“I reject that line of reasoning. Someone’s got to say no. You just happened to hear from the no first. I bet the rejection doesn’t even have anything to do with you either, but some deadline bullshit or something.”

She sighed. “But…if they were so quick to reject, it makes me wonder if any of the others will want me.”

“But you aced your MCAT this time. You had a kickass score. And fantastic grades on top of that. You’re brilliant and any school that doesn’t see that is too idiotic to deserve you.”

She leaned her head on my shoulder, released my hand to wrap her arms around my waist. I turned my head to steal a kiss in her hair, a rush of feelings tightening in my chest.

I hated to see her so disappointed. I knew how hard she’d worked to retake that test and in some ways, her previous failures had really shaken her confidence. She sighed. “You’re pretty good for my ego. I think I’ll keep you around for a while.”

I cleared my throat and decided it best to get her mind off the negative thoughts. “So, how about some good news? Did I miss out on anything interesting?”

She straightened and grinned at me. “I’ve been dying to tell you, actually. The hidden quest in Dragon Epoch was discovered! It’s all over the blogs.”

I froze. My heart started hammering and I’m pretty sure the blood drained from my face. That quest was my baby and I was just hearing this now? Weird. I swallowed a lump in my throat and watched her as she smiled up at me.

Then she frowned as she watched me. I was frozen. Speechless. The emotional reaction was shocking even to me. She pulled away. “Shit, are you okay? I’m sorry. I was just kidding.”

The rush of relief hit me with the force of a ton of water from that waterfall. I was almost dizzy with it. As she watched me, her forehead puckered into a frown. “I’m so sorry. That was fucking mean of me. I had no idea you’d—What was that, anyway? You almost looked…panicked.”

I looked away and shrugged, trying to brush it off. I barely understood the reaction myself. How the hell could I explain it to her? “I dunno. Just upset I’d missed it. You’re right…it was fucking mean.”

She pulled me into a hug again. “I’m so sorry. I feel awful.”

I drew her against me, wrapped my arms around her. Then I bent my head to nibble on her ear. “You know this means you’ll have to make it up to me later, right?”

She laughed. “I feel so bad.”

I continued kissing her ear. “Don’t. Just make sure you make it up to me later,” I said, my voice thick with meaning. I pulled her tighter against me so she would have no doubt what I was saying. As I kissed her, I tried not to examine that strange relief I felt at the news that she’d been kidding. The quest was still safely hidden away. It wasn’t time yet. All was good.

When we got back to the hotel that afternoon, she left me with the order to shower and visit the barber. I milked the joke about keeping the new look for as long as I could before I drove myself insane with the itchiness. I did manage a few more whisker-rubs, though, while I still had the chance. But I was anxious to shed the fur. Especially because I was horny as hell and she probably wasn’t going to let me near her when I was looking like B.C. the caveman.

When I got back from the barber, she was in my room getting ready. She called from the bathroom while I changed clothes to get ready for dinner. The four of us were supposed to meet in the downstairs dining room at seven. But when she came out, ready to go, I knew we were going to be late.

Because—guh—she was gorgeous. She wore some kind of wraparound strappy dress that clung to her lithe frame. It was dark red and next to it, her pale skin gleamed.

No. We weren’t leaving until I did something about my instant hard-on. I swallowed, looking her over.

She laughed. “You have a beard tan!”

I rubbed my smooth cheek. “Do I? Well, at least it’s some tan. Better than I usually get.”

“I bet you feel five pounds lighter without all that hair.”

I grinned. “Come here and give me a real kiss now.”

She hesitated, likely having figured out what was going through my mind at that moment as my eyes landed on that sacred valley between her breasts. “Okay, but we don’t have time for anything else, unfortunately. We have to be downstairs in five minutes,” she said.

“Sure. We’ve got a whole night after dinner. You still owe me for that mean little joke of yours,” I said, motioning for her to come to me. It wasn’t a lie. After dinner I’d be more than ready for go number two—and probably three. Maybe four if I had a thick steak and dessert to fuel me at dinner. The only thing that could possibly slow me down would be exhaustion. It sure as hell wouldn’t be lack of desire.