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Also the truth. Fish and Wildlife had an office complex on the outskirts of Bearpaw Ridge.
Evan Swanson and Gage Tringstad both worked out of this location, and Lucas figured he could do his job from there, as well. He’d be traveling a lot of the time, anyway.
He decided to send a transfer request to Tony ASAP.
“Speaking of the girls,” Lucas said, buttering another piece of toast. “How would you feel about meeting them via video chat after work today?”
Malia brightened. “I’d love that! If you don’t think it’s too soon,” she added.
Lucas shook his head. “I talked to my folks about it yesterday evening, and they thought that sooner might be better than later. Normally, I wouldn’t dream of introducing them to anyone until we’d been dating for at least six months. But this is different.”
Malia nodded. “I hope they like me.”
Lucas smiled at her. “I think they will.”
They enjoyed the rest of their leisurely breakfast. Then it was time for Malia to clock in for her shift.
“I’ll clean up and do the dishes before I let myself out,” he promised as he walked her to the door. “And I’ll have dinner waiting for you tonight. How do you feel about roasted chicken?”
She beamed at him. “I love it! And coming home to a hot meal will be heavenly after spending the day out inthismess.” She surveyed the leaden skies and steady downpour with a sigh. “What you going to do with yourself today?”
“Go shopping for dinner ingredients in town,” he answered. “I have some reading to do, and maybe I’ll play on my computer a bit. I don’t often get an entire day to laze around by myself.”
That was skirting the edge of the truth. Temporarily free of Bickham and Silvers’s company, he had decided to spend the time catching up on his notes for this investigation, then tackling the reports for some of his other pending cases.
“Have fun,” she said, sounding a bit envious.
Lucas kissed her. “Stay safe out there. Text me when you’re on your way home, so that I know when to stick the bird in the oven.”
As she drove away, he was reminded that at some point really soon, he was going to have to tell Tringstad and Swanson that he’d mated the woman he’d promised to stay away from.
And then hope that he didn’t fall victim to either wolf or a bear attack. Or both.
The sheer bliss of spending the entire night with Malia, plus all of their delightful activities this morning, made the risk seem worthwhile.
Right now, he felt like the luckiest SOB on the face of the planet.
Chapter 16
After a busy morning of dealing with traffic accidents in the pouring rain, Malia picked up lunch and a couple of hot coffees at Cinnamon + Sugar.
Luckily, one of Maggie’s Ordinary employees was working the counter today, so Malia didn’t have to answer any uncomfortable questions.
She was pleasantly sore from all of her unaccustomed activities with Lucas, and even the awful weather couldn’t dampen her feelings of all-around well-being.
Being with him was amazing. And, unbelievably, it was getting better every time they came together. She liked everything about him—his smell, his taste, the way he kissed her, how his hands felt on her body.
The slow, tender sex they’d had last night had been wonderful. So had their fast, fierce encounter in bed this morning. And the shower sex had been indescribable.
Basically, she was now officially addicted to sex with Lucas. She couldn’t get enough of it, and she was already looking forward to the end of her shift, when she could go home and spend more quality time with her new mate.
Out of public view, she smiled to herself as she climbed the stairs that led to the large loft above the bakery.
Annabeth Swanson, the founder of Cinnamon + Sugar, had made this loft her home after relocating to Bearpaw Ridge from San Francisco. After she met and married Dane Swanson and moved out to the Grizzly Creek Ranch, she had rented out this place to a succession of tenants, mostly Swanson clan and Bearpaw Ridge Pack members.
Now, Rob lived here.
Malia rapped on the door. Her brother answered it almost immediately.
