Ben sniffed. The scent of his mate surrounded him, soothing his wolf even as it made his cock sit up and take notice. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Dave picked up the menu, but not before Ben caught the big man’s shoulders shaking. Ben rolled his eyes and picked up his own menu.

He was so flushing this shirt.

After they ordered, Dave left the table to hit the men’s room. Ben sat back with a smile. So far, so good. Dave knew now why Ben had acted the way he had, rejecting him when he had no real reason to. Better yet, he was on the way to forgiving Ben.

Things were looking up.

Ben breathed in deep, happy to have his mate with him. The scent of Dave surrounded him, and his head whipped around, eager for the sight of the man walking towards him.

No Dave. No sign of him anywhere.

Ben sniffed again. Dave’s scent was strong, mingling subtly with his own. His eyes darted around the restaurant, a frown forming on his face. What the fuck?

Then it hit him. The shirt. The damn fucking shirt Dave had given him. Ben lifted the hem and sniffed.

Dave’s scent filled him, poured through him. If he’d been a cat he would have been purring. As it was he had the urge to rub that scent into his skin until it never came off.

Ben dropped the hem of the shirt and tried to figure out why Dave’s scent was so strong on it. Had Dave worn it? It didn’t have the feel of a shirt that had been worn often enough to pick up the owner’s scent. If anything, the butter-soft cotton felt brand new. So how had it gotten there?

Dave was winding his way back to him through the tables, a smile on his handsome face. Ben, for the first time in years, allowed himself the luxury of studying his mate. Those amber eyes were as huge as they’d been when he’d been a gangly teenager, dominating a stunning face that could have graced magazine covers. The light brown hair had never quite been tamed, the bangs falling into those gorgeous eyes, the ends brushing the collar of his T-shirt. And damn if he hadn’t grown into those hands. The guy was simply huge. The only man Ben had ever met who was bigger than Dave was Rick, and the Alpha was scary huge. The Luna was the only one who could look at Rick and think “cuddly”.

Ben fingered the edge of his T-shirt and stared at Dave’s chest. There was no way Dave could wear Ben’s new shirt without stretching it or ripping it.

The shirt fit Ben like a glove.

Dave sat. “Food here yet?” His eyes flickered to the shirt, a strange satisfaction in his gaze.

“You slept with it, didn’t you?” Dave’s eyes flew to his. The self-conscious panic on his face told Ben he was dead right. “That’s why your scent is so strong.” Ben couldn’t stop stroking the hem of his shirt. Every time he did, Dave’s scent wafted up to his nose.

“Oh, look, the drinks came.” Dave took a huge gulp of his soda and damn near choked.

Ben couldn’t stop the smile that came, watching his mate try not to die on soda bubbles. Dave said he’d had the shirt made. He wondered how long ago he’d done it.

How long had he held on to hope?

Shit. Looks like I’ve got a new shirt to wear to the next Pack meeting.

Ben picked up his own soda and took a swig. He couldn’t wait to get home and show off his new shirt. “So. What made you decide to come here for vacation?”

Dave grinned. “I’ve wanted to come here ever since I was a kid, but I finally decided to do it when I heard Rick and Belle had to be here for Max and Emma’s wedding.” Max and Emma, the Alpha pair of the Halle Pumas, had gotten married last April, and Belle had been one of her bridesmaids. That had been a year ago, and the way reservations went so quickly at the Contemporary Dave must have been planning this trip for months.

“Thinking of getting married here?” Ben grinned at Dave as the waitress set their dinners in front of them.

“Sure.” Dave batted his lashes. “You’d look gorgeous in a wedding dress.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “Oh please. You’d be the one in the dress, and you know it.”

Dave snickered. “Like we don’t know who the alpha male of this relationship is gonna be.”

“Yeah, fairy-light boy. That would be me.”

Dave shook his head sadly. “Pretty, yet delusional.” Ben choked on his fish. “Sorry. You’d look much better in white tulle than I would.”

“Don’t bet on it.”

“I got you into that shirt, didn’t I?”

Ben tried desperately not to laugh. “That was a one-shot deal, and you know it.”

“Do I?”

Ben didn’t respond to that. If wearing this stupid shirt brought this kind of happiness to Dave’s face then he’d wear the fucking thing every day. “There’s no way in hell you’re getting me in a wedding dress.”

“Wanna bet?”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that.” Dave waved his fork at him. “Sure. I’ll bet on it.”

Ben grinned. “You’re on.”

Ben shook his head. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Dave picked up the paddle and waved it at him. Damn, this was the best dream ever. He knew it was still a dream because Ben was actually wearing the shirt. Real Life Ben would have torn it to shreds. Hell, Real Life Ben would still be in the Poconos, pushing papers and doing who knew what. Dream Ben was playing with him, smiling and having fun. Usually Dream Ben begged forgiveness for all of two seconds before they had hot sex. He couldn’t decide which dream he liked more, but he hoped they wound up at the same place: mind-blowing orgasms. “What’s the matter? Afraid of a little smack-down?”

“As if. I just can’t believe we’re using air hockey to figure out which one of us gets to wear a dress.” They’d returned to the Contemporary after dinner and headed straight for the hotel’s game room. Or rather, Ben had followed Dave to the game room, seemingly ready for whatever Dave had in mind.

A short burst of laughter from a woman by a pinball machine had Ben’s cheeks turning red. “I am out of here.”

Oh, that was way too much like Real Life Ben. Dave had to fix that fast. “Do you smell something?”

Ben paused. “What?”

“It smells like…” Dave sniffed.

“Like what?”

“Chicken.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “Did you just call me chicken?”

“If the cluck fits.”

Ben glared and picked up the paddle. “You’re on, pansy-boy. Get ready to wear tulle.”

A brief but intense time later Dave stared at the score in disbelief. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. “I lost.”

“Yes, you did.” Ben’s arm draped around his shoulder and squeezed him close. “When you go shopping for your dress, make sure you pick one that shows off a lot of cleavage.”

The woman by the pinball machine laughed again.

“I’m not supposed to lose.”

Ben straightened up, the paddle dropping to the table with a clatter of plastic on plastic. “Dave?”

Dave gulped. Oh. Shit. His heart was pounding. The shot of fear and hope jolted his system, making him feel like he was going to throw up. “This isn’t a dream.”

Ben’s smile froze. “No. It’s not a dream.”

Dave felt like he might start hyperventilating. “You’re really here.”

Ben tugged Dave out of the arcade. “Breathe, baby.”

Baby? “You’re in the Poconos doing boring money shit. Not in my hotel’s game room acting like a mate.”

Ben winced. “No, baby. I’m here. Everything today has been real.”

Dave stared at the shirt straining across Ben’s shoulders. He’d been right. It fit the man like a glove. He rubbed his eyes, but the little dancing lights only intensified. “I need to get to my room.”

Ben’s hand rubbed down his back, attempting to soothe him. “Headache?”

“Not yet, but I’m getting an aura.”

Ben began hustling for the elevators like he knew what the hell that meant. Maybe he did; Dave didn’t have it in him to ask. Luckily they’d come back to the Contemporary for their impromptu air hockey game, so they weren’t far from Dave’s room. He needed his medicine, fast, or the rest of this vacation was going to go to hell.