So maybe his kil ing her cat hadn't been out of meanness, but more from his instinct to hunt. Until that thought hit, she hadn't realized she'd been trying to find a way to forgive him.

The silence grew awkward.

"And when you're not turned, what are your gifts?" she asked.

"Heightened hearing, smel , strength, and agility."

"So it's the same as a vampire?" She recal ed Del a pointing out that vampires were the more powerful species, not that Kylie honestly believed her. Del a was biased. Then Kylie suddenly remembered one of Del a's gifts. "Can you hear my heartbeat?" Could he also tell if she was lying?

"Depends. Our strength and senses increase the closer we get to a ful moon. But for the most part, our hearing is tuned to listen for intruders moving in and not so much for things such as heartbeats."

She recal ed he'd jumped out of the tree the night of the campfire. It struck her as odd that he could do that but a wolf couldn't. Then again, she supposed there were lots of benefits to having fingers and thumbs.

"The fence is right here." He pushed the loose edge of the barbed-wire fence back, and motioned for her to slip between him and the opening of the wire. "Be careful not to get your shoulders cut."

The gap was smal . Kylie squeezed by him and her breasts brushed up against his chest. The warm and tingly sensations shot through her so fast that she started to jerk away.

Before she moved, he must have sensed her tension and he pul ed her against him. "Careful." His head lowered and his gaze met hers. They were so close that his nose brushed up against hers. "You're going to cut yourself on the wire."

She nodded and slipped through. The fence could have been wired with electricity for the tingles running through her body. As soon as she was clear, he stepped through and dropped the wire. Their gazes met again. Somehow, she knew he was thinking the same thing she was-about how close they had been to each other. She could stil feel the blood flowing to her cheeks.

"It's this way." He motioned her along, but she saw him take in her face-no doubt she was blushing. In just a few minutes, they got to the creek bed. He studied the water. "The water's up a bit," he said. "Usual y, it's only trickling down. The tracks are right across the stream. It's only a foot deep, but you might want to take your shoes off if you don't want them to get wet."

Kylie sat down and removed her tennis shoes and socks and rol ed up her jeans. He stood over her and watched. She looked up. "You're not going to take yours off?"

"Wet shoes don't bother me."

She stuffed her socks in her shoes and set them away from the water. The splashing sound of water fil ed her senses. Looking toward the stream, she asked, "Is the waterfal close to here?"

"It's a mile, but on camp property."

"Have you ever been there?" she asked.

"Once," he said.

"Was it as scary as everyone makes it sound?"

"A little," he said. "But I didn't see any shadows." He chuckled.

Was that because he couldn't see ghosts?

"You ready?" he asked, when she sat there thinking.

"You bet." Standing up, she dipped her toes in the creek. "It's cold." She smiled.

"Yeah, but in the afternoon when the sun is at its hottest, it feels great. Up about a half a mile there's a place that's deep enough to swim in. I try to go there at least once a week."

She got a vision of him swimming, and remembered her dream.

He stepped into the water and reached back and took her right hand in his. She looked down at his fingers locked around hers, her mind stil trying to push the image of the two of them standing in waist-deep water, her breasts pressed against his chest.

"The rocks are slippery," he said, fol owing her gaze.

"I think I can handle it." She pul ed her hand free.

"When you fal on your ass, you'l be sorry."

"I won't." She smirked at him. But on her very next step, her foot and her pride hit a slick spot and without warning her legs slid out and up and she landed on her butt with a big splash.

"Crap." The cold water soaked through her jeans to her butt. Laughter, very deep and very contagious, rang out. He stood over her, his arms crossed over his wide chest, his blue eyes dancing with humor.

"Stop it." Almost laughing herself, she cupped her hand, caught a handful of the water, and tossed it at him. He laughed harder, but then offered her his hand. She took it this time.

She was on her feet and went to take another step when she slid again, only this time she didn't go down alone. She landed on top of him, her face buried in his shoulder. She raised her head, and watched the cold water rush over his shoulders. Then she saw him looking down at her, stil smiling. And looking good doing it, too.

"That's what you get for laughing at me." She grinned.

His chest expanded beneath her as if he took in a deep breath. And suddenly she didn't even feel the chil of the water-al she felt was the warmth of his body against hers.

"And this is what you get for laughing at me." He pul ed her up a few inches until his lips touched hers. She didn't try to stop him. Oh no, she actual y climbed up higher on his chest so the kiss wouldn't be awkward. His hand moved up to the back of her neck. He shifted her head slightly so her mouth was more accessible to his. The slightly rough texture of his shaven cheeks felt wonderful. His tongue moved inside. Slowly at first, then without hesitation. Warmth built inside her and she couldn't seem to get close enough to him. Everything felt different from the kisses and caresses she'd experienced with Trey.