I kicked off my shoes the second I left the ballroom. They hit the wall with a satisfying thud, and I was more comfortable on the plushy carpet barefoot anyway.

Blake didn't follow me into the hall, despite me not rushing toward the elevator. So, I made it to my room without interruptions and tossed the shoes into the corner. I watched them hit the wall with a thud then wiggled out of my dress. Silk pooled around my feet in shimmering green waves. My hopes were riding on the dress for close to two days.

Now, I walked over it.

My reflection in the mirror was painful to look at. Corset, a ripped stocking behind one knee, and—absurdly!—perfect hair and makeup on my twisted face.

The peacock feathers swayed prettily as I shook my head and wetted a towel to scrape off mascara, blush and lipstick. All of it was as useless to me as the multicolored smudge it left on the white cotton.

Because I was Celeste, the Stray.

No. I chuckled bitterly and glanced at my wrist. The initial glow of the Mark had faded, but it was plenty clear. Celeste the Omega! Woo-effing-hoo.

I scrubbed at my cheeks even more vigorously. What I wouldn't give to wash off the Omega mark along with the makeup. The best I could do was to change into a thin but long-sleeved shirt I found among the hiking clothes Mie purchased for me. I added a pair of dark jeans and my old sneakers.

There, I was ready to search for my wolf...Blake said he'd help me with it.

Except he would be busy all night with his pack, his guests, and his party. Everyone would be there, having fun, except me, who would spend the Summer Solstice night alone and miserable in this posh and faceless room. It didn't smell right.

And there was zero chance Blake would come to check on me here: he was crystal clear about it this morning.

So I could go to bed, despite not being sleepy at all, or I could go...no, not back to the party. Goddess no!

Not to the already darkening woods, either. No, with the blood-thirsty rogues skulking around that would be crazy. Though if I could somehow return to Blake's cabin, I would.

I ached to roll myself into his blankets and inhale his scent as deeply as I could. Just thinking about it filled me up on the inside, warmth spreading down my belly. My panties felt wet from it, so I slipped my hand behind the waistband of my sweatpants to see if I was imagining things.

The shred of silky fabric between my legs was wet. Somehow, rubbing it against the swelling of my vulva while imagining I was doing it in Blake's bed, with Blake's scent all over me...inside me...Blake inside me. Goddess, I wanted it. Why was she denying me this?

A moan escaped my lips, waking me up from this trance. Blushing, I pulled my fingers out of my lady parts. I had never touched myself like this before, and I didn't know if I was doing it right. But I was wet and my knees shook...so, probably, I did what my body wanted me to do with it.

I moaned again, sadly this time, because the magic hedge and Blake's wolf wouldn't let me have more of this in his sheets. And Blake's rules wouldn't let me do it with him until I shifted and went into heat.

If going in heat was anything like the sweet sticky lust that overtook me just now, I couldn't imagine not losing my mind from pleasure.

But for right now, right now...

I rummaged through my belongings with shaking hands...I had a place to go that wasn't as tempting as Blake's cabin. But neither was it as faceless as my hotel room. It was a place where I already started to feel at home. Where I could sit and flip through Reed's files, make myself a nice, warm cup of tea.

Chamomile tea, three bags strong. Or five. Or lots more. Really, as much tea as was needed. I'd mix chamomile with lavender, if I had to.

Maybe I could even get some work done while at it.

My insides loosened when I thought of catching up on the backlog. I didn't drop to frigid from boiling, but the worst of the hot-and-heavy horniness attack had passed, making me expel a sigh of relief.

I had never been this horny before the fated mates bond tied me to Blake. It had to be the bond.

Hopefully, I wouldn't have such episodes often, because without him to satisfy my desires, it would be torture. Just thinking of how he could help me—

No!

I grabbed the keycard and ran to the office as fast as I could on weak knees. It went without saying I wanted to get a head start on my first job assignment. You know, find a perfect vacation spot for Blake. Yeah, that one.

It had nothing to do with any faint hope he'd come by the office. Because the notion was absurd, right?

My heart skipped a beat once the elevator jolted to a stop. He might though, right? What workaholic wouldn't?

Alas, no.

The office was dark, except for the motion-sensing lights that lit up the second I stepped out of the elevator. They turned off behind my back a few seconds after I passed them as I made my way to my workstation.

Environmentally friendly, no argument, but also creepy. So creepy that I had to fight down fear before I could handle a tea bag and boiling water.

Armed with the brew and nearly calm, I browsed the bizarre world of vacations for people with far too much money.

After scanning each page, I took a sip.

A pristine atoll with cute coral fish and yada-yada-yada...a sip of tea.

Submarine journeys to the Titanic or the sunken ruins in the Adriatics...could be nice...a sip of tea.

Flights into orbit...a sip of...

Actually, I snorted my tea out of my nose. It hurt, but I kept gushing bitter liquid as I wiped the keyboard. Wouldn't it be great if we could pack off all the rich bitches onto a one-way trip beyond the stratosphere? Ladies, ladies, what a perfect vacation spot for Miss Scarlett!

I reached for a tissue and dabbed the rest of the tea from my nose and lips. Come on. I stared at the screen with triple-intensity. There had to be something in these catalogs to fit Blake. How could there not be among megabytes upon megabytes of tempting offerings? I just had to think like Blake.

Now, Celeste, if you were a cold, powerful, and drop-dead gorgeous Alpha with a fated mate problem, where would you want to go on vacation?

I scrolled some more, until...oh, gosh. Perfect! And compared to the flight into orbit, practically a bargain.

Not that I could charge this kind of money, given I was the second day on the job, but a bargain nonetheless.

I'd have to talk to Mie once the Solstice Holiday was over. I doubted she'd understand my reasoning, the whole cold, powerful and remote vibe about Blake, and something about the end of the world, so I should probably have a more conventional option as a backup.

Maybe those far more pleasant coral reefs, and...click.

My jaw hung. "You gotta be kidding me!"

It didn't. The message on my screen said, Thank you for your order. Please save the reservation number for your records, and welcome aboard our expedition! We'd like to remind you that the deposit is not refundable.

The damn computer auto-filled everything, and I had just bought Blake a two-week vacation. Flushed thousands of dollars on it. Without asking his permission. Or Mie's. Why on Earth was I allowed to do so? How could there be no approvals from the boss, no signatures from the finances department, no nothing...just one click purchase like I was buying a tube of a damn lipstick on a blowout sale.

I expelled a sigh to clear a sudden queasy feeling. It didn't help. My playful middle-of-the-night mood was gone, replaced by dread.

"I doubt anyone will understand why I did it." Worst of all, I would have to explain it to Blake.

Too afraid to make things worse by trying to cancel the reservation, even if it meant losing the deposit equal to my annual salary, I crawled from out of my desk, intending to flee. My faceless room felt just fine now.

Breathe, just breathe.

It's easy for you to say! I snapped at my inner voice. How was I going to look into Blake's eyes and justify my choices? He would think I was unstable. Or worse, that I hated him.

I was so wrapped up in my misery, that I heard nothing till the office door flung open.

"Blake!"

Who else, but Blake wearing his suit jacket on his shoulder, the collar of his charcoal-gray shirt open, tie hanging undone. Blake, with the satin shadow of the new beard coating his cheeks. Blake who somehow looked more gorgeous in this relaxed version of the evening wear.

That was it. I was doomed.

Caught in his gaze, frozen within it, like an air bubble in the bottle-green glass, I felt so needy, so helpless, and so...thirsty. Literally and figuratively.

"I..." I glanced out of my dazed eyes, seeing little. "Do you see my mug? My throat...I'm parched."

Blake licked his lips. "I...don't see it."

He didn't even pretend to look anywhere but at my mouth, and my lips felt like they were swelling, coming apart to get enough air into my lungs. Or his tongue between them. Either would be extremely welcome.

I trembled, overwhelmed by the returning twinge where my finger had found a flesh button, even though I wasn't touching it. Nobody was, but the bottom of my belly, it was so heavy. Maybe it added pressure down there.

"B-blake," I shifted from foot to foot, attempting to rub my thighs together and not to rub them at the same time. I swallowed. "Blake, you and Scarlett—"

"Fuck Scarlett," he replied hoarsely.

"I'm getting there, okay? Did you? Ever...?" I mumbled, despite my mind screaming that this was a wrong thing to ask.

What I wanted to ask of him was to press my butt into the wall, part my legs with his long thigh and keep pressing that rock-solid muscle there, hard, until I forgot Scarlett's name.

Goddess, until I considered myself lucky to remember my name.

Or my mother's name.

Or that I had booked Blake onto an expedition to—

"It doesn't matter," he said, not taking his eyes off my lips. "I only want..."

He paused, and I was unable and unwilling to wait. "Yes, Blake?" I whispered. "Her or me? Who?"

Blake cried out, then bit down on his lip with a sharp, too-long canine. "I'll show you. Just...we must go to my office first."

Dizzy as I was, with my intimate parts rapidly approaching the consistency of a lava-cake, with the gooey middle ready to spill out of the hot sponge, I was still puzzled.

"Wh-what do you want?" Please, say you, and I'd give myself to you.

Blake backed out of Mie's office with his hands held out in front of his chest, drawing me in. "Don't make me talk, Este. It's hard enough as it is...trust me."

"Why wouldn't I," I murmured, "trust you."

We never spoke another word and didn't break our eye contact. He walked backwards. I followed. If someone saw us, they would have decided I was some charmed maiden lured by a magician.

Only, no magician could have this hungry lust written over his features, and the maidens should barely even guess that their womanly core could swirl with this breath-stealing, cheek-pinking, foaming intensity.

I vibrated without Blake touching me. If he did...oh, Goddess, if he did...