5. Emerson
FIVE
EMERSON
I’d been searching for the man-wolf or wolf man, and now I’d found him and we’d established his name and that he lived in the area, I was a little deflated.
Not because he wasn’t everything and more than I imagined—he was, and with a cherry on top, except the cherry was an enormous cock. But the question running through my mind was, “What now?”
Like most humans, I had many good qualities and a whole lot of flaws. One of the latter was on reaching a goal, I was ready to look for the next one. Not that I wanted another guy, but one more challenge.
“Mate!” He grinned, his gleaming white teeth peeking between his lips. I needed the name of his dentist. “Mate,” he repeated.
If he wanted to be friends, would I agree? Nope. I hadn’t followed my dreams—literally—to find a new friend. If I lived in Oakdale, sure. We could grab a beer together, or he could bodyguard me when I returned to the grocery store because I was pretty sure I wasn’t allowed back.
And should I remind him friends called me Emmie? I’d put up with so many people telling me Emerson was a guy’s name that I braced myself when meeting new folks.
Uncertainty flickered over his face but vanished when I stroked his cheek. “I don’t want to be your friend.”
“Neither do I. I mean… your friend, or is that my friend?” Logan stumbling over his words was kind of endearing.
“And not friends with benefits, either.”
He frowned, and I rubbed his brow to even out the furrows. “Is that where the guy pays for everything? Food, drinks, movie tickets?”
Going to the movies wasn’t an option in the middle of the woods, but I yanked my thoughts back on track. As I trailed my fingers over his plump lips, he parted them, giving me another glimpse of his teeth. A soft moan escaped my lips while wetness drenched my panties.
“No, it’s when a couple are friends, but not in a relationship. They don’t have a significant other, so when they have the urge, they sleep with one another.” Damn I explained that badly.
His eyes twinkled. Nope, he got what I was saying. “Sex.”
“Mmmm.” I couldn’t continue because of how he pronounced sex. The S whistled through his teeth, and my body tingled.
“I’m lost.”
Yikes. He wasn’t a backwoods guy or a mountain man, but someone like me who’d stumbled into the woods. “Don’t worry. I dropped crumbs on the trail so I can lead you to safety.”
He leaned back and studied my expression. “I understand the words, but they’re not making any sense.”
“You said you were lost, so I quoted a fairy tale character who dropped crumbs in the woods so they could find their way home.” Not everyone had bedtime stories as a kid, and I shouldn’t project my background and upbringing onto Logan.
“I live here.” He indicated the towering trees and the shadows cast by their overhanging branches. “You’re confusing and adorable, determined, fiery, and yet oh so soft and vulnerable.” He placed his hands on my hips and, in my head, I urged him to move them lower.
He pulled away, and I whimpered at the loss.
“I’m not going far. Just to grab my clothes stash.”
“Not a pot of gold?” I giggled.
“I wish.” He explained he kept clothes in different parts of the forest in case he came upon hikers. “It’s better if I’m dressed when we talk.”
Wasn’t that what we’d been doing? Talking? Rummaging through my thoughts, I went back a few minutes to him calling me mate. That was where the confusion began.
“What’s the definition of mate?”
“Is this a test?” He tugged his ear when he pulled out a small pack wrapped in a plastic bag from a hiding place, and I noted the scar on his back. The one I dreamed of. “You sound like my eighth grade English teacher.”
“Sorry. You’re a s-shifter.” I wasn’t used to the expression. I’d been calling him wolf man in my head. “What is a shifter’s mate?”
He pulled on a pair of jeans, which I hated, but I was pleased he was going commando.
“They’re a shifter’s forever, their one and only, their happy-for-all-eternity.” His words were like a warm fuzzy blanket that wrapped around me, keeping me safe. “And there are no take backsies.”
I tucked a finger in his belt loops and pulled him against my body. Every part of him was hard. Chest, thighs, and crotch, and yet his words reminded me of a silk scarf billowing in the breeze.
“Like a marriage for humans, but forever and ever?” If a former boyfriend had told me I couldn’t quit our relationship, I’d have run out the door and never looked back. It had major creeper vibes. But Logan and I were in sync.
“Before we go any further, I need to tell you about my dreams.” I had to be honest with him. Once he heard the truth, he might run for the hills screaming, “Stalker!”
He brushed a thumb over my lips. “Emmie, I dreamed of you too.”