room was meant to seat eight. Gina counted rapidly and came up with three women and twenty-one men either sitting at the table or standing against the wall. The ones standing were holding a plate in one hand and a fork in the other. They didn’t all look alike. But whether they were tall or short, blond or black-haired, they all had the same lean body type and moved with feral grace, so she knew they were more of Cole’s family. When all eyes turned her way, she stood tall and looked calmly back at them. Some of them sniffed audibly and then smiled widely.

Gina wondered if she smelled bad. No, she had Cole had showered this morning.

After a second, one of the men set his plate on the table and pushed his way to them. He was probably in his teens, and handsome. He was well over six feet tall, with broad bony shoulders that he hadn’t quite grown into yet. His hair hung in a heavy sheet of light brown to his waist, his eyes were a shade of hazel between gold and green. In spite of the difference in their coloring, he looked just like Cole.

“This is my new sister?” he said in a quiet, deep bass.

“Gina,” Cole said proudly.

The younger man smiled at her, increasing his resemblance to Cole. “Man, my brother is the luckiest guy in the world. I’m Wolf’s Howl. Can I give you a hug?”

She nodded wordlessly and was scooped right off her feet in a tight hug. When he set her down, she laughed.

“It’s nice to meet you, Wolf’s Howl,” she said. “Thanks for the warm welcome.”

Suddenly, nearly every head cocked as if listening to something. She turned to Cole. “What?” she began.

He cut her off with a grim shake of his head. “Gunfire. It’s coming from the direction of the city gates.”

“Oh, no,” she breathed.

Wolf’s Howl seemed unconcerned, even excited. “It’s started! Finally. Those morons from Kansas-Missouri took forever to get here.”

Today is Nine Eleven. 9/11. In America it is named as Patriot Day in remembrance of the Twin Towers falling, the Pentagon attack, and Flight 93. There is so much tragedy in the world today. From personal tragedies like a friend’s mom passing away today to world wide tragedies like the fall of the Twin Towers 17 years ago. Hurricane Florence is barrelling down on America’s east coast, threatening millions of homes and people. Sometimes it seems like it’s too horrible to bear.

When I feel like that I turn to a book. I’ve gotten a TON of comfort and encouragement from reading, Yes, from the Bible and other inspirational books, but also from romance novels, science fiction stories, fantasy books. Because a book filled with characters I care about with a good story can take me away from whatever horrible thing has me down and bring me back to real life feeling better. I plan on re-reading an old favorite tonight.

Do books do that for you? I hope so.

I’ll post another day about my excellent camping trip on Lake Winnipeg. I had a great time.

Here is the next  snip in Cole & Gina’s story. Enjoy!

“And what about the ladies in the camp?” The mayor sounded apologetic. “Your mother and the other women?”

Taye let out a growl beneath his breath.

The mayor nodded at him. “I don’t like to use women in war, but we are outmanned and outgunned. We’ll use whatever advantage we can.”

“I don’t like it,” Taye said flatly. “I didn’t like it when I heard the President’s women were captured last week, and I don’t like it now. Women deserve to be respected and cherished.”

“They were treated with great respect, and Kansas-Missouri took your women first.” The mayor held up placating hands. “As a last resort only. My word on it.”

Gina cleared her throat. “They’ve probably been sent back to Kansas City. That was the plan when I, er, left, and that was a few days ago.” She paused, debating with herself, and finally cleared her throat. “One of the wives is pregnant. My stepfather wants a child very badly, so I’m sure the women have been sent home for safety.”

“One of the wives,” muttered Stone with disgust.

Taye shook his head. “Why bring a pregnant woman all this way? It’s dangerous.”

“Because of me.” Gina had thought about that too. “My mother probably wanted to be on hand when I was found, and my stepfather tries to treat all his wives equally. If my mother got to come, so would the other wives.”

“Huh. The other wives,” said Stone, clearly still disgusted.

Judge Case steepled his fingers and tapped them against his chin. “A man desperate to have a child might be willing to do anything to get his pregnant wife back.”

“Even walk away from a war,” McGrath agreed.

Taye stood up. “We’ll have nothing to do with it,” he said flatly. “We don’t steal women.”

McGrath arched his eyebrows. “Not married ones, you mean.”

There was a brief silence before Taye shrugged. “Only mates, and we never hurt them or force them to accept the mating. No wolf I know has ever stolen a married woman. We won’t start now.”

“Fine, fine.” The mayor stretched back in his chair, smiling faintly. “But is this woman really married? After all, Todd has how many wives? And is she his true wife?”

Taye’s brows pulled down, and he glanced at Gina. “Did he marry her first? Is she happy as his wife?”

“No, Shelley is his fourth wife.” She considered for a moment. “I think she is happy. She’s very proud of maybe being the mother of his heir.”

“Maybe?” said Cole, stroking a hand up and down her arm. He was focused on her, so her might not have even known he was caressing her. She did though, and she liked it.

“His wives have been pregnant before, but the babies never lived.”

Stone made a low sound of sympathy.

Taye turned to McGrath and said with steel in his voice, “She’s a woman and the mother of his child. We don’t hurt women for any reason.”

McGrath straightened. “Good enough.”

The judge nodded. “The women are probably out of our reach anyway.”

A knock sounded on the door.

“Come,” called McGrath.

A young man in the uniform of the Omaha City Guard stepped in. “Mayor Madison has sent word that his son Ray has come out of the coma.”

*

Cole stared through the glass wall at the man lying in a pristine white bed in the hospital room. He had known Ray Madison all his life. They were only a year apart in age. Their mothers were best friends. Ray was his sister’s fiancé. He’d never been a heavy man, having the lean, lithe body of a mountain cat, but now he looked wasted. His hair, usually a tawny gold, was dull blond. His face had a gray tinge to it. Even with a blanket drawn up to his neck, his body seemed to be nothing but bone. How could he have become so thin in such a short time?

Beside him, Gina squeezed his hand. He put his arm around her, thankful that he was out here and not in the hospital bed. Inside the room his sister perched in a chair only inches from the bed, holding Ray’s hand while a doctor listened to Ray’s heart with a weird contraption that hooked into his ears. Ray’s dad and mom, Eddie and Lisa Madison, stood on the other side of the bed, watching the doctor with anxious eyes. Ray’s eyes were open, but their color was dull like his hair.

A whisper of a sob came from Gina. She pressed her face into his shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

She kind of nodded and shrugged at the same time. Lifting her head, she sniffed. “That could be you,” she whispered. “It’s a miracle you’re even alive. When I saw you shot …” Her voice broke. “You were dead. I was sure you were dead. But somehow you’re alive.”

She sounded surprised? “I’m a wolf warrior. What did you feel when I was shot?”

She was silent for a long minute. “I was horrified and guilty and furious. I wasn’t very nice to you at first, and they killed you.”

“And you’re sorry you weren’t nice to me?”

Her head tilted to look at him. No smile. “Not then. Maybe I am now. Cole.” She paused to look around. His parents were a yard away, also looking into Ray’s room. “Let’s go sit down somewhere private.”

He followed her down the hall to a small room where visitors could sit. He thought he would follow her anywhere because he never wanted her to be alone and unprotected again. She took a chair and waved him to the small couch. No, he didn’t want her sitting alone, so he tugged her over to the couch.

“Cole, I accepted your, uh, mate claim and I want to be your wife, but I don’t know how.”

He stared. “How?” he echoed blankly.

“I mean, can we even think about that until this mess with my stepfather is done?” She blinked and looked away, biting her lip. She drew a deep breath and looked back at him, delicate pink shading her cheeks. “On the other hand, I want to be your wife.” The color deepened. “I want you. Before everything goes crazy when Todd does whatever he’s going to do, I want … That is… ” She coughed, looked away, looked back, pressed her hands to her brilliant cheeks, and looked utterly adorable. Her voice lowered to the merest whisper. Only a wolf warrior could have heard her next words. “I want to make love with you as your wife.”

Those words were the finest poetry he’d ever heard. “I want that too. Tonight?”

“Where?”

It didn’t matter to him, but it obviously did to her. “At the Limit. The room we have there is private. Do you want a wedding?”

“Yes.”

It appeared her embarrassment was fading because her voice was strong again. “Mayor McGrath can do the ceremony, can’t he? Is that okay with you?”

He couldn’t care less, but he would do anything to make her happy. “Sure. Let’s go tell my mom and dad. They’ll make it happen.”

Can you believe tomorrow is August? Only twenty-three more days until kids go back to school in North Dakota! I bet all you moms out there are counting the days. My mom always put the flag out for the first day of school. She said it should be a national holiday.  LOL! More importantly to me, only two more months of hot weather. I die during the summer. I don’t like heat and even though North Dakota doesn’t get as hot as other places and the summer is really only four months long, I long for fall before June is done.

I have been working on Gina’s Wolf and I think I need to do some re-writing. Gina has become too vague. I mean, I’ve always seen Gina as a strong, stand-up-for-herself woman. Not a whiner or a too-stupid-to-live sort of woman, but someone with strong opinions and a secretly iron will. Not as brash as Glory or Victoria, and not just blurting out whatever is on her mind, but when I re-read, I don’t feel like I know who she is anymore. What are her feelings for Cole? She doing a lot of kissing and groping already and I’m not sure she would. I’m going to run that by my local critique group and get their take on Gina’s personality.

What do you think?

Here is the first bit of Chapter 8:

Chapter Eight

An hour later Gina was seated between Cole and his dad at a long table in the mayor’s office in City Hall. Four other men from Cole’s family stood against the wall. She had been introduced to them on the way over. They all had such odd names, like Stone and Sky, and even though they were fully dressed, they seemed somehow feral with their long black hair and hard faces. The conference room, with blank white walls, tan carpet, and a large wooden table, was staid. Pens and stacks of blank paper sat on the highly polished table  in front of each of the twelve chairs. It was business-like and official. Cole’s family just didn’t seem to fit the boring, civilized furnishings.

A few of the leading men of Omaha were at the table. Mayor McGrath occupied the chair at the head of the table, wearing a neat, plain brown suit, his gray-streaked brown curls neatly combed. Although she’d never officially met the mayor before, she had served him coffee more than once. The first time she’d seen him she’d been surprised by his plain and casual attire. That was not how her stepfather dressed. On top of that, Mayor McGrath was always polite even to a nobody who served him at the coffee shop across the square from City Hall. He always had a friendly word for anyone he came in contact with.

This afternoon, when Cole and his dad introduced her with a brief explanation of who she was to Todd and asked that she be allowed to attend the meeting, he nodded calmly. Maybe strange young women often demanded to be included in crucial city affairs.

“You are welcome,” he said. “You might give Omaha an advantage in these negotiations. But please do not speak on Omaha’s behalf.” He chuckled, sounding amazingly relaxed. “I get that pleasure. If there is something you think I need to know, write a note and send it down the table to me.”

She remembered his little chuckle from the days when she had made frothy coffee drinks. She recalled he took his coffee black.

Memories of her old job made her hands clenched in her lap beneath the table. Whatever happened, her stepfather must never know about Lachlan and Ceara. If she hadn’t known that already, what happened to the Anderses was a brutal reminder.

Cole must have felt her tension, because he leaned his shoulder against her. His father was a strong presence on her right. Sandwiched between the two of them, with a line of savage men behind her, she felt safe.

That feeling of safety diminished slightly when Major Ellis entered the room, flanked by four burly men in the uniform Omaha’s City Guard, and followed by two other men in Kansas-Missouri gray. The Guardsmen peeled away to stand behind the mayor. One of the Kansas-MIssourians was Lieutenant Mott. The Lieutenant’s cool gaze passed over her without a flicker of interest, checked for a half second when he saw Cole, and passed on to Mayor McGrath. Major Ellis gave her one brief cold stare before turning his attention to the head of the table.

“Sir, I am Major Ellis, personal aide to President Gerald Todd of Kansas-Missouri. This is Lieutenant Mott and Lieutenant Booker.”

The mayor took his time getting to his feet. He nodded impassively to the Kansas-Missourians. “Ryan McGrath, Mayor of Omaha.” He indicated the men on his left and right. “Captain Peterson, commander of the Omaha City Guard.  Judge John Case, chief judicial officer of Omaha. Please be seated, gentlemen.”

The major put a hand on the back of the chair indicated but didn’t sit. He nodded at the Wolfe men against the wall. “We met the requirements. Only three of us entered Omaha.” His voice was stiff and cold. “You are overstaffed.”

McGrath smiled blandly. “Not at all.”

“We came under a flag of truce,” Mott began.

McGrath cut him off smoothly. “We will honor the truce. You will leave unharmed.” His teeth showed in a smile that was a thinly veiled threat. “Unless you break the truce or do something to hurt one of my people, that is.”

Major Ellis pulled out the chair and sat. “We are not here to cause trouble, but to end it.” He sent an icy stare at Lt. Mott. “Sit.”

Like an unruly but reluctantly obedient dog, Mott took his chair. Beside Gina, Cole let out an almost subvocal growl. She felt an urge to pat his hand soothingly. He obviously recognized Mott as the man who had been in command when he’d been shot on the train. She wanted to tell him that when her stepfather learned that Mott had spoken out of turn at this meeting, Mott would be punished.

Mayor McGrath waited politely until everyone was seated. “The point of this meeting is to come to an agreement between Omaha and Kansas-Missouri, one which will allow both sides to walk away with something they want, if not everything. I see no point in beating around the bush. To be perfectly plain, gentlemen, all Omaha wants is to live in peace. We have no interest waging war, but we will, because neither do we wish to become a vassal state to Kansas-Missouri. Tell me, Major, how can Omaha best avoid war and remain independent?”

Major Ellis smiled his most charming smile, handsome and calm, and absolutely terrifying. He looked down the table at Gina, and then back to the mayor. “That is very easily obtained, sir. President Todd is entirely willing to sign a non-aggression pact with Omaha, providing one small stipulation is met. Simply return his daughter to him and our army will immediately depart for Kansas City.”

Life is never boring. Did I mention that half-feral neighborhood cat that we have kinda sorta adopted? The adorable little boy we named Sammy? I think he’s pregnant.

This is Sammy about a month ago.  He (She?!!!) is not this small anymore. Still sweet, but …  Kittens. Kittens are so adorable and cute when they aren’t yours.  🙁

But we will deal with the situation. I will revel in kitten madness and hope to find good homes for them.

Gulp.

On to more of Gina and Cole’s story!

Through the pounding of her blood in her ears, she barely heard the tap on the door. Cole did, though, and he lifted his head away from her.

“Dad?” he called.

Gina’s eyes flared wide. His dad was out in the hall? While they were doing this?

“Sorry, son.” Mr. Wolfe’s voice was quiet, barely audible, but Gina thought he sounded truly apologetic. “A man has come from President Todd under a flag of truce. You need to come to McGrath’s office for the parley.”

Gina froze. Embarrassment died under a wave of dread. She should have known  her stepfather would lose no time in trying to get her back. “What time is it?” she asked Cole.

“A little after four,” his father replied from behind the closed door.

He could hear that even through a closed door? Embarrassment flared again. Oh, lord, what else had he heard from the hallway?

“What time is the parley?” Cole asked.

“We’re leaving as soon as you’re ready.”

“I’ll be out in two minutes.”

Cole looked down at her for a second before dipping his head for one last quick kiss. “I have to go.”

Just like that his weight was gone and he was off the bed and headed for the door.

“Cole, wait for me.” She scrambled out of the bed and looked around for the clothes his mom and sister had left. “Give me one minute to get dressed and I’ll meet you in the hall.”

He stopped at the door with his hand on the knob. “You don’t need to get dressed. Go back to bed and get some more sleep. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“What?” She snapped around to look at him. The cotton where he’d had his mouth caught wetly on her breast. She ignored it. “I’m going with you.”

His brows twitched together. “No, stay here where it is safe. I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”

Her hands settled on her hips. “I’m going. This concerns me.” When his face got darker, she fixed him with an unyielding glare. “You know what we were just doing? If you ever want to do that again with me, you’ll shut up and quit being so bossy.”

A muffled chortle from the hall got fainter as his father walked away. Cole transferred his scowl to the door before turning back to her. “No, Gina. You need to stay here and let me take care of you.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You aren’t in charge of me. Even if I accept this mate thing, you don’t get to make decisions for me. ”

His hands fisted, relaxed, and fisted again. “Please trust me. I’ll look out for your best interests. I don’t want you anywhere near anyone from Kansas-Missouri. I need you to be safe.”

He was trying again to rein in his bossiness and be reasonable. It made her step away from indignation and smile. “Thank you, Cole. I think I’ll be safe with you and your dad there, and this meeting is probably at least partly about me. I deserve to be there, don’t you think?”

He scowled again but nodded reluctantly. “Okay. Hurry and get dressed and meet me downstairs in the kitchen.”

After quickly dressing she hurried downstairs. Cole’s dad was in the foyer. He greeted her with a grave smile that gave no indication that he knew what she and Cole had been doing only a few minutes ago. He lifted his head to look at the top of the stairs. Carla hurried down to them.

The older woman gave her husband a kiss. “We should go into the private dining room,” she said. “The Limit opens for dinner in half an hour and we’re just in the way here.”

Gina saw three young men setting up tables and chairs in the large room to their left and two girls arranging tablecloths, floral centerpieces, and places settings on the tables. Mr. Wolfe led them through the room to the narrow corridor that led to a smaller dining room. Cole was already there, with five other men that she didn’t recognize, standing clustered around the foot of a word wooden table. Only Cole was fully dressed; the others wore only jeans. They were talking in low, angry ones. Gina didn’t think they were angry at each other, though. There was no animosity on their faces.

One of them, whose long black braids were steaked with silver, broke off what he was saying when they came into the room. “Chief,” he said. “Bad news. Miss Nikki from the House Pack and her husband have been killed.”

His words were a punch in Gina’s gut. Her breath whooshed out of her. “What?” Tears pushed out as she looked almost blindly for Cole. “Cole?”

He was there, his arm going around her shoulders to pull her face to his chest. “It’s alright, Gina, it’s alright.”

“No, it’s not.” She let him hold her for a second before she pushed away. “It’s my fault. I know exactly what happened. They helped us, and Todd retaliated by having them killed. I hate this. I hate him!”

Cole pulled her close again and murmured into her hair. “You’re right. Mostly. Yeah, the Kansas-Missouri army found Mr. and Mrs. Anders’ place. But it’s not your fault they were killed. That is on your stepfather and his people.”

All the men in the room growled agreement. Gina lifted her tear smeared face to look at them. They didn’t look especially sweet or even civilized with rage setting their features into stone.

“You’re right,” she said fiercely. “It’s not my fault. The Anderses were good people. They didn’t deserve to die for being good people. It’s him. Gerald Todd. I want him to pay for this.”

The men growled again, approval this time. Cole stroked her hair. “I promise, he will pay for it. Are you sure you want to go to this meeting? I don’t want you to be upset or show it to whoever comes from Kansas-Missouri.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m going. Don’t worry. I’ll be calm. I’ll be so cool that butter won’t melt in my mouth. But I’m going to look the envoy in the eye and smile. I’ll smile because I got away and I have allies now. Let him go back to Gerald Todd and tell him I don’t belong to him anymore.”

I just finished a lovely 4 day weekend. Well, it was lovely except for the 3 people who died. One was a long time co-worker, who was only 37 years old, another was an old high school friend who was only 58, and the third was an old family friend who died at age 86.  It’s always too young, but Erica and Bobby were far too young. I have to admit it really got me down. When I am down like that I like to jump into a book, or several books, and this weekend was the same. I read 8 books from Friday through Monday. I enjoyed all of them, but Crazy by Eve Langlais  Real Men Snarl by Celia Kyle  Not His Dragon by Annie Nicholas and Fire in His Spirit by Ruby Dixon were my favorites. Of course Blind Beast Mate was interesting too. These are all in KIndle Unlimited. I finally broke down and tried the free month. I probably won’t read enough KU to make it worthwhile, but for this month it definitely is.

Do you do that? Dive into a book for comfort when things suck? You might enjoy these too.

All that pity party reading means I didn’t do as much writing as I wanted to. I started the first love scene in Gina’s Wolf but I didn’t have the heart to finish it. I’ll need to do a significant re-write since my grieving mood didn’t put me in a good place for writing a love scene. But here is what there is, plus the first little bit of Chapter 7 from last week. Hopefully I’ll feel more motivated and will get this written with lots of good emotion and connection between Gina and Cole.

Chapter 7

The room Rose and Carla showed her to wasn’t large, and the bed dominated the furnishings, but there space on the floor for Cole to sleep on. There was even a thick rug, so he wouldn’t be sleeping on the hard, wooden floor.

“You’re in the guest section of the house,” Rose said breezily. “Stone and the other men from the clan are on either side of you. Taye and Carla are on the third floor, with their daughter, Patia. Sky and I are in a room on the other side of the mezzanine.”

What Gina had seen of the house exceeded her expectations of grandeur. The large kitchen led to a small dining room that opened to grand rooms meant for paying guests. A wide staircase swept up from the ground floor in a magnificent curve of polished wood to a second level where the guestrooms were.

President Todd’s mansion was comparable in grandeur, but not as warm or friendly. Even high-ranking guests didn’t stay in the house. But here, the second floor had six rooms which were normally rented out. The Wolfe family were a different kind of guest; they had all the rights and privileges of family, not paying boarders. Everyone took it for granted that she was included in the Wolfe family. It made her feel funny, in a warm way.

“Do you have any luggage?” Carla asked.

Gina shook her head. “I, uh, that is, I hadn’t planned on, uh…”

“That’s okay. We’ll find you some stuff.” Carla waved that off. “You know I’m dying to hear the whole story about you and Colby, but you must be exhausted. Do you want a shower before you go to bed? That’s fine. I’ll run get one of my sleep shirts for you, and my daughter has extra clothes she can share. You’re about the same size. I’ll be right back.”

Cole’s mom turned toward the door but paused and whirled back around to give Gina a hard hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. Be right back!”

She was back in three minutes with an armful of clothes and a girl with long rumpled hair the color of a walnut shell.  Not a girl, Gina realized. In spite of her slender built, she must be around twenty, only a year or two younger than she was.

“I’m Patia,” she announced ebulliently. “Cole’s sister. Are you really his mate?”

Gina’s mouth fell open.

“Hypatia,” her moth said warningly. “Gina has been walking all night. She needs to rest.”

“I know, I know.” The girl smiled, showing off dimples. “I just had to meet her right away, before…” Her smiled dimmed. “Before I go visit Ray.”

A flash of memory struck Gina like a fist. She had met a handsome young man named Ray at the coffee shop where she worked. He was on the train the day her stepfather’s men came. Gina clamped her jaw tightly. They had shot him along with every other man on the train.

Patia’s smile bloomed again, a little forced. “We have to talk tonight. I can give you all kinds of ammunition to use against my brother when he does his impression of a dictator. Which, I’m sure you’ll find out, is almost all the time. But really, he’s a sweetheart. You’ll want to kill him just about every day. I do. But the rest of the time will make up for it.”

“Thank you.” Surprised and a little grateful by Patia’s words, Gina smiled. “I think I’ve already found out that I’ll need some ammunition.”

Patia laughed. “So you haven’t accepted him yet?”

All three of the Wolfe women seemed suddenly very interested in the answer.

“Not yet. I barely know him.”

“You will,” Patia said, some of her sunny effervescence back. “Get to know him, I mean. You know, even when I want to strangle him, I love him. I bet you will, too.”

Want to strangle him? Already been there. Not knowing what to say, Gina just smiled.

Mrs. Wolfe ―Gina cut herself off. All these Mrs. Wolfes were confusing. If Gina accepted Cole she would be another Mrs. Wolfe. There are worse things to be, she reminded herself. For instance, one of many, many Mrs. Allersens. Carla shooed her daughter off to get dressed and laid out the clothes she had brought for Gina. She and Rose pointed out the bathing room at the corner of the mezzanine hall, wished her good sleep, and left.

Not sure of how much hot water was available, Gina showered and dried off in record time, scurried back to her room, changed into a crisp cotton nightgown trimmed in lace, and got into the soft bed. She barely had time to enjoy the soft mattress, the warmth of the quilts, and the sense of safety before she fell blissfully into sleep.

She didn’t know how long she slept before the knowledge that she wasn’t alone in the bed penetrated the waves of sleep that buried her. The thick drapes over the window kept out most of the sun, but not all. When she craned her head to look at the bed behind her she was able to make out Colby’s body curled around her own. Outrage stiffened her back. That just pressed his face tighter against the back of her neck. He must have moved her hair aside at some point, because his cheek was warm against the skin of her neck.

She swallowed. That felt kind of … nice. Cautiously, one centimeter at a time, she turned her head to look at him. He was outside the blankets, bare chested, but wearing the same too big jeans. One of his arms lay heavy over her waist. The muscle under the smooth golden skin fascinated her. She pressed back, barely moving to keep from waking him, trying to feel more of his oddly exciting warmth against her back. Her heart picked up speed.

This was wrong. Not being in the same bed with a man ―well, a little of that― but if he tried to feel her out while she was sleeping she would be angry. Maybe he would be angry if she took advantage of him while he slept?

Oops. He wasn’t asleep any more. His head was raised, those deep dark eyes open and fixed on her. She swallowed. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

His gravelly voice gave her goosebumps. She swallowed again.

“Did you sleep well?”

Crap. She hadn’t meant to say that. She should have asked him what the heck he was doing in bed when he should be on the floor. But she didn’t want him on the floor. She wanted him here. She wanted… Without thinking about it, she twisted so she was on her other side, facing him, and put her lips against his.

Anything he might have said in reply to her question –what was her question again?—went unsaid. The arm he’d had over her waist lifted so his hand could frame her face and pull her closer. She forgot everything except the wild thrill of having his lips on hers. The thrill grew when he opened his mouth to lick over her lips. Somehow, and she honestly wasn’t sure how, she found herself on her back with him lying over her. She clutched his hair as he kissed his way from her mouth to her throat and back to her mouth. He buried her in sweet, wet heat that made her breathing hitch and her heart pound.

Even through her nightgown, two quilts and his jeans, she felt his erection pressing against her. Gina had been sheltered and she didn’t have any personal experience with lovemaking, but she wasn’t totally ignorant either. All the heat his kisses had kindled in her rushed to the place between her thighs. She knew what was digging into her. Her own response to his heat and weight was to let her thighs part a little. It felt amazingly good.

Some of the haze of passion cleared when he tugged the covers down a few inches and cupped his hand around her breast through the nightgown. His mother’s nightgown. Yikes. What was she doing?

“Sweet mate,” he groaned.

She coughed, trying to grab the tattered remains of her sanity. “”Um, Cole.” She blew out a breath. “I only meant to say hi.”

His eyes were heavy-lidded when he raised his head to look at her. “You did say hi,” he purred. “And then you kissed me.”

Her breast seemed perfectly happy to have him caress it. “Yeah. Um.”

His hand stilled. “Do you want me to stop?”