The once chilly room instantly warmed and she turned to smile at Stevie.

"I know right!" Stevie smiled back before pointing at a black chest of drawers. "You're clothes are in there." Then without another word Stevie turned and left the room.

Holy s.h.i.t! Slowly pacing through the room, Chloe tilted her head to read the t.i.tles of the books on the night stand before running a hand over the smooth comforter. The room was nicer than any she'd ever stayed in.

After familiarizing herself with the room she took a quick shower and felt out of place when she returned to the room wrapped only in a towel. Quickly, she jerked open one of the drawers Stevie indicated earlier to see what Dell had bought her.

She held up a white glossy whisper of satin that was supposed to be a night gown.

Maybe on my honey moon! She tossed the article back in the drawer and pulled out a plain white t-shirt. She pulled it on and stepped into a fresh pair of panties before taking up a brush to comb out her hair. Loosely braiding it, she flicked off the light and smiled at the still roaring fire place. Girl could get used to this!

She was crawling across the bed, her a.s.s in the air and her small t-shirt hiked to the middle of her back when the door opened and Dell entered.

He stilled as Chloe gasped in shock and tore back the covers before rolling to cover her bare legs.

"What are you doing?"

Dell still stood motionless by the door, his eyes slowly darkening.

"Dell!" Chloe barked in annoyance.

He blinked hard then cleared his throat as a slow smile spread across his lips. "Coming to bed. Sorry I caught you unaware. I thought you'd already be sleeping."

"Coming to..." Chloe pulled the covers closer to her chin, "What do you mean coming to bed?"

Dell lifted his arms and yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor before he bent, unlaced his boots, and toed them off.

As hard as she tried to fight it, she couldn't keep from scanning the bronzed expanse of his smooth, well defined, torso.

Dell's hands went to the b.u.t.ton of his jeans, "This is my room and it's bed time. I'm coming to bed."

Chloe quickly dropped her eyes and sat up, poking one satiny leg out from under the covers to let her toes touch the floor. "I'm sorry. I thought I'd be sleeping in here. I didn't..."

When she went to pull her other leg free she heard a beep then the fire went out and the room was instantly black. She shrieked when strong arms caught her in a vice-like grip and pulled her body toward the hard body that was suddenly in bed beside her.

"Don't touch me! What are you doing?" She tensed, waiting for the fainting spell that typically accompanied Dell's touch, but none came.

Dell jerked her lower in the bed, causing her t-shirt to ride up until it was just under her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s. In the dark, she frantically reached up and yanked it back down. "Dell!"

A deep rumble vibrated from his chest as he nuzzled her neck. "Shhh, just sleep."

"I am not sleeping in here with you!" She shoved at his chest before pulling her hands back as if she'd been scalded and he let her go. "What the..." Silence hung between them for a moment as she inched further from his reach. "Why aren't I fainting?"

Dell chuckled in the darkness. "It's fading for you too."

"What's fading?"

In the dark she heard him take in a deep breath as the bed creaked. "From what I've learned, it's painful for mates to touch each other at first. Sometimes, as was the case with us, it is also often painful for the male to even lock eyes with the female. This is to prevent them from dismissing each other. The pain and fainting spells make you aware that there is some reaction to your mate."

"A negative reaction?"

"Negative at first," he amended. "The longer mates are apart without attempting to bond, the more painful it gets. I guess you could say it's nature's way of forcing a mating. After the first initial bouts of discomfort, the reactions will lessen for both the male and female over time and change to bouts of discomfort at being apart."

Chloe wanted to get up off the bed, but was afraid he'd grab for her again, and she wasn't sure if the fainting spells had pa.s.sed completely. "That doesn't make sense. Why would being hurt by each other attract two people?" She felt the bed shift as Dell sat up.

"Remember the night I first came to your house?"

"Yes."

"If I hadn't been affected by you, I would have said my piece and left and that would have probably been the end of it. But when you triggered something in me, I had no choice but to pursue you to discover what it was that you'd done to me. The longer I trailed you and the more I was exposed to you, the less I was able to resist. I was drawn to you Chloe. Your scent, your beauty, h.e.l.l even your voice. It's as if you were designed specifically for me. We are a match in every sense, built to be compatible to only each other. Now that I've come to terms with what you are to me, the pain is gone. I can look at you and touch you and not only does it not hurt, it actually feels really good."

She was thankful for the darkness as a blush stole across her cheeks. "What about me? Am I going to stop fainting now every time we touch?"

"I guess it depends," she could hear the amus.e.m.e.nt in his tone. "Have you accepted what I am to you?"

She didn't answer.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence the bed shifted again and Dell's voice was closer to her. "Why don't you touch me and find out?"

"No way!" she leaned back and had to catch herself as she nearly tumbled out of bed. "What if it's still the same? I'll pa.s.s out again."

"It's bed time Chloe and we're already in bed. What have you got to lose? If anything happens you can just sleep it off."

He was right, and she needed to know. Sure they'd kissed earlier, but she'd been too shocked to faint. Not to mention the fact that the kiss hadn't lasted nearly as long as she'd hoped.

Tentatively she stuck out a hand, not knowing where he was. Her fingers brushed his warm chest and she pulled back quickly.

"Go ahead," he encouraged, "put your hand flat on my chest."

She reached out again and laid her palm gently against the hard wall of his chest and held her breath. She braced for the worst, but after a few moments she realized that nothing was happening. No waves of nausea, no draining sensation. The only feel that remained was the overwhelming sense of being safe and protected.

Timidly she slid her hand over his chest then up onto his shoulder. She lifted her other hand as she got to her knees and faced him. Both hands slid over his warm, smooth muscles. "Nothing's happening."

"Oh, something's happening."

She didn't miss the rumble in his tone. She jerked her hands back. "Sorry." She blushed again, humiliated at how she'd been fondling him.

"Well how'd it feel?"

"Fine."

"Just fine," he challenged. "Did it hurt?"

"No. It felt different. It was," G.o.d how did she tell him how good it felt without sounding like an idiot. "nice."

"Nice?" he sounded insulted. "I have told you that I can scent a lie right?"

"That's not a lie, it did feel nice."

"You know what I like about you?" Suddenly his hands snaked out and grabbed her hips, yanking her back to the bed until she was pinned under him.

She squealed and tried to kick free, but only managed to lodge her legs on either side of him until he was cradled between her thighs. She stopped pushing at the wall of his chest to pull her too short night shirt down, dismayed that the only thing separating him from her was her thin cotton shirt and an even thinner strip of satin that formed her panties.

"You're lies have a strong sweet scent, like the first lilacs of spring; almost overpowering, but so sweet that you can't help but take in a nose full." He lifted a strong hand to her throat and held her in place as he ran his nose down her forehead, brushed her cheek and buried it in the crook of her neck. "You're half truths on the other hand might be missed by other shifters. They are just a whisper of rose water, almost unnoticeable to anyone who doesn't know your scent." He pulled his nose back and slowly ran his tongue from her collar-bone to the lobe of her ear before he placed a kiss on her throat just behind her ear.

A soft moan eased past her parted lips before her eyes grew large and she clamped her mouth shut. Oh G.o.d!

Dell growled and the rumbling vibration in his chest had Chloe creaming.

She held her breath, hoping he couldn't scent her desire. When he spoke again, she cringed when he confirmed that he could.

He slid one hand behind her back and clamped her tighter to him, forcing her hips hard into his groin as he growled viciously, "And that scent is what I live for." He nipped her ear. "When I first scented it, I didn't know immediately what it was. But when realization dawned, and I knew it was for me and me alone."

He rose over her and while she couldn't see in the dark she knew he was looking directly at her.

"That scent is mine Chloe!"

She shivered at the raw possessiveness of his tone.

"I cannot begin to tell you how hazardous it is for you to even be near an unmated male at this time. Hayden being on this property is extremely dangerous. For everyone's sake, I ask that you stay away from him."

Chloe nodded, forgetting that the room was black. When Dell demanded that she promise she wondered if he had the ability to see in the dark.

"I'll stay away from him."

Dell drew in another slow breath through his nose then moaned. "I know that I cannot claim you now. As much as I want to," he growled, "and G.o.d Chloe I f.u.c.king want to. I'll give you the time you need to process what is happening." She felt the bed creak again and then Dell's voice was over her somewhere. "I'll sleep in the bathroom. If you need in just get up, I'll hear the movement."

She sat up in the bed, "Won't that be uncomfortable for you?"

She heard him chuckle in the dark. "Not even close to the agony it'd be for me to lie in bed with you and not claim you, especially with you smelling like that."

Chloe dipped her head to sniff at her night shirt.

"Not there Chloe. Lower."

She was grateful for the darkness when her cheeks again flamed in embarra.s.sment. She'd gotten wet for him and he absolutely knew it. She fell back on the bed and tugged the blankets higher hoping to stifle some of the scent.

"Putting a blanket between us won't help. h.e.l.l, putting a mile between us wouldn't help."

She didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry. I could sleep elsewhere."

"Don't apologize. Don't ever apologize. And as for sleeping somewhere else, no you can't. I'd follow you no matter where you went. My wolf is eager for me to a.s.sert my dominance over you. Don't run from me, it'll call my wolf forth and the hunt will be on."

She shivered at the warning. "Good night then."

"Good night," he growled before she heard the bathroom door click closed.

G.o.d what have I gotten myself into?

Chapter 19.

The next morning, as promised, Mama had prepared a buffet of hot crumbly biscuits, chocolate gravy, sausages, fruit, and coffee.

Dell filled a mug with steaming coffee before handing a second cup to Chloe. "We'll eat in the office."

Mama winked, "Just as I suspected. There's a table already set up in there for you two."

"Cindy and Pony?" Dell demanded.

"Right here," Cindy spoke from the stairs as she slowly descended. "Pon'll be down in a minute." She eyed the dining room. "Where's our guest," she asked mockingly.

"Taking his time coming down I'm sure," Mama pointed her spatula toward the table, "have a seat, I'll make you a plate."

Cindy did as she was told.

"Good morning Grama," AJ entered the kitchen wiping sleep from his eyes. Mama crossed the room with spatula still in hand to grab AJ's shirt, pulling him down so she could kiss the top of his tousled head.

Dell took Chloe's hand and smiled at AJ before he led Chloe down the hall to his office.

"Why aren't we eating with the others?"

"Hayden's not mated," he answered simply.

Chloe knew then that Dell wouldn't be able to handle her in any close proximity to Hayden. h.e.l.l, he'd sent his brother away for his own safety. She could only imagine the repercussions to Hayden if he even attempted to push Dell.

Inside the office, Mama had in fact laid out a feast. The desk had been cleared of paperwork and covered with a white linen that housed two plates of steaming biscuits smothered in chocolate gravy next to piles of hickory smoked sausage. The scent was so enticing that Chloe's belly rumbled in impatience.

Dell held out a chair and Chloe took the seat. They ate in silence a few moments when Chloe took a sip of coffee and cleared her throat. "Maybe, with Hayden here and all, it'd be best if I went home today."

Dell stopped chewing momentarily before fingering a sausage and shoving it whole into his mouth. "No."

"Dell, you have to be reasonable. You have a guest, and my presence here is making the situation volatile."

He kept his eyes on his plate, "Hayden is making the situation volatile. You belong here, he doesn't."

She smiled at his possessive tone. "I could come back next weekend. I would you know."

He took another bite, "You'll stay now."

"You could come to my place." she suggested shyly, keeping her eyes on her plate.

"I can't leave my pack with a stranger amongst them."