The silence grew uncomfortable between them and Shannon had to look away from his intense gaze, wondering why he stared at her in that odd manner. It was as if he were trying to read her mind. Her legs around his waist started to ache and she relaxed a little, her body slipping down his torso a bit. His hands suddenly slid from their hold on her waist to cup her ass and lifted her higher.

Shannon gasped. “Do you want to let my butt go?”

“If you slide any lower it’s going to embarrass one of us. I’m holding you up, that’s all.”

“Embarrass?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “Fear turns me on and so do you.”

It took a few seconds for his words translate into meaning inside her brain. Shocked, she twisted, her head swiveling enough to glance over her shoulder and down their bodies. The movement pressed her lower half tighter against his stomach but she got a glimpse of verification that one turned-on male held her. The sight made her snap back around and her hair slapped him in the face. She gaped at him.

Anton blew her hair away from his mouth and one eyebrow arched. “You had to look, huh?”

Heat flushed her cheeks. “You can put me down.”

“I’d rather hold you until Jerry returns with my clothes. I don’t want to have to talk you down from the tree again after you’ve admitted to me that you have a tendency to climb when you’re afraid. You were about to tell me why you live alone. Don’t think I can be distracted. I want an answer.”

The glimpse she’d gotten of the guy’s lower region had shaken her. The reason for his strong grip on her ass to keep her from sliding down had been impossible to miss. He had a major hard-on. The sight triggered her fear of him again. The guy was big all over.

“Do you live with someone?”

His frown deepened, creating faint lines around his mouth. “No. I’m also not an unmated, attractive female. Stop stalling and explain why you aren’t protected.”

“I am,” she lied. “I just enjoy having my own apartment.”

A soft rumble of a growl came from his throat. Shannon tensed and her hands gripped his bare, hot shoulders a little more firmly. Fear inched up her spine at the irritated expression he gave her.

“I’m not totally ignorant of you felines or your ways. Your family would keep you close to make sure your males didn’t force you to mate with one of them. If you were ugly I’d chalk it up to none of your men being interested but I don’t buy that for a second. If you were in my pack the males would break down your door to get to you if you lived alone. Answer the question now and stop bullshitting me.”

Her heart sped up from fear but he obviously wasn’t going to let it go. He’d sworn not to hurt her, hadn’t so far, and she decided to be honest. “Okay. My father died in a fire and his family doesn’t know about me.” She lifted her chin defiantly. “I take care of myself.”

“Why don’t they know about you? You need to get in contact with them. Do you know anything about shifters?” Shock widened his eyes. “You need to be protected. It’s a miracle one of your males hasn’t forced you to take him as a mate. You’re not strong enough to defend yourself against any ass**le who wants you. Your family would make sure you ended up with a guy you wanted to be with.”

“I’ve never met another of my kind,” she admitted softly. Her shoulders shrugged. “They don’t live in this area. My mom moved us here to avoid them on purpose.”

“Why?”

Nerves caused her mouth to go dry. She wanted to look anywhere but at him. Instead, she forced her gaze to stay with his. “They’d kill me.”

“No, they wouldn’t.”

“Yes, they would.” She sighed. “My father had to flee from his family and knew if they found us we’d die. His mother helped him escape when their leader realized my father’s human blood diluted his abilities. They hate weakness and they kill for that. He could shift—my mother told me how beautiful he looked when he did—but I can’t take another form. If they thought he was weak…” her voice trailed off, allowing him to draw his own conclusions.

“Shit,” he whispered. “I didn’t realize how vicious cats were. When we have weak-blooded ones we tend to just protect them more.”

“When I was young, my father swore I smelled completely human. My mom promised me that I’d be safe and no one would ever know my heritage.”

“When did you lose your father?”

“Just after my fifth birthday.”

“When you hit puberty did anything change with you? Sometimes that can trigger it with mixed breeds.”

“I started craving raw meat. Mom took me into the woods to see if I could shift but it didn’t happen no matter how hard I tried.”

His hands on her ass tightened, adjusted her a little in his hold. “Fear would have triggered it as well. You can’t shift. I assumed you were younger until I got a closer look at your face. Some female teens have problems until puberty is over. The only other reasons that would prevent you from shifting are severe injury or drugs.”

“I guess that’s good to know but it doesn’t do me any good.”

He blinked a few times. “Your scent obviously changed. You smell of puma, your father’s breed, but it is faint. Any shifter could pick it up if they were within a few dozen yards of you. Can you pick up my scent?”

She inhaled. “You’re wearing cologne and whatever you wash your hair with smells kind of fruity.”

“That’s all you smell?”

She hesitated and then dropped her gaze to his throat. She leaned in, noticed when he instinctively jerked back a little, but then his body held still, allowing her near his neck. Her nose hovered very close to his skin while she took another sniff. She couldn’t detect much except for his cologne. It held a musky, wonderful aroma. She wasn’t able to pick up whatever he thought she should be able to scent. She tried again, this time brushing her nose along his skin to get a stronger intake of his scent. The hands gripping her tightened as he pulled her against his stomach more firmly. Her head lifted and she stared into his eyes.

“You smell nice but just the way a guy does to me.”

A soft sound came from his throat, not a growl, but close. “If you lick me to test my taste, you’re going to be in a world of trouble.”

His statement confused Shannon. “Why would I do that? Do shifters do that to taste people?”

The sound he made became clearer as he did it again, only louder. He groaned and turned his head, scanning the forest. “Come on, Jerry. Where the hell are you?” His hands relaxed on her ass.

Shannon decided he looked uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?”

His dark, beautiful eyes fixed on her. “Foreplay, kitten. That’s what you just initiated, but you have no idea, do you?”

Surprise shot her eyebrows up. “Really? Just sniffing at you?”

“Yeah. You’re wrapped around me too.”

“You could put me down.”

“And you could end up adorning the tree again. No. Jerry will come. We’ll just stay this way until then.”

“I’ll hold your hand. I am much calmer and I’m starting to trust you. I think I can resist the urge to leave the ground if I’m close to you.”

“If I put you down, you’re going to get a better view of me.”

Heat crept back into her cheeks. He didn’t need to expand on that. She said nothing but silently urged Jerry to come back with clothes for Anton. She dropped her attention to his chest, again noticing how broad and muscular he was.

“I take it you’ve never had sex with a shifter?”

“No.” She refused to meet his eyes, stunned he’d ask her such a crude question. “I told you, I’ve never run into another one.”

“That’s a good thing. You aren’t strong at all. That’s why I thought you were human at first.”

She met his gaze again. “I’m mostly human.”

“You are.” He turned his head, examined the woods, and smiled tightly. “Here he comes. Don’t be afraid. He’s not going to hurt you.”

Jerry had put on a T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of dirty sneakers. He walked into the clearing with Anton’s clothes hooked over one arm and keys dangled from his hand. The grin on his face spread wider.

“Did I interrupt?” Amusement laced his voice. “It looks as though I did.” He chuckled. “I see things are getting real hard around here.”

“Shut up, drop the clothes, the keys, and get lost,” Anton grumbled.

“You could hand her over to me.” Jerry moved closer. “We could share her. I’m past the urge to kill her but she sure is a pretty thing. I can think of at least five things I’d enjoying doing to her body.”

“You will lose a hand if you touch her. She’s under my protection and this isn’t what you’re thinking.”

“You obviously want to nail her so what’s stopping you?” Jerry halted in his tracks. “I’m wondering if they mewl when they are getting f**ked.”

“Keep wondering and keep on going,” Anton’s voice deepened. “Go.”

“Fine.” The other man dropped the clothes and keys, spun on his heel, and headed back into the woods. “It’s probably a good thing if you don’t screw her. Your mother would rather see you castrated than hook up with a cat.”

Anger appeared to have Anton seething. Shannon studied his features and fear crept back when he glared at her, giving her his full attention after his pack mate disappeared. His eyes had changed slightly, the shape of them noticeably different, and the hair along his jawline and upper lip looked suspiciously longer to her.

“Your face,” she whispered.

“I’m angry. Sorry.” He took deep breaths, the changes disappearing until he looked one-hundred-percent human. “It’s easier to lose control after a shift. The longer you stay in skin the easier it is to keep it.”

“Oh.”

His hands tightened on her but then he adjusted his hold, forcing her to release him with her legs when he pushed her away from his torso. Shannon gasped but stood on the ground. The quick view of a naked, aroused Anton left her holding her breath before he spun away. The guy had a well-proportioned body, big all over, and she couldn’t help but stare at his rounded, firm ass when he bent to retrieve the clothes.

He dressed quickly in a pair of black sweatpants and a navy tank top, keeping his back to her the entire time. He turned to face her after he had covered his body, his erection still visible since his friend hadn’t bothered to bring him underwear. Shannon jerked her gaze up, trying not to gawk at the tented pants.

“Let’s go. My boots will be with the truck. I’ll have to return your purse at a later date but I will get it back to you.”

“I won’t be able to get into my apartment if I don’t have my keys and my car is still in the parking lot of the grocery store. I need to¯”

“Get the hell away from me before I do something stupid,” he grumbled. “You said an apartment? Don’t you have a manager with a spare key?”

“Yes.” She hadn’t thought of that. Shannon nodded. “I even have a spare set of car keys at home. I locked my set inside once and it costs a small bundle to have someone come out to pop the lock.”

“Let’s go, kitten.”

“My name is Shannon. Why do you keep calling me that?”

Anton gave her his back as he walked away. “It’s a reminder to me so I don’t forget that dogs and cats don’t mix well.” He strode quickly for the woods. “Keep up.”