When I woke up the next morning, Derek was spooned up tightly behind me. My legs were tangled with his and one heavy arm wound around my waist. I snuggled back against him and thought about everything that had happened the day before.I wasn't quite as panicked about our impending trip. Being with Derek had calmed both me and my wolf about what might happen. Surely he wouldn't be sleeping this soundly next to me if he were worried. He certainly had more experience with the Council than I did. If he thought things were going to be okay, then maybe they would be. Either way, I resolved, I was going to enjoy the time I had with him.Derek might be sleeping soundly, but parts of him were awake. I wiggled my butt against him and he wedged himself even more firmly against me. I pulled one of his hands off my waist and settled it firmly on my breast. His hand twitched, but Derek was still deeply asleep. Maybe I could change that.I reached behind me and slid my hand up the back of his thigh

When we were back in our room, getting ready for our respective dinners, Derek asked me about Samuel. I didn't see any reason to lie."I've known him for a while now. We met online, playing a video game. Eventually, we became friends. I was going to be in his part of the country on business, so I asked him if he'd like to go to dinner and he said yes.""We dated for a few months, and did the long-distance thing, but neither one of us was happy. I was downright miserable. Turns out he felt the same way, but we were such good friends that we were both more upset about losing the friendship. We made a vow to make it work as friends.""It took some time and it wasn't easy. We had a couple of really nasty fights, but we worked through it. He's been my best friend for a long time now. We used to see each other three or four times a year and talked every day on the phone. When my mom died, well, Samuel got me through it. He's my family, not by blood, but by heart."Derek nodded, but I could

I wanted to go straight home to Oregon, but in his rush to find me Derek hadn't stopped to pack our bags or check us out of the hotel. So we flew back to Las Vegas, instead. We stayed there overnight, simply to catch up on sleep. Derek had called Robert before the SUV had even pulled away from the curb at the Bellagio and they'd spent the next ten hours tracking Samuel and me down. All in all, he'd spent nearly forty hours awake. There was no way I was allowing him to get on a plane to Portland without some sleep first. Noelle had decided to stay in Las Vegas for a few more days and I had a sneaking suspicion it was to spend time with Samuel . Derek and I were finally on our way back home after flying to Portland. "Derek, did you know the President was a wolf?" He grinned at me, "Nope. Didn't have a clue. CanUS doesn't publish a membership roster. I imagine we're supposed to keep that piece of information to ourselves. I know we have wolves in high places, I just didn't realize how