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CODY

I scooped a limp Riley into my arms. Her robe parted, revealing one ripe nipple.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare at the lovely girl. No, woman. At the dusky rose of her areola. The way the nipple peaked, as if despite her fear of me, she’d also been turned on. Fate knew I was.

The moment she opened that bathroom door, in a robe that clung to her damp skin…

It was wrong–so wrong. This girl was young enough to be my daughter. She was my son’s date , for fuck’s sake! Shit. If she went to school with Tyler, she was also nineteen.

All I could do was stare down at her. She was still dewy from her shower, her skin flushed. Drops of water ran from her reddish-brown hair down into the hollow of her throat. She had big brown doe eyes. Lush, kissable lips. Sure, I surprised her for being in her house unexpectedly–I now had the primal need to spank her ass for leaving the front door unlocked–and coming out of her bathroom to a stranger as she had. Naked. Ripe. Fuckable.

Humans didn’t do much for me normally, but I would never swipe left on this one.

I couldn’t believe Tyler said the kiss had been bad. It made no sense.

If I got my mouth on hers, it’d be potent. My dick was hard just thinking about it. And that nipple. Fuck me.

Those were the stupid thoughts running through my head since she came out in her bathrobe. I’d brought the tranquilizer and had planned to give her a quick jab before she could even understand what was happening. Instead, I’d stood there and stared.

Like I was doing now.

“What am I going to do with you, Riley Abbott?” I murmured, hugging her limp body closer to my chest. Damn, I made it sound like I had a choice.

I didn’t.

My alpha ordered me to bring this human to Missoula to get her memory of the mountain lion attack extracted. I wasn’t here to date her.

Not that she would date a guy as old as her dad, anyway.

Ugh, speaking of her dad… I couldn’t forget I was kidnapping a deputy sheriff’s daughter. If this wasn’t crucial pack business, I’d say it was stupid. But it had to get done. I had to do this right.

I glanced over at the rifle on the couch. It would be easier if I shifted Riley over my shoulder to free up my hands, but something wouldn’t let me do it. I stooped down to pick up the shotgun, juggling it and the soft, lush Riley until I placed it behind the door again.

Good girl for having that and running for it. Bad girl for doing it in a skimpy robe and nothing else with the unlocked door. Didn’t she know I had a chase instinct?

Walking to her bedroom, I laid her on the bed and looked around.

This was Riley’s grandmother’s place. Opal Abbott had been a fixture in Cooper Valley since long before I was born. The bedroom was a curious mix of youth and crone. The furniture was antique. Most of the artwork appeared to be the old woman’s, but Riley had propped framed photos of her and her friends on the dresser.

I picked one up showing the kids in their graduation gowns. There was Tyler in the group towering beside his ex-girlfriend, Lila. Riley was on her other side. I’d paid no attention to this female before, but now she suddenly had me captivated. A plump nipple would do that.

When Riley whimpered in her drug-induced sleep, I got my head back on task. I needed to get a move on.

Forcing myself back into motion, I set the photo down and yanked open the dresser drawers.

“Fuck,” I muttered, finding her panties, a fluffy pile of colorful lace and silk. Slamming that drawer shut, I opened others until I found a pair of yoga pants and a cropped t-shirt for her to wear.

I turned to look at the beautiful teenager lying on the bed, her robe riding up her toned thighs. A few more inches, and I’d see heaven.

Teenager, I reminded myself. Teen. Ager.

This was not some female I could screw around with, regardless of what my mind and dick were telling me .

But something stirred deep inside. A murmur from my wolf: Not screw around. Keep.

I blinked. KEEP? What the fuck?

I didn’t have time for this. For what my wolf was suddenly trying to tell me. The clock was ticking, and I had to get this girl to Missoula and home before her dad or anyone else realized I’d taken her. Forcing my lust down with an iron will, I gritted my teeth and threaded her legs into the yoga pants. I pulled them up and slid a palm under her ass to lift her hips. As I did… oh fuck. Oh fate.

When I got close to her delectable scent––yes, the scent of her body’s arousal for me—my wolf roared to the surface.

I shook my head. “No. No, no, ” I muttered, stepping back and practically tripping over a rogue slipper. All I could do was stare at Riley on the bed in only her leggings and her robe. The robe that was completely open now, exposing her more-than-a-handful breasts. Both of her nipples beaded up, begging for my tongue. Begging for my attention.

They had it. One hundred percent. My mouth watered to feast on them and lower.

But no. No, no, no, no. This couldn’t be.

I ran a hand over the back of my neck and began to prowl back and forth in the small bedroom, tripping again over the slipper. Why did I feel this way? I had to–

Without any more thinking, I pounced over her, straddling her waist. The bed squeaked with my added weight. I ignored the surging of my cock against my zipper as I leaned forward and pressed my face into her neck to draw her scent into my nostrils.

Fuck me.

It was heavenly. Better than a 200-year-old scotch on the rocks. More decadent than the finest ambrosia. It had notes of summer wildflowers and sunshine. She smelled like…

My mate.

The unwelcome thought came from my wolf.

I stared down at her. Asleep. No, she wasn’t asleep, she was unconscious because I drugged her. She was beautiful. Freckles on her nose. Full lips. Everything about her was fucking perfect.

Oh no. This was really fucking bad. A big problem.

But I was sure. Rob had said you would know the scent when you caught it. He was right.

Riley Abbott was my mate!

Fuuuuuck! I threw myself back off the bed again and walked in a tight circle, stabbing my fingers through my hair. I didn’t know where I dropped my cowboy hat–probably somewhere in the living room– when I had to snatch that rifle from her, shit, my mate’s hands.

What was I going to do? Not only was my dick hard for this girl… no, woman… teenager, but now my wolf said she was our mate! I just broke into a house–well, technically, the door was open, but I came in uninvited–and tranquilized my fated mate. I was supposed to get her memories swapped, not seduce her.

Not mate her!

This girl was half my age! She was interested in my son. She would never date a guy as old as her dad. Even if she did–because I couldn’t deny the electricity between us–her dad would probably use his county-issued revolver to try to kill me. Which was bad because if he did shoot me, I wouldn’t die. Then there would be even more explaining to do.

She was going to wake up soon, and how the fuck would I ever explain it all? How would I win her trust when I literally drugged and intended to kidnap her to make her forget about there being shifters in the town?

I sighed, set my hands on my hips, stared at her. My mate.

Maybe I should still take her to Missoula to at least wipe out the memories of a wolf sighting and this fucked-up encounter. Then I’d have a fresh start. Time to plan a better approach with her.

Even as I had the thought, my wolf snarled in rage. No way I could let Marion near my mate. No way in hell.

Of course not. I’d never subject my mate to any potential harm. And wiping her memories was that and more.

I would have to solve this some other way.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I paced some more, debating. Fighting with myself, my wolf, and my alpha.

Even setting aside the large problem of disobeying my alpha and letting her keep her memories of Tyler being a wolf, she would surely go for a gun again the moment she woke up.

I needed to get her out of here. Get her somewhere… secluded. Keep her as mine. Safe. Fuck, I’d have to hold her captive until I could make her understand she belonged to me.

Hell, that sounded wrong. But that was essentially what it meant to a wolf shifter. My wolf growled at that. There was nothing “essentially” about it. Riley Abbot was MINE.

Now that I knew she was my mate–now that I’d caught her scent–I couldn’t pretend I could ever go on living without marking Riley Abbott. I had to claim her. Fate couldn’t be denied.

Once I fully made her mine, then I could figure out the next step.

I scooped Riley up into my arms, savoring the feel of her, the scent of her. “Sorry, sugar.” I nuzzled my nose into her wet hair. “Fate made the decision for both of us. You belong to me now.”