His mouth dropped open at the same time his gaze wandered down my body.

I stepped out of the tub and moved toward him, and although I stumbled slightly, I was still confident this was exactly what I wanted. I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t wanted him. Not even after I’d spotted him with Ophelia and realized he hadn’t left New Orleans all those years ago. That he hadn’t been called back to New York, and that he’d only used that as an excuse to let me down easy.

The yearning had still been there.

He was the one person who I’d dated back then who hadn’t expected special favors from me. Who hadn’t assumed that just because I was a working girl that I was giving the milk away for free. He’d understood that I wanted and deserved respect. And he’d never once tried to take advantage of me. Even though he could have.

Because I’d craved him from the moment I’d met him.

And I still did.

Standing in front of him, I lifted my hand and cupped his cheek, loving the gentle brush of his stubble on my palm. “It’s been a very long time, Diesel.”

He tore his eyes from my breasts, and met my gaze with his heated one.

“I always thought we’d end up like this eventually. But time ran out. And now that we have a second chance, I—”

He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and gently lowered my hand. “This isn’t a good idea.”

“Says who?” I placed my free hand on his chest, and leaned into him, brushing my lips gently over his.

He pulled back, abruptly putting space between us. “You’ve been drinking.”

I frowned. “So?”

“And a little over an hour ago you were attacked by magic. I don’t think now’s the time to...ah, get intimate.”

I waved an impatient hand and stepped forward again, following him out into the main cabin. “You’re seriously turning me down? Just because I’ve been drinking?”

“Not just because of that.” He stalked over to a closet, reached in and pulled out a white towel. “Can you please put this on?”

“No.” I stood there in the living room, livid that he didn’t appear to want me. I was naked for goddess’ sake and he was going on about me being drunk. And yeah, okay, I had imbibed a little more than my fair share, but I was clearly coherent. I was standing wasn’t I? Even if the room was spinning a little bit.

“Ida May—”

“Forget I said anything.” I turned and stalked back into the bathroom, pausing only to call out, “Don’t forget the wine. And while you’re at it, bring the pie.”

Before he could answer, I slammed the door and slipped back into the tub. Screw him. A girl could figure out her own orgasms. But only after more wine and pie.

***

I woke the next morning to a splitting headache.

“Son of a wine whore,” I mumbled and rolled over, finding the bed just as empty as it had been when I’d climbed in well after midnight the night before. “Maybe that last glass of wine had been a little too much.”

“Perhaps,” Diesel said from across the room.

I propped open one eye and spotted him in an armchair, one foot resting on the opposite knee. “Where have you been all night?”

“I slept on the couch.” He rose and brought me a glass of water and a couple of pills. “Take these. They’ll help.”

Groaning, I rolled over and buried my head in the pillow. “Forget it. I’m just gonna die right here. Undersexed and jonesing for eggs benedict.”

I heard the thump of the glass on the nightstand. “The eggs benedict I can handle.”

“What did you just say?” I rolled back over and eyed him with suspicion. “Don’t mess with me, wolf boy.”

A self-satisfied smile claimed his lips. “I’ll be in the kitchen. If you decide dying isn’t in the cards, join me in about thirty minutes. Your breakfast will be waiting.”

Damn.

Now that was sexy. A man who brought pain killers and made you breakfast. Who knew those still existed? Too bad he was such a tease. Because my girly parts were getting all hot and bothered again just thinking about him.

I had to snap out of it. He wasn’t the only wolf in the forest. Surely I could find someone else worthy to meet my womanly needs.

Groaning at the dull ache throbbing at my temple, I gulped down the pain killers and most of the water then headed for the shower.

And oh goddess, was the shower glorious. It was the kind with five shower heads, three massage settings, and a bench to use while shaving your legs. If there hadn’t been a promise of breakfast and a hot man in the other room, I might’ve stayed there all damned day. Instead, I luxuriated in the fancy smelling soap and shampoo and shaved everything south of my neck. A girl had to be prepared, right?

Twenty minutes later, smelling of vanilla scented soap and with my headache nearly gone, I stood wrapped in a towel, wondering what I was going to wear. The outfit I’d borrowed from Zelda smelled like the inside of a dumpster. Putting that on was out of the question. My only real options were to hang out in the cotton towel, or snag a few things from Diesel.

I glanced down at my barely covered body.

Yeah, back in the day on Basin Street the towel would’ve been plenty. Here in Asscrack in the middle of February, not so much.

I moved to the small closet. Inside I found a couple of jackets and hiking boots. But I had much better luck with the dresser. Before long, I had a clean T-shirt, a zip up sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a pair of socks. Obviously no bra or underwear. But I could work with that. As long as I had something to keep my ass from freezing, I was good.

But as I was closing the sock drawer, something silver caught my eye. Something I hadn’t seen in a very long time. Smiling, I pulled out the pocket watch and ran my fingers over the engraved fleur-de-lis. It was the one I’d given him as a birthday present so long ago. The one that had belonged to a good friend of mine before he’d died at the tender age of sixteen.

Happy tears stung my eyes, and I pressed the timepiece to my chest, reveling in memories of sitting down by the river on warm autumn nights, dreaming of our futures. Futures that ended entirely too soon.

Reining my emotions back in, I opened the metal clasp and let out a small surprised gasp. Inside was an old, yellowing black and white photo. One I hadn’t seen before. But there was no mistaking the identity of the laughing woman with wide almond-shaped eyes and wild curly hair—it was me.

I hastily pulled on the too-big clothes, and after rolling up the sweatpants, I grabbed the pocket watch and strode into the main cabin. The rich scents of bacon and coffee filled the air.

“There you are.” Diesel smiled at me as he reached for a couple of mugs. “Good timing. I just set the plates on the table. Did you want coffee or—what’s wrong?”

“I found this in your sock drawer.” I held the watch up.

He put the mugs down on the table and moved to stand in front of me. “Okay.”

“Okay? What does that mean?” I asked, impatience coloring my tone.

“Nothing. I imagine it’s quite something to find items you used to own in your past life. If I’d thought about it, I’d have offered to give it back—”

“I don’t want it back!” I cried. “I gave it to you as a present. What I want to know is why you’re still carrying it around.”

He jerked back, clearly startled by my outburst. “Because it’s a good watch? Because I like being reminded of my time in New Orleans. I’ve just had it so long, it’d feel weird to not carry it. I have a smart phone, like most people. I’m not a total luddite, but—”

“Why do you have a picture of me in it?” I threw the watch at him, hitting him squarely in the chest, no longer acting as if what he did way back then hadn’t gutted me. That lying to me and leaving me for Ophelia hadn’t left a huge hole in my heart.

Diesel stood in the middle of the room, unmoving for a moment. Then he slowly bent down and picked the watch up. After inspecting it for any damage, he tucked it into his pocket and moved forward, closing the distance. But he was careful to not touch me. “Because the watch always reminds me of you. Is it wrong to want a memory?”

Anger boiled over and if there’d been anything heavy nearby, I’d have likely clocked him with it. “It is when you threw me away.”

“What?” He took a step back as if I had really decked him. “What are you talking about?”

“Please, Diesel. There’s no need to lie to me. I know what you did. I know why you broke things off with me. No wonder the curse Zelda tried to reverse for you resulted in me being back here. You weren’t honest with me. And you never deserved my heart or my trust. I guess you’re just going to have to remain shiftless until you prove to me you’ve changed. Prove you’re worthy of me or any woman for that matter.”

If I’d thought he was shocked before, it was nothing compared to what I saw now. Wide eyes, open mouth, complete deer in the headlights, blank expression.

“Yeah, the secret’s out, buddy. I know all about Ophelia and your engagement. That you didn’t leave me to go back to New York. That you married that woman instead. You didn’t have to lie—”

“Whoa!” Diesel snapped out of his frozen trance and in two steps, closed the distance between us. “Is that what you’ve been thinking all these years? That I left you for Ophelia?”

I squared my shoulders and met his intense gaze head on. “Don’t try to deny it. I saw you with her. You were down by the river. The same spot you and I used to go to. You were holding her hand and your heads were bent together just like you were sweethearts.” I let out a strangled laugh. “But of course you were, weren’t you? It was then I had Josephine’s investigators vet you. And you know what they found out? That you were promised to that high society cow and engaged to be married!”

Some of the indignation went out of his eyes as he studied me. Then his shoulders relaxed. “So...the investigation came after we weren’t seeing each other, then? I wasn’t just like any other client?”

Hells bells. I had told him that hadn’t I? Well, it hardly mattered now. “No,” I said quietly. “You weren’t like a client. You weren’t anything like a client at all. Our private lives were our own. I just said that because you hurt me.”

“Dammit, Ida May,” he said, his tone just as quiet as mine. “I should’ve told you about her and for that I am truly sorry. But it’s not what you think.”

“How can it not be?” I shot back. “You were engaged to her, weren’t you?”

His shoulders slumped in defeat. “Yes... and no.”

“No? What the hell does that mean? Either you were engaged or you weren’t. Please, just be honest with me.”

He reached out and took one of my hands. “Can we sit and have breakfast? I’ll explain everything.”

My headache was trying to needle its way back into existence and the nausea was starting to kick in. “Fine.”

I sat at the small pine table and gingerly took a bite of the eggs benedict. The creamy rich sauce hit my tongue and my eyes closed as the flavors sent me into a state of pure bliss. “Ohmigod. So good.”

When I opened my eyes again, Diesel was sitting in his chair, elbows on the table just watching me. I swallowed and put my fork down. “Thanks for the food. But I’m still waiting for your explanation.”

He sat back and blew out a breath. “Ophelia’s parents had a connection to my pack. They were longtime allies, so when I came to New Orleans it was natural for me to spend time with them.”

I took another bite of my breakfast and nodded. “Sure.”

“I should probably mention that Ophelia is a witch, so being paranormals meant that whenever there was ever any problem we tried to help each other out when we could. Back then it was sort of an unwritten agreement.”

I’d learned she’d come from a family of witches after the investigation, and over time had come to understand that paranormals usually stuck together. I nodded again.

“Well, right before I was called home, there was some sort of scandal with the man Ophelia was supposed to marry, and apparently both our families decided I was the answer to her problems.”

“Like an arranged marriage?” I asked, making no effort to hide my skepticism.

“I guess. Not really. They were just strongly pushing it. Her parents were worried her reputation would be ruined. Mine decided a witch for the pack wasn’t a bad idea.”

“Seems like a tidy little solution. What happened?” I blew on the piping hot coffee, wondering if he was feeding me a line of complete crap.

“What happened is, no one bothered to consult me about this little plan. So when I got word that I needed to go back to New York, that’s when you and I said goodbye.”

I raised my eyebrows, wondering what he expected me to say to any of this. Because so far, I hadn’t heard anything that was making me feel better. He’d still stayed in New Orleans and hadn’t told me.

“But, a few hours before I was headed out, Ophelia showed up on my doorstep. She claimed wedding preparations were already well underway and that if I left town she’d be ruined. She made it sound like a huge scandal. That our parents had taken matters into their own hands and I ended up staying in town to deal with the situation.”

“So you’re saying you were engaged, but that you never asked her to marry you?” I put my mug down and leaned in, narrowing my eyes.

“Exactly. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to hurt you or drag you into it. Especially because Ophelia acted like she didn’t want to get married either. So we were trying to figure out the best way to discourage our parents. To make it all go away. It turned out that it was all lies. Ophelia had told her parents we’d made it official and that we wanted a wedding before I left. That’s when they involved my parents. In the end, she was sent off to Savannah to live with her aunt while I went up to New York. And the entire thing was never spoken of again. I never married her. And certainly never wanted to.”

He reached out and placed his hand over mine. “Ida May, what I had with you was real. I even came back to New Orleans three years later. I looked for you, but you were already gone.”

A profound sadness washed over him with those last words, and he started lightly tracing his thumb over my palm. Then he pulled the pocket watch out and placed it on the table. “I carry this with me because you were my first love. And we were good friends. I regretted our time was cut short.”

I stared at the pocket watch, and memories of our time together came roaring back. My heart swelled and nearly burst. He was right. We had been good friends, then later, something more. But it had been innocent. Never going further than stolen kisses down by the river. He’d never cared how I made my living, understood that ladies without families didn’t have a lot of opportunities, and that I did what I had to do. But it hadn’t been part of our relationship and he’d never made me feel like it was an issue.

What we’d had was sweet, and had I never spotted him with Ophelia, I’d have had warm memories of him all these years with no regrets. What had really hurt was the idea that he’d lied to me. That all along he’d had a thing with Ophelia. If he was telling the truth now, then I’d spent the last ninety-odd years being mad only because he’d been trying to protect me.

“How do I know you aren’t making all of this up just to get me on your good side? So that maybe my forgiveness will get your shift back?” I asked.

He let out an ironic chuckle, got up from the table, and grabbed a nearby laptop. After a few keystrokes, he passed it to me.

“What’s this?” I scanned the page. It was a dossier on Ophelia going back the last one hundred and twenty years. All the places she’d lived. Known love interests. Her accomplishments as well as scandals.

“The Witchy Way. It’s the sister site to Shifters Secrets. Nothing is private anymore. It’s like IMDB for paranormals.”

“I see.” How did I not know about this? I guessed being a ghost meant I missed quite a lot of technological updates. I took a moment to scan Ophelia’s history. She was currently living in North Carolina, had a long, long string of partners, though she had never married. Then I found it. Back when Diesel and I had known each other, right about the time he’d left, she’d been linked to him, but then had moved to Savannah where she’d immediately hooked up with a warlock from the United Kingdom. It had lasted two years before a curse rendered him impotent.

“Yikes,” I said and pointed to the sad fact. “That sucks for her.”

“And him,” Diesel added.

I laughed and immediately felt bad. “That’s not really funny.”

“Not for him, but for her it is. She’s a manipulative bitch and if I never see her again it will be too soon.” He stood and tugged on my hand, pulling me up with him. “I was naïve back then, Ida May. Idealistic. I wanted to believe the best in people. I thought I’d see you again; that I’d have another chance with you.”

I stared up at him, my insides melting. “You wanted a chance with me?”

He brushed my unruly hair behind my ear, his touch sending tingles straight to my toes. “I was more than a little intimidated by you back then.”

I couldn’t help the stupid grin from claiming my lips. “Why?”

He let out a bark of laughter. “Didn’t you know I was a virgin?”

“You have got to be kidding me.” I actually took a step back, putting space between us.

“Hey.” He tugged me back, this time pulling me in so close that my body was pressed up against his. “I was only seventeen.”

“Seventeen!” I’d only been twenty-four, but still. That was quite the age difference back then.

He chuckled. “I knew nothing. But one thing I did know was how beautiful you are.”

I flushed at that.

“And I’m definitely not a virgin now.”

Oh holy hell. Desire heated me from the inside out and my pulse started to race. Diesel certainly wasn’t that sweet boy I’d known back then. No. He was all man now, the kind that made panties melt. Or would if I had any.

“And don’t think I don’t know what you were up to in the tub last night.” His voice was husky, full of lust. “I nearly lost my mind when I heard your self-satisfied moans. It was all I could do to not rip the door off and take you right then and there.”

My face flamed as fire crept over my cheeks and I thought I’d die on the spot from total embarrassment. “Well, I...you know. It’d been a long time.”

“And even longer since you’ve been touched by a man. One who has spent literally decades imagining what he’d do to you if given the opportunity.”

My throat went dry and when I opened my mouth, no sound came out.

His whiskey eyes started to glow with liquid heat and his smile turned wolfish as if he was going to devour me.

I nearly came right there in his sweatpants.

“You turned me down last night,” I finally managed to say.

He pressed his thumb lightly to my rapidly beating pulse then traced the line of my neck, sending shockwaves through my veins. “Only because I wanted to be sure you didn’t regret this. That it wasn’t the booze talking. And that you wanted this with me, not just anyone. Because, Ida May, I’ve been waiting a lifetime to live out my fantasies with you.”

“Oh goddess,” I breathed. “Yes. Yes to it all. Now.”

Those eyes turned gold with my words, and then he swept me up in his arms and kissed me.