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I was standing so close I could smell the delicate scent of her skin: warm, musky, with a fresh floral edge from her soap. It was the same smell I’d gotten addicted to a decade ago. My dragon whined with need, and I felt his presence push closer to the skin, longing to be close to our mate.

I took a step back. I could get lost in her aroma. Too much closeness and I might do something we would both regret.

Harley closed the door gently. I took another step back to give her space and led her to her room. I set her suitcase down.

She leaned back against the closed door. She had one hand on the doorknob. I was close again—too close. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to be near her all the time, even though I couldn’t have her the way I wanted.

“Thank you,” she said, gazing up at me through her lashes. “Really. It means a lot to me—to us.”

The curve of her waist, her hip, her thigh. Motherhood reallyhadbeen good to her. She was curvier than she was when we’d met, and I longed to map the differences between the woman in my memory and the woman she was now. My fingers itched to touch her.

Harley’s head knocked against the door. She tilted her face up toward mine and met my eyes.

It’d be so easy to step closer, grasp her hip, her waist, tug her close and taste her lips again…

I took a step back. My dragon huffed in dismay, and the sulfur of frustration burned at the back of my throat. God, I wanted her. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep tonight with her so close, yet so out of reach.

“Sleep well, Harley.” My voice came out lower than I intended, rough like gravel.

“You too,” she whispered. She picked up her suitcase, then slipped into her room and closed the door behind her.

I scrubbed my hand over my face. On one hand, my dragon was settled, knowing our mate and our son were safe and accounted for. On the other, frustration burned through my entire body like a fever.

I went to my room and collapsed face-down on the bed. This was going to be even harder than I’d thought.

The next morning,I awoke early after a fitful and frustrating night of sleep. I rolled over and squinted at my alarm clock—barely eight. I was used to silence in the mornings, but this morning, my sharp ears easily caught the sound of Dylan’s laughter and Harley’s low voice shushing him. The coffeemaker was gurgling, and something was sizzling on the stove.

Not a bad way to wake up. Still, I had to get moving. Our supplier wouldn’t be keen to chat if we were late.

I got out of bed and pulled on a thin white undershirt and loose sweatpants. I’d get dressed properly for the meeting, but for now, my dragon was urging me to check on Harley and Dylan. I hurried down the stairs without so much as a glance in the mirror.

What I saw in the kitchen nearly made me trip over my own feet. Harley was wearing an oversized T-shirt. The neckline slid off her shoulder, and the hem fell to mid-thigh. When she reached up, I got a glimpse of her sleep shorts, barely visible under the shirt. But all I saw was the bare expanse of her smooth legs. Her hair was pulled into a bun atop her head, and even the skin of her nape drew me in.

She turned toward me. Her smile faltered slightly, and that familiar flush rose in her round cheeks. Her blue eyes danced over my chest and my arms. Ah. My undershirt was pretty thin. This was the first time she’d gotten a look at the tattoos I’d gotten over the past decade. My dragon preened at the attention.

Then Harley jerked her gaze back to my face and widened her smile. “Morning,” she said. “I made breakfast. You’ve got a weird spread in here. Who’s doing the grocery shopping?”

“Not me,” I admitted. Dylan brought me a mug of coffee, and I tousled his hair in thanks. “Morning, kiddo.”

“Not you? Then who?” Harley asked.

“Ah… clan members and other folks in Lakeview bring things around. It’s part of the culture. It’s an honor to serve the alpha, and all that.” I shrugged one shoulder. It felt a little ridiculous saying it to someone who didn’t know much about the shifter world, but it was the truth. I did a lot for the clan, and they did a lot for me in return.

Harley laughed and flipped the pancakes expertly on the stove. “I’m sure there are plenty of women in Lakeview who want tohonoryou.”

My dragon did not like the sound of that. She wasn’t wrong. Blakely wasn’t the only one who had dreamed of being mated by the alpha. But what could I say to Harley? I couldn’t tell her that I’d spent the past ten years trying and failing to connect with other women. My dragon had pined for her since the day she left. Since I’d never rejected her, there was no way I could ever fully be with someone else. But now, it seemed like Harley had moved on and built a life without me. She’d made it clear this was just for the summer. I had to prove I could be a good father to Dylan—at least then, I’d get to be in their lives, even if it wasn’t in the way I wanted.

“I’m a little busy for that,” I said. “I’ve got a business meeting this morning, but I’ll be back this afternoon to get some practice in, Dylan.”

“What kind of practice?” Dylan asked around a mouthful of pancake.

“We’ll see,” I said.

Harley raised her eyebrows. “Business?”

“Business,” I said. She wanted more detail, but I wasn’t going to offer it. The less she knew about this situation, the better. “Hawk will be over here while I’m gone.”

“Why?” Harley asked. “You don’t trust us in your big house?” She said it like a tease, but my dragon caught the hint of insecurity beneath it.