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needed.
    She’d vowed to figure it out. Maybe not
today, but at least she’d made a start. She’d befriended him,
deepening their connection today, laying the groundwork. She would
work on him until he let her in and allowed her to learn how to
soothe him.
    Ridiculous, maybe, but it was her goal.
    Andrew was too special to leave in pain. Too
handsome to ignore. Too honorable to deny.
    He pulled the car up in front of his house.
From every angle, the structure was absolutely gorgeous. She loved
his house, outside and in.
    “Do you have to go back right away?” he asked
as he opened the door for her.
    “It would be best to leave after dark,” she
replied. “I want to hug the shore as long as possible to stay
within the wards, but parts of that path are shallow, and there’s a
possibility, however slim, that someone could spot me from the air
during daylight hours.”
    “After dark it is, then,” he agreed with a
merry tone in his voice as they went into his house. “Does that
mean I can interest you in some dinner?”
    She put one hand over her stomach, thinking
about all the delicious pastries she’d eaten at the bakery.
Luckily, she had a mer metabolism, which meant she was pretty much
always hungry because she burned so many calories swimming all the
time. Things were a little different on land, though.
    “Maybe in an hour?” she suggested. “I ate a
lot at the bakery.”
    “That works,” Drew told her. “I’ve got some
steaks marinating in the fridge. I can fire up the grill, and we
can eat out on the deck. That’ll help us pass the time. I’ve also
got a nice bottle of wine, if you’re interested.”
    She smiled at him. “I’m definitely
interested.”
    She hoped he understood the full meaning of
her words. She didn’t want to leave here tonight without at least
one more of those stellar kisses of his—or maybe even a whole lot
more.

Chapter Five

    Drew bustled around for a bit, setting
everything up. He brought out the wine and poured her a glass,
insisting she sit down and put her feet up on the oversized chaise
he kept out on the deck. He slept in the thing, at times, and knew
it was comfortable. He wanted her to feel safe and relaxed while he
took care of everything.
    He set the grill to warm up and got the
steaks out of the fridge in the kitchen, transferring them to the
workspace he’d built around the grill. He toasted her with his own
glass of wine while he got things going.
    “So what do you think of the cove, now that
you’ve had a chance to really look around?” he asked, wanting to
make conversation.
    The way she was looking at him was making him
think things that might just be a tad inappropriate. Or not. He’d
try his luck after dinner and see if she was as receptive as he
thought. But for now, he was on a mission to feed her before she
left. He wanted her to remember how well he took care of her so
that she’d want to come back.
    “It’s beautiful. The waters are still
perfect—a safe place to swim and raise young. The pod will
appreciate that. We have a few children living in the sea right
now, but they’re reaching an age where they should probably start
learning about life on land too. This looks like a good place for
them to do it.”
    “There aren’t a lot of children in town yet,
but there is one little girl who would probably love to have some
playmates. She’s about five years old and a panda shifter.” Drew
thought of young Daisy, who had come here with her mother after her
father had died, back in China.
    Daisy was the sweetheart of the town and
every heart melted when she held her arms out to be picked up.
Daisy and her mother, Lynn, had known tragedy, but they were slowly
healing and making a new life for themselves here in Grizzly
Cove.
    “A panda? No kidding? She must be absolutely
adorable.”
    Drew smiled. “You have no idea. She’s equally
cute in either form. And her mother is a force to be reckoned with.
I’m actually surprised you didn’t get