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  She moved slowly forward, but stopped when they made a space between them so she could greet them both at the same time. Fear shot through her and her ears went back. She couldn’t put herself between the two large cats, not when they were so close together.

  Stepping to the side, she approached Colm and rubbed her face against his, taking a deep breath and drawing his scent into her. The scents were wrong. It was because of the herbs she’d taken, but it didn’t stop her annoyance. The cat part of her wanted to know how he really smelled.

  “You still smell different than a Santir.” Colm growled. His tail swished sharply and she saw him stiffen.

  “That’s not going to change anytime soon.” Cami kept the tone of the mewls and grunts even, but she wasn’t backing down from this.

  Their alpha tendencies were going to have to adjust to the fact that everything wasn’t going to go their way. She eased back and approached Linc. Rubbing her muzzle along his, she inhaled as she greeted him. She purred and her tail twitched in a friendly greeting. She turned and walked away, looking back over her shoulder to see what they were doing. Greetings were done. She was ready to run.

  “He’s right.” Linc’s lips pulled back, baring his teeth. “Your scent is wrong. Better adjust fast. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to play nice and not throw you into a tub and scrub until it’s off you.”

  “I can tell you two aren’t at your most diplomatic when you’re in this form. I’m going for a run. If you want to come, you can, but no more growling or threats. I want to enjoy this.” She narrowed her eyes on the two males and then stalked forward, her gait stiff.

  Linc strolled over to her in a graceful glide of feline muscles. “Don’t be angry. You have to realize that our patience isn’t inexhaustible. There will come a time when we can’t wait any longer. Hopefully by then, you’ll know you can trust us even if you don’t like our decision. We don’t want to take your things and push you too far, but we can only deny our instincts so long.”

  Colm joined them, but he didn’t come up on her other side. He strode up beside Linc. Linc’s words made her nervous, but their actions reassured her. It was hard to see them as a threat when they were doing everything possible to make sure that she was comfortable with them. Arguing with them wasn’t going to solve anything. There were no easy answers. She really wanted to run and explore, so decided to let the comment pass without a reply. As to trusting them, in some instances she did, but this was her life they were trying to run as they did their Thent.

  “For now, don’t brood about it. Everything will work out as it should. Are you ready to run?” Colm’s suggestion sounded more akin to an order, but the last part was really all that she needed to hear.

  She nodded and trotted forward, looking over her shoulder to see if they’d follow. She didn’t mind running alone, but they’d said that they wanted to run with her. They bounded forward and Colm dashed in front of her. She followed, but after a while she got tired of simply tagging along with them. The urge to hunt and chase pounded through her. Linc moved up beside her, but didn’t stop. He raced up to match Colm stride for stride.

  That was more than enough of merely following the leader. She slowed and stopped. Looking around, she thought about calling to them to let them know she’d decided to take a different direction. They kept going and didn’t seem to notice she’d left them. The two tiron were gone before she could decide what to do.

  Looking around the area, she tried to decide where to go. A run through the forest didn’t ease her tiron. The animal within needed the hunt and chase. She didn’t see anything that she could chase right off, but what she heard was interesting. The faint sound of something moving slowly through the forest drew her attention.

  Her ears pricked up and swiveled as her anticipation surged. She crouched and crept off the path. She moved slowly and silently as she edged closer to the sound. As the noise of hooves grew louder, she crouched near the base of a flowering bush. Peering between the dark-green leaves, she spotted an arilla. The long-legged, hooved animal grazed on grasses and flowers growing in patches of sunlight. Its short, black fur rippled with each move.

  Cami’s muscles bunched and her vision narrowed to the animal eating so peacefully. She knew the animal had more endurance than she did, but if she could catch it by surprise and take it down before it bolted out of reach, she had a good chance. Her claws dug into the ground and her lips pulled back from her teeth as she leapt forward.

  * * * * *

  Linc glanced in back of them, curious to see if Cami was having fun. He hadn’t heard anything from her since he’d run up to join Colm. He skidded to a stop and growled to get Colm’s attention. She was gone. At first, it seemed unreal. She’d been following them.

  “Where is she?” Colm trotted up beside him.

  “Would I be standing here staring at the trees and bushes if I knew? I don’t even know when she left.” Linc’s lips pulled back in a snarl.

  “We’ll find her and don’t get snappy with me. I didn’t know she’d go wandering off the first time our attention wasn’t on her either.” Colm slashed a narrow-eyed look at Linc. “Let’s start backtracking and find the point where she left us. There’s no mistaking that muddled scent of hers. It shouldn’t be too hard to find her.”

  Linc had to agree with Colm about her scent. It wasn’t similar to anything he’d ever smelled. They had to go back farther than he expected. He wondered why she hadn’t simply called out if she wanted to go some other way or do something more than run. That was something he’d be asking her when he caught up with her. Just because they were sure that Laed and Kynar weren’t on the planet yet didn’t mean that it was safe for her to go running around alone. On top of that, he wanted to be with her.

  They found the spot where she’d left the trail and followed the scent into the forest. Soon they found the spot where she’d crouched beneath a bush and the mixed scent of her and an arilla. It didn’t take long to discover why she’d left the trail. She’d wanted to hunt. He remembered her saying something about hunting last night, but she hadn’t mentioned anything this morning.

  As they followed, they found the arilla had managed to outrun her. She’d turned in another direction when the animal escaped. They tracked her toward the river. Linc thought they’d be tracking her for a long time until he spotted the brown fur among the tall grasses near the side of the river. She crept slowly toward a small herd of animals drinking from the river.

  No way was she making that kill when she’d pulled the disappearing stunt. Linc roared. The animals tensed and bolted. Cami came to her feet, and even from this distance, he saw her eyes narrow and heard the rumble of a growl. He didn’t want her furious at him. Still, it was better than letting her believe it was perfectly acceptable to ditch them and go hunting on her own without even a “do you want to come”.

  She stalked up to them and looked from one to the other. “What did you do that for?”

  “You didn’t invite us.” Colm grunted and padded over to her. He rubbed along her body and then stepped back. “We like to hunt too.”

  “You seemed more intent on running when I left.” She purred and her tail flicked.

  Just from that movement, he knew she still wasn’t happy. Linc moved forward and greeted her, rubbing his cheek along hers. “Because we thought that’s what you wanted to do. We thought you wanted to run and let your tiron play for a bit. All you had to do was say that you needed more than that.”

  “I like to run, but running along a trail gets boring. I wanted to hunt and chase.” She sat down on her haunches and tilted her head at him. “I don’t mind playing, but we weren’t playing.”

  “You’ve done both. It’s time to go back. Next time, tell us and we’ll all enjoy it. We might not be expecting danger right now, but you need to take precautions and that means at least one male needs to be with you when you’re outside of the walls.” Colm stared at her and then headed in the direction that would get them to a
trail leading back to the fortress.

  She rose to her feet and followed Colm, but her tail flicked back and forth in short, agitated strokes.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cami walked beside Colm as he led her back inside the walls of the fortress. A scowl curved his lips. The expression seemed etched on his face. It was the first thing she’d seen when she’d opened her door this morning and it hadn’t changed the entire time she’d been with him. She didn’t know why he was here if he didn’t want to be near her. Supposedly, he’d wanted to introduce her to a woman named Tori, but Tori hadn’t been home. Colm hadn’t been prepared to look or wait for the woman.

  He hadn’t said more than a few words to her the entire morning. It was getting on her nerves. If he really wanted to be doing something else or be with someone else, she wasn’t holding him back. She glared at him as his hand settled on the small of her back and guided her up the stairs to the main doors.

  He slanted a look at her, but it was the only sign that he realized she wasn’t happy. His hand firmed and he guided her down the entry hallway and to a part of the Thent that she hadn’t explored yet. He pushed open a door. Ushering her into the room, he followed and shut the door. She continued to walk forward, but he stayed where he was and leaned his shoulder against the frame.

  “What’s this place?” She looked around the room.

  There was an ornately carved table and behind that two large chairs. A couple of lantern stands had been placed to the side of the table, but this didn’t seem to be the kind of room where someone would stay for a long time, even though it was rather large. An ornate rug ran up the floor straight to the table.

  “A private audience chamber. Sometimes we use it if we want to look at documents or maps or talk to someone privately.” Colm’s shoulders lifted in a negligent shrug.

  “What are we doing in here?” She looked around as she waited for him to reply. There weren’t any shelves or extra chairs.

  “We’re going to talk.” His voice was calm, but the way his feet braced apart said that he wasn’t moving until they had fully discussed whatever was on his mind.

  “What do you want to talk about?” She walked over to the edge of the table and leaned a hip against it.

  “Why are you so angry?” he asked.

  “Why do you think I’m angry?” She tilted her head and simply watched him. It wasn’t precisely true. She’d been a little frustrated and definitely confused, but she wasn’t furious.

  “It could be the glares and the simmering looks, but I think it’s the attitude you’re projecting with your body language.” He shook his head. “Remember that I’m not stupid.”

  She wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by the attitude she was projecting, since she couldn’t see what he saw. Maybe she had been a little stiff, but he hadn’t been talkative or nice.

  “And your distant attitude was so encouraging.” She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

  “Distant?” His eyes narrowed.

  “Yes, it’s obvious that you’d rather be anywhere but taking me to see Tori. If you didn’t want to do it, you didn’t have to. You could have told me where she lived and I could have asked one of the other warriors to walk me over there.” She straightened away from the table. Her hands bunched at her sides. Thinking about it was making her angry again.

  He straightened and was halfway across the room almost before she realized he’d started moving. His hands settled on her hips and lifted her off her feet. He sat her on the table and stepped forward until her knees brushed against his thighs. Her eyes widened and she stiffened. A little fear rose. He leaned down until they were almost nose to nose.

  “What did we tell you about jumping to conclusions?” His voice grated out between clenched teeth.

  “I didn’t jump to conclusions. You weren’t happy about walking with me. You didn’t say more than a few words to me while we were walking over there and you were frowning and barely even touched my hand. That doesn’t seem as if you want to be anywhere near me.” She pushed against his chest. He didn’t move backward, but he didn’t advance any closer either.

  “I wasn’t happy? You decided that because I wasn’t talking to you every step of the way that I was angry and didn’t want to be with you? You didn’t ask me if anything was wrong. You didn’t pause to think that you’re dealing with different men here. I’m not Linc.” His hand tipped up her chin. “That sounds as though you jumped to conclusions to me.”

  Well, put that way, it did. There wasn’t much she could say to defend herself, but she’d try. “I only went on what I could see.”

  “We told you to come to us before you started making assumptions from what you think or what you’ve seen. I know you think you know more about us than what you’ve learned from being with us. I don’t know what that is or if any of it is true. Maybe you’ll tell me about it sometime, but I wanted to be with you.” His thumb stroked along her jawline.

  “Then why did you seem so angry?” She wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not, but he seemed serious.

  “I wasn’t angry. My lips might have been in a straight line, but that didn’t mean that I was angry.” Colm shook his head. “You did make an assumption. I think you owe me an apology for that.”

  She licked her lips and saw his eyes lock on that movement.

  “Are you afraid of me?” His brows arched up in a direct challenge.

  “No,” she said the words quickly. She wasn’t going to let him think that she was scared of him. She wasn’t. A little cautious, well, she definitely felt that.

  She couldn’t let that challenge go unanswered. Some perverse part of her had to prove that she wasn’t some flinching little cub he could intimidate into backing down. She knew it wasn’t a good idea, but did it anyway.

  Cami straightened and let her hands rest against his chest. She felt the muscles shift beneath her palms. The warmth radiated through his shirt and drew her closer. She leaned in closer and brushed her lips over his jaw. The soft buss wasn’t enough. She wanted a taste of him.

  He remained still beneath her hands and that only frustrated and spurred her to push more. She wanted to feel his hands on her skin and his mouth moving against hers. Nipping at his lips, she sought to incite him to kiss and touch. He wouldn’t remain as unresponsive as a stone to her. The big man might be aloof, but she’d seen the hard ridge of his cock. He did want her.

  His mouth opened and she took full advantage. Her right hand stole up behind his neck and cupped the back of his head as she angled her lips over his. She ate at his lips. Colm moaned and leaned into the pressure. His tongue drove into her mouth. Desire erupted as his response became more intense. His teeth nipped at her lips before he sucked at the full lower curve.

  She squirmed on the table and tried to tug him closer. She needed to feel more than his mouth against her. Her thighs widened making a place for him. She ran her fingers over his chest and found his nipples. She plucked at one of the hard little nubs before trailing her hand around to his back.

  He groaned and his hands clasped her hips. One hand reached down to tug the end of the skirt above her knees. He stepped forward as he pulled her to the edge of the table. Her skirt rucked up to her hips with his advance. The hard ridge of his cock brushed against her pussy. She shivered. A ball of desire began tightening in her stomach and she tightened her legs around his hips. Her juices gathered and she knew they were probably moistening the bottom of her skirt.

  His hand slipped between their bodies and cupped her pussy through her skirt. He pressed and one of his fingers slipped between the folds and stroked against her clit. The feel of the fabric rubbing against that sensitive skin sent bolts of heat streaking through her. The pounding beat of her heart echoed in her ears.

  “You’re wet already.” His hand ground against her, pushing her arousal higher.

  She held on to him, almost panting for more. She kissed along his jaw until her lips brushed over his. The moment his lips o
pened, she kissed him hungrily. Her hips lifted into his hand, but he pulled his hand back. She wanted to ride those fingers until she screamed. He didn’t give her the chance. Her inner muscles clenched and the emptiness left her aching.

  Tearing her mouth away from his, she pressed her face to his neck to resist the urge to kiss him again. “Give me more.”

  He chuckled and began unbuttoning her shirt. “Not yet, Cami. Touch me. I want to feel your hands on me.”

  She began working on the buttons of his shirt. One caught and hung, frustrating her. Tugging at the shirt and pushing at the button, she tried to get it through the hole, but it popped off and flew across the room. She lost interest in it as soon as his shirt gaped open.

  Smoothing her hands over his chest, she took her time and explored his broad chest. The heat and rippling muscles beneath the skin fascinated her. If she didn’t burn for him, she could spend the day exploring his hard body. But she did and she wasn’t denying herself this taste. She scraped her nails across his nipples. Flicking at the hard beads, she hoped that the teasing touch sent shards of pleasure through him as it did her.

  He grasped one of her hands and drew it down to the hardened ridge pushing against his pants. “I want your fingers on my cock.”

  She untied the laces with fumbling fingers. The normal task seemed harder than it should be. The leather string finally fell free and his cock pressed the flaps outward even as she reached for his thick length. The moment her fingers curled around his shaft, he drew in a hissing breath. She dropped kisses over his chest as her hand began stroking. He groaned and his hips rocked forward into her hand.

  “That feels good.” His voice sounded even rougher than normal and the rumble seemed to roll over her body just as if it were a physical caress. “Tighten your fingers a little.”