"You aren't bad yourself." Elizabeth skimmed her hands down to his buttocks, which were still cupped by his jeans. She usually liked to hook her fingers through his belt loops, but this time, she slid them into his back pockets.
"I could grow to like this," Ronan said. "But I'm getting a little frenzied."
"The frenzy again?"
Ronan snaked his thumbs under the elastic of her bra, finding a soft cushion of woman beneath. "A Shifter's curse, the mating frenzy. When it comes upon us, we'll do anything to hole up with our mates and not come out until it's over. For days. Or weeks."
"Good."
Ronan warmed. "Good?"
"Means you'll be too busy to go to that stupid fight club."
"Maybe." Ronan's blood was hot with need, his skin starting to bead with sweat. Elizabeth was lovely, and soft, and damn sexy in that bra. Choosing between lying with her for a week or fighting a smelly Shifter wasn't difficult. Ronan ran his fingers around to the back of her bra and fumbled with the hooks. "I'm not good at this."
Her smile made her eyes soft. "Don't tell me you're inexperienced."
"I've never been with a human woman, no." Ronan finally worked the two catches free. "I think I've been missing out."
Elizabeth took her hands from Ronan's pockets and slid the bra straps from her shoulders. Her breasts came into view, round and full, tips dusky. She had another tattoo, he discovered, a tiny one just below her left nipple--a perfectly formed little fairy with finely penned wings. He lowered his head and kissed it.
Elizabeth's intake of breath made him warmer still, and he licked where he'd kissed.
"That hurt when I got it done," Elizabeth said in a near-whisper. "I thought I was crazy. The lady who did it for me, though, she was a real artist."
"I like it," Ronan said into her skin. He moved his mouth upward and caught her areola with his tongue.
Elizabeth stood perfectly still, sensations pouring through her as his mouth did its dance. Her body was open and hot, the space between her legs relaxed and wanting him.
She unhooked his belt and pulled it open then popped the button of his jeans. Ronan came up, his eyes holding the same longing she felt. He quickly pulled off his boots then unzipped and got rid of the jeans, pulling his underwear down with them.
Elizabeth had seen him naked before, but this time was different. Before, he'd been shifting, a warrior, protecting her. Now he was a man, bared to take her to bed.
She ran her hands down his chest, over his flat abdomen, and stopped when she reached the hardness of him. Elizabeth became needier still as she closed her hands around it.
"So the rumors are true," she said. "About the extra inches."
"Every single one of them, sweetheart."
She wanted to laugh. "You're full of yourself."
"No, you are full of myself."
"Shithead."
Elizabeth rose on her tiptoes, still holding on, and kissed his mouth. Ronan made a noise of enjoyment as she squeezed him, and his answering kiss took her breath away.
No more holding back. Ronan yanked open her jeans, the top button flying across the room. Before Elizabeth could move to assist, he had the jeans down, hands deftly removing her high-heeled half-boots at the same time. Next came her black satin panties that matched her bra, his large hands warming her legs.
Now she was bare, and so was he, standing body to body. He kissed her as he scooped her against him, lifted her, and carried her to the bed.
He stripped back the quilts, laying her on the sheets before he climbed into bed beside her. Elizabeth slid her hand again to his very erect shaft, knowing exactly what she wanted to do. She came up on her knees and coaxed him onto his back, then she straddled him, sitting back on his shins so she could keep rubbing him with her hand.
Ronan curled his arms behind his head, watching her with intense eyes while she stroked him. She could tell he was holding back, keeping himself from reaching for her, while waiting to see what she'd do.
"Lizzie-girl," he said, voice raw. "You're going to kill me."
Elizabeth gave him a sly look. She leaned down and licked his navel, then let her tongue glide down, all the way down. She traveled the length of him and closed her mouth over his tip.
Not for long. Ronan growled, a sound that came from the depths of him. He dragged Elizabeth up and over onto her back, cradling her the whole time so she came down softly on the mattress. He parted her thighs with one large knee, and then he was over her, the strong shaft she'd stroked sliding into her.
Elizabeth arched her body, rising to meet him. He pushed inside smoothly, she so slick for him, that it was nothing but astonishing pleasure.
Ronan's eyes flickered, becoming the lighter color Shifters' eyes seemed to go when they wanted to change. But he didn't shift. He filled her, his muscles moving as he kept his weight from crushing her, even now fearing to hurt her.
Elizabeth hooked one leg around him, gliding her foot up to his firm buttocks. Ronan kissed her as he loved her, hot, needy kisses. She tasted his loneliness and his longing, his hope that perhaps his loneliness was at an end.
At times in the past, when Elizabeth had lain with a man, she'd felt alone and disconnected, even in the middle of sex. With Ronan, she was connected, not just physically, but with a warmth that ran through her heart and through her blood.
She whispered his name, and he looked into her eyes, far gone in feeling. Elizabeth's body opened to his, and the same feeling came to her. They were whole, joined, like two streams of fire that ran together to become one.
And then Elizabeth's thoughts dissolved into pure feeling. The intensity of them crashed over her, erasing fear, pain, isolation . . . everything gone. She was with Ronan, shielded from the world, from everything but this joy.
She rose to her climax on a wash of white-hot pleasure, hearing her voice ring out, Ronan's joining it. They rippled together, Ronan riding her, his kisses hot and primal.
They loved for a long, long time, until manic heat slowed to loving warmth. They fell back to the bed, mouths meeting, hands moving, each taking and giving, until all was quiet, and they drowsed together on the rumpled sheets.
*** *** ***
A long time later, Elizabeth pried open heavy eyes to see Ronan sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at something in his hand. No, he was tapping something, which glowed. Elizabeth rubbed her eyes and saw that he held a phone.
"You're going through my pockets now?" she asked.
"This was on the floor." Ronan moved his thumb to scroll through lists of phone numbers. "Must have fallen out when we were ripping off each other's clothes. But this isn't your phone."
"I know that." Elizabeth traced the arcs of the Celtic tattoo on his back. "It's Julio Marquez's."
Ronan looked back and down at her, his eyes shining in the garish light from the phone. "And you have it, because . . ."
"I lifted it when we went by him in the parking lot. I thought it might be useful." She lay down again, keeping her fingertips on Ronan's back. "No, to be honest, I was being a pain in the ass. My way of spitting at him."
"I think you're right though--this will be useful," Ronan said. "Very. Julio makes a lot of phone calls. Most recently to someone named . . . Casey."
Elizabeth froze, her blood like ice. "Zach Casey," she whispered.
Ronan turned all the way around, getting on the bed with her again. "The guy you ran away from?"
"I told you, Ronan. Please." She closed her hand around his arm, feeling her fears pour over her. "Don't go near him. I think I'd die if I lost you."
Ronan clicked off the phone and laid it on the nightstand. "It looks like our friend Julio already called him. I'll make three guesses what he talked about."
"Damn him. Why can't he leave me alone?" Elizabeth wasn't sure if she meant Marquez or Zach, but it didn't much matter.
"He will," Ronan said. His voice held none of its usual banter, the humor he hid behind. "I'm willing to bet that this fight is Juli
o's dastardly plan to get back at you and at me. So I'm going to spring his little trap and bring along some secret weapons of my own. And I'll need your help, so don't come over all damsel in distress on me."
"I'm not scared for me; I'm scared for you," Elizabeth said.
Ronan went on, unworried. "I need to talk to Spike, and I need to talk to Sean. And I promise you, Lizzie-girl, after tomorrow, you won't need to be afraid anymore. Of anyone." He kissed her, the heat of their lovemaking lingering in him. "Do this with me?"
Elizabeth scrubbed her hand through her hair, making the red-streaked chunks stick out. "Goldilocks was pretty resilient, I guess."
"I heard she shacked up with the papa bear, and they lived happily ever after."
Elizabeth frowned. "I don't remember that version of the story."
"How about we discuss it? Sean's probably still up, but I hate to disturb his mate by calling him now. He'll wait."
"Discuss it how?" Elizabeth's fears didn't go away, but a pleasant warmth made them recede a little. She was safe from Zach Casey in Shiftertown, no matter what Zach or Julio might think.
"How about we bag the discussion?" Ronan put his hand on her waist and half rolled onto her, warming her like the best of blankets.
"Sounds good to me," Elizabeth said, and all conversation ceased.
*** *** ***
Saturday was the busiest for Elizabeth's store. Ronan wanted her to stay in Shiftertown, but Elizabeth refused to hide and miss her best sales day of the week. They were warned now to look out for Zach, she said, and again, she wasn't going to let fear ruin her life.
Ronan scented Elizabeth's adrenaline running high as she opened the store, but only innocuous human customers came into the store, followed by Glory and Rebecca, who took a long time over their shopping. Elizabeth knew she was being babysat, but she said nothing about it.
Spike and Sean came in through the back to speak to Ronan, but no one was doing any carpentry today.
"Sure, I can get you in to the Shifter fights," Spike said to Ronan. They stood in Elizabeth's office, door closed, Elizabeth out front with her customers and Glory and Rebecca. "Everyone likes fresh blood. But I never heard about a champion sponsored by Marquez. He can't be local. Did you get his name?"
"Julio didn't say." Ronan leaned on the desk and thought of Elizabeth curled against him in the night, her body fitting so well with his.
"Not good," Spike said. "You gotta watch yourself in these places, Ronan. The only rules are that you stay inside the ring and don't use a weapon. Other than that, anything goes. It's Shifters letting out their wild."
"You think I can't be a little wild?" Ronan asked with a mild grin.
"I think you haven't been in a long time. Escorting drunk humans out of the bar is different from going up against a tiger-wildcat who eats raw steak for breakfast and is dying for a fight."
"I bet he could win with just his breath," Ronan said. Sean chuckled.
"Take it seriously, Ronan. These guys are seasoned. If Marquez has a champion, it means he's won a good share of the fights. He won't be a walkover."
"I've watched a couple of these matches," Sean said. "I believe him."
"It's not to the death though, right?" Ronan asked. "I don't want to be killing a guy with a mate and cubs who need him."
Spike shook his head. "Not to the death. We all want to go home afterward. The refs call it when a Shifter can't get up again. But things can get pretty bad." He looked at Sean. "I don't think you should go at all, Sean. A Guardian will make people nervous."
"Marquez also might decide that a fight to the death is what he wants," Sean said. "What if one of them pegs it, and there's no Guardian handy?"
Spike looked uneasy, but Ronan thought he knew why. Not because Sean might be needed, but Sean might tell Liam about Spike doing the fights. And no one wanted to piss off Liam.
"Don't worry," Sean said to him. "I'll be incognito, and I won't tell my brother."
Elizabeth's voice came from the door. "I thought you'd come here to talk him out of it, Sean."
All three of them jumped like guilty teenagers as Elizabeth walked into the room.
She was unhappy, that was obvious, but Ronan took in her jeans and tight red top, her high-heeled half-boots, the streaks in her hair that matched her shirt, and felt his mating frenzy stir. The lines of the butterfly peeping over the top's neckline reminded him of the beautiful little fairy on her breast. For a moment, whatever Sean was saying went fuzzy.
"I'm here to help you in a different way, lass," he thought Sean said. "With me trusty laptop." He'd set it up on Elizabeth's desk. The laptop looked plain, low-end, but Sean's fingers skimmed the keyboard, and screens began to pop up under his touch. "You're going to tell me everything about Rachel Sullivan and her little sister, and they'll go away, forever." He wriggled his fingers a few inches above the keys. "Like magic."
"Forever." Elizabeth stared at the laptop, a strange expression on her face.
"No one will ever connect you with her again," Sean said. "And no one will be able to track you from that name--or that name from your current one. You'll have been Elizabeth Chapman from birth. Is that who you want to be?"
Elizabeth stilled, staring at the laptop as though it would leap from the table and devour her. Her need for touch, for reassurance, screamed itself at Ronan.
But Ronan made himself stay where he was, though he had to clamp his arms across his middle to keep himself from going to her. She had to make this decision on her own, uninfluenced by Ronan, or Sean, or Julio, or Zach Casey.
Elizabeth drew a long breath, gaze flicking from the laptop to Ronan.
"Yes," she said.
*** *** ***
Elizabeth heard Ronan follow her out into the alley, where she'd gone to calm herself, to try to master her sudden dizziness. Inside, Sean was erasing--somehow--all trace of who Elizabeth used to be.
Ronan stopped beside her, leaning broad shoulders back against the wall, resting his booted foot against it. He said nothing and didn't reach for her. The man knew how to comfort simply by standing there.
"How can what Sean's doing help?" Elizabeth asked. "No matter how careful I was, Pablo Marquez's girlfriend found me out. How can Sean stop someone else from putting together the same information?"
"Because no hacker can out-hack a Guardian," Ronan said in a low voice. "Don't ask me how they do it. It's a secret known only to Guardians, and I'm not one, thank the Goddess."
"Why should he do this for me? If he's caught . . ." Elizabeth said the last in a murmur, glancing at the other closed doors in the alley.
"Sean, caught? You'd be amazed at what he and Liam get up to. Not to mention their dad."
"I don't want you going tonight, Ronan. I heard what Spike said." She looked up at him, big as a wrestler, no softness about him. "But you're not going to listen to me, are you?"
"Oh, I'm listening, Lizzie-girl."
"But you'll do it anyway."
"It's a good chance to get Marquez and his threats out of your life. Sean can help you with his laptop, me with my fists." He slanted her a look that made her remember his warmth in the night and the way she'd felt safe in his arms. "I'm pretty damn good at what I do."
He was, though she knew he didn't mean sex. "You're not even supposed to leave Shiftertown," she said, still in the low murmur. "Let alone go to some barn in the middle of nowhere."
"Even more of a challenge."
She let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm grateful for what Sean's doing, but erasing my info won't hide me from Zach. Julio's already contacted him."
"Elizabeth." Ronan faced her, resting his hands on the wall on either side of her. "You never have to worry about the Marquez brothers, or this Zach, or anything they might do to you, again. Whatever they do, it won't touch you. We've got your back."
No one but Ronan had ever said that to her and meant it. Ronan's eyes held nothing but sincerity, his vast strength like a barrier between her and the world.
&nbs
p; "Why would you all do this for me? A week and a half ago, you barely knew me."
Ronan leaned closer. She'd never be able to duck away from him before he could close his arms around her, and she didn't particularly want to.
"I mate-claimed you," Ronan said. "That makes you one of us. You might walk away later, and we'll let you, but we won't let anything happen to you. You've become an honorary member of my clan, of Ellison's pack, of Sean and Liam's pride . . . until you become a full member of my clan." He came closer still and nuzzled her. "I'm hoping that happens soon."
"No pressure," she said, but she smiled.
"Nope." He nuzzled her again and kissed her softly. "No pressure at all."
"I'm coming with you tonight," she said.
"Well, yeah, I hope so. Wouldn't be the same without my mate-to-be cheering me on."
"Who says I'll cheer, Bear with Large Ego?"
"You will. And when I win, you'll be all over me."
"In your dreams."
"Oh, yeah," Ronan said. "And sweetie, trust me, I have some great dreams."
* * * * *
Chapter Fourteen
The makeshift arena for the Shifter fights was at the end of a dirt road a long way north and east of the 290. Elizabeth hung onto Ronan as he guided his bike down an FM road, then a county road, and finally an unmarked road where the pavement ended after only a few feet.
At the end of this dirt trail was an abandoned farm tucked among bushy trees, ponds and stock tanks shimmering in the moonlight. The barn was an incredibly long metal building, rusting now, built to store hay for a ton of cattle.
The hay was long gone, along with the livestock that had eaten it. Now the barn smelled rusty, musty, and muddy. But tonight, with fires blazing in barrels up and down its center, it was alive with animation and excitement.
Elizabeth tasted the anticipation as she walked in close behind Ronan. Behind her came Spike, wearing a muscle shirt that showed off his completely inked arms. He had beautiful tattoos, drawn by a true artist, colors bright and flowing. Ellison came behind him, in his usual cowboy boots, black button-down shirt, and Stetson.