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Even with spring drawing ever closer, it was still so cold in the mountains that it only took me a few hours during a night run to find a pond that had frozen over. Some of the pack members had started ice skating on the lake shore where the ice was thick enough, and I’d caught Marley watching them longingly more than once, but every time I told her to give it a try, she told me she’d never learned and was too embarrassed to fail in front of everyone.
So, in the few hours I could find when we weren’t slammed with other obligations or when we weren’t together, I bought us some ice skates and hid them out by the pond I’d found. Then, on the day of the surprise, I told her I had a date planned for her that evening.
“What? A date? Really?” she asked me with a smile. “Do we even have time for that?”
“I think we ought to make time, don’t you?” I said. “Things are only going to get more hectic when Gramps and the rest of them arrive tomorrow—and then we have the fundraising party this weekend. You told me yourself that we have to make sure we’re prioritizing ourselves and taking care of our own needs, right?”
Marley sighed and nodded, giving me a smile as she wrapped her arms around me. “So, when are we doing this? What should I wear?”
“Something warm,” I told her as I smoothed my hands down her back and cupped them beneath her pert, perfect ass. “We’re going to be outside.”
“Cole,” she said, looking over her shoulder, “there are people around. Maybe you shouldn’t cop a feel?”
“They don’t mind,” I said, bending over to nibble on the shell of her ear before whispering. “Do you mind?”
That was what was important, of course. I knew well enough how packs worked. It wasn’t uncommon to be very over-the-top with public displays of affection. The more shifters concentrated in one space, the easier it was for habits to slip into a bit more of a feral social situation. We saw it in Georgia, though I wasn’t sure if Marley always noticed those things. She was pretty good at staying focused on the issue at hand, even while people were blatantly making out by the bonfire.
“Are you sure people don’t mind?” she asked a little nervously.
“Take a look around,” I said. “Is anyone even batting an eye?”
She did just that, looking around the foyer where people were taking care of various tasks like bringing in groceries from the recent CostClub trip or play-fighting with the pups. No one was even paying any attention to us.
“I guess not,” she said.
“So,” I said, just in case I was reading her wrong, “do you mind it?”
“I guess not,” she said again, her face flushing an adorable shade of pink as she cupped my face, stepping up on her toes to kiss me. I kissed her back, stealing a little taste of her tongue on the sly.
“Good,” I said, giving the soft curve of her backside a little adoring slap. “Because I love this perfect little behind of yours.”
“Not too little, I hope,” she teased.
“The perfect size, actually,” I said, doing a firmer knead of both cheeks. “Two perfect handfuls.”
A whistle came from behind her, and I looked up to see Travis with a crate of wine bottles on his shoulder. A sharp pang of embarrassment shot through me. Not mine, I realized. Marley’s.
“Baby—” I began.
“I’ve got something to take care of upstairs,” she said, sliding out of my arms. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Marley,” I tried again.
She waved a quick hand, dismissing the line of conversation. Her face was bright red. I knew as she hurried away that her fleeing had less to do with being called out and more about escaping before her embarrassment folded in on itself and invited Travis to tease her for being embarrassed in the first place.
I watched Marley vanish up the stairs before giving Travis a frustrated glare. “Thanks a lot, ass hat,” I growled.
“What? I’m supposed to watch you feeling up your girlfriend and just keep my mouth shut?”
“My wife,” I said. “And actually, yes. Especially when your best friend just managed to convince her that it’s fine if people see me touching her ass.”
“My apologies, brother,” he said. “I will give you a bottle of this wine to make up for it.”
“I bought that wine,” I pointed out.
“Technically, the government bought this wine,” he said.
“Technically, you did not buy it,” I insisted.
