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She was in trouble. The good kind, maybe. But trouble all the same. She was way too attracted to him for her own good, but she couldn’t really help herself. He was a hell of a guy, and she found it nearly impossible to resist him. Especially now, when she knew for a fact that he kissed like a god.

When the barracks building came into view, she caught the glint of eyes in the darkness.

One of the shifter soldiers on patrol made his presence known on the path that passed nearby, not even trying to hide his curiosity.

Another shifter, one of her lion relatives, stepped out from behind a parked vehicle as they approached the front steps of the barracks building, then did a double take before pretending to look at the sky.

Celine tensed and gave Zeke’s hand a gentle squeeze before pulling free. He glanced over in surprise, clearly not sure why she was pulling away, until she shifted her gaze briefly toward the observers.

Zeke looked around with subtle nonchalance, and understanding dawned briefly in his eyes.

“Right,” he said under his breath. “We are not alone. Sorry. We can keep things low key.”

She offered him a small, apologetic smile. “That might be best. For now, at least. I don’t really want to share this with anybody just yet. I hope you don’t mind.”

He gave a low chuckle, not quite amused, but not angry either. “Honestly, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. But I get it. Mum’s the word until you say otherwise.”

“I appreciate that.”

She looked away, unable to handle the intensity of his gaze when they were in public.

No matter how much she wanted to keep her nosy relatives and the other shifters on this island out of her love life, it would be blazingly obvious if she couldn’t learn how to control her reactions to him better. She had to work on that.

“I should head back to my room,” she said gently.

“I’ll walk you—”

She raised her brows in mock warning, and he caught himself with a rueful grin.

“Right. Low key. I don’t like it, but I’ll do it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You bet.”

She gave him one last smile, then turned and walked farther along the path, her long strides confident, even if she wasn’t feeling it. She wanted to go back to him and kiss him some more, but she couldn’t. Steeling herself, she did her best to not look back.

Zeke watched her walk away until she vanished behind the curve of the path leading toward the other side of the island where she was quartered alongside the other female shifters on this base.

He didn’t move for a long moment. Just stood there, hands in his pockets, the warmth of her still lingering on his lips.

Damn .

He’d known there was something special about her the moment they met, but now he knew it for a fact.

He felt it down to the marrow of his bones.

The way she looked at him. The way she touched him.

The way she let herself be vulnerable in front of him while still displaying her core of inner strength attracted him in a way he was wholly unfamiliar with from his past relationships.

She was smart. Fierce. Brave. And heaven help him, she was sexy as hell. Not just in the obvious ways, but in how she moved, how she thought, how she felt in his arms. There was depth to her. An ocean’s worth. He could drown in her and probably die happy.

And he wanted her. No question about that.

But he wanted more than just a warm body in his bed.

He wanted her . All of her. The way she’d looked at him tonight had nearly stolen his breath.

She looked at him like she could see him .

Not just the soldier or the weird psychometric guy, but him . Zeke.

She could be the real thing. That thought scared him a little.

He turned slowly, glancing up at the door to his barracks to find Rick there, watching him for a moment before heading back inside.

Zeke could tell immediately that Rick had noted the new dynamic between him and Celine.

And so, probably, had those shifters she’d pointed out earlier.

Word would spread. That wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t the end of the world either.

For himself, he didn’t care who knew he was attracted to Celine. If she’d let him, he’d stake a claim so nobody else would dare try to court her, but he had promised to try to control his caveman tendencies. She didn’t want to go public just yet, and he had to respect that.

Zeke walked up the steps to the door of the building and paused on the threshold.

His room upstairs would be dark, quiet, and far too empty, and that hadn’t really bothered him…

until he’d met Celine. Someday soon, he hoped, he’d have her more firmly in his life.

Tonight had been a start. Hopefully, in time, she would agree to be his, and where that would lead, he wasn’t entirely certain, but when he thought about his future, he couldn’t picture it without Celine by his side. It was the damnedest thing.

He couldn’t see the future like his friend and comrade Jeeves.

No, Zeke’s specialty was the past. But maybe in this, he knew his own mind and his desire to have Celine in his life long-term.

If he thought it would do any good, he’d ask Jeeves what he knew of the future in that direction, but their resident clairvoyant had taken to playing his cards very close to his vest as he learned to deal with his new superpower.

With one last look in the direction Celine had gone, Zeke sighed and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Tonight, his bed would be cold. But his heart was warm in a way it hadn’t been in years. And that was a start.