“I’m not most men. And I’m not backing out.” He gave her a very serious look. “But you can’t keep anything from me. If this is going to work, even on the most basic level, we have to be honest with each other.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “I agree, but again, that comes down to trust and right now…I don’t trust you yet. Just like I’m sure you don’t trust me. And until we get to that point, you can’t expect me to just go spilling my guts to you.”

He rested one hand on his holstered duty weapon. “No. You’re right. If this is going to work, then we—I—have to work at it. Anything worth having is worth working for.”

Her brows rose. “You think this truce is that important?”

“I think you are.”

She swallowed while her insides did a weird, fluttery thing. “Oh.”

“Starting tonight, I’m going to work on showing you that.”

“How?”

His eyes narrowed a little. Like he’d figured something out. “I’m going to woo you.”

He was going to woo her. That was unexpected. She thought about how she could make him fall for her so hard that the truth about Charlie wouldn’t change a thing. She’d just give his wooing right back to him. She lifted her chin and stared right back at him. “I like the sound of that.”

“Good.” His thick brows knit in seeming concern. “Just because you’re a sure thing, you shouldn’t be treated like one. I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking this arranged marriage for granted. I’m not always so good with words but this way I can show you.”

She put her hands on her hips and cocked one out to the side. “I like that you’re willing to put in some effort to romance me. Do I get to make requests?”

“Sure.” He made a face. “Like what exactly?”

“I don’t know yet. But don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to carve my name on the hood of your GTO.”

He cringed. “Is that a thing?”

“No, and I would never want you to do something that sacrilegious as proof of your affections.”

“That’s a relief.” He smiled. A half-smile, but the corners of his mouth were going in the right direction so she wasn’t going to nitpick. “So…romance. And wooing. And pursuing. Not exactly my area of expertise, but…” He shrugged and seemed deep in thought. “I was an Army Ranger, I’m sure I can figure this out.”

She held out her hand. “Then it’s a deal.”

“What’s a deal?”

“You woo me, I’ll trust you. And together we’ll figure this marriage thing out.”

“And finally have peace between our families. Agreed.” He took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled her toward him, causing her to lean into him. “You have little spots of chocolate batter all over you, you know.”

He was rock hard and smelled like the woods on a rainy evening. She sucked in a breath, inhaling more of his intoxicating scent. What had he said? Something about the cake batter. “I hope you like chocolate.”

“I love it.” His mouth found her jaw.

She closed her eyes and leaned into him a little more. He didn’t budge. “I’m…so…oh…glad.”

His mouth went lower, nibbling off the chocolate splatters as he went until he worked his way back to her lips and kissed her properly. The sweetness of the batter lingered on his tongue as it slid over hers. She moaned softly.

It had been a long, long time since she’d been this thoroughly kissed or had this much man to cling to. A long damn time.

Her body surged with need, fueled by the impending full moon. Judging by the grip of his hands and the possessiveness of his mouth on hers, he was feeling the same thing. When he broke the kiss, they were both panting.

“I should go back to the station.” He pulled her along with him as he shuffled backward toward the steps, eyes golden and driving her mad.

She nodded and pointed toward the kitchen as she went along. “And I should get that cake in the oven.”

“I’ll, uh, see you at seven.” He walked them up the stairs and back into the house.

“For dinner.”

“For dinner,” he repeated as he finally let go of her with one more quick kiss.

But even as he headed out to the squad car, she had a feeling dinner wasn’t all that was on the menu.

“I said I’d woo her, which she seemed to like. But…” Hank propped himself on the edge of Bridget’s desk in the tiny closet of a room she called Howler’s office. “I don’t have a clue where to start.”

Bridget snickered. “You’re such a man.”

“Which is why I’m here. Can you help me or not?” He raised his brows to punctuate the questions.

“Of course I can help you. I’m a bartender. It’s practically like being a relationship therapist. Also, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a woman. I know what works and what doesn’t. What’s the plan for tonight?”

“She’s making dinner and then I said we’d go out for a run.”

Bridget’s brows shot up. “Hello. A little romp in the woods three nights away from a full moon? You know where that’s going to lead.”

“We’re not having sex.” Hormones ran especially high close to a full moon, but they needed to burn off the building energy or it was only going to get worse. Granted, sometimes a good run was like foreplay, but this was strictly going to be about releasing excess energy. “Not tonight. Not tomorrow night. Maybe not even for a while after we’re married. It has to be when she’s ready.”