Derek laughs at that, but it’s a warm, pleased sound. He squeezes Bitty again and then lets go to retrieve his own jeans. They’re tight, like most of his pants, and he has to wriggle a bit to get them up his hips. His Henley comes next, and he reaches back to tuck the tag in. “There’s nothing wrong at all with your people suit, Bitty.”

He knows that Bitty doesn’t seem to have all that much confidence in himself, and Derek knows how that can be. He wants to help if he can, and it’s not as if he’s telling a lie. Bitty is attractive with a body to be proud of.

“But I sort of need to be in the people suit to talk to my friends and do my jobs,” Derek says, chuckling a bit as he leans against a tree to pull his socks and boots on. “And the longer I spend as a wolf, the more the animal takes over. So it’s good to be human. Besides, all I had was the people suit for twenty-four years. I’m used to it.”