“That happens to us a lot.”

“It shouldn’t.” She reached out and placed a comforting hand over his. She looked just as surprised as he felt by the contact.

For a moment he forgot to breathe. As he stared at her delicate hand covering his, his chest constricted when the image of that hand covering another part of his anatomy flashed in his mind. He shook his head. If he let his thoughts stray in that direction, he was going to be in serious trouble. She snatched her hand back before he could read into it.

“This is a nice place.” Lame small talk, but he had to think of something to say when all he wanted to do was reach out and touch her.

She nodded and a real smile played across her lush mouth. “I love Kelly’s. The bar and even these booths were shipped over from Galway more than twenty years ago.”

“Have you ever been there?” he asked. The way her voice softened when she said Galway was interesting.

“No. One day, though.” Her voice was wistful, hopeful.

Damn, if it would make her smile he’d take her there himself. For a monthlong vacation. As a rule the Irish didn’t have problems with shifters. Or any supernatural beings, for that matter. Except maybe vampires. He and December would stay in bed-and-breakfasts dotted along the coast. Maybe hop on over to Scotland. It had been too long since he’d seen his homeland. That was the one nice thing about the mountains of Fontana: lush, rolling hills.

“How old are you?” Her abrupt question brought him back to reality.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve heard that you age a lot slower. I just wondered how old you were—that’s all.” She idly ran her finger up and down the condensation on the outside of her beer bottle.

For a split second he thought about lying to her because he didn’t want to freak her out, but knew he’d regret it. “I’m a hundred and eight.”

Her blue eyes widened. “So what happens if you …”

“If I what?”

Her face flamed. “What if you want to settle down with a human or something? I mean, I’ve heard of humans mating—is that the right word?—with shifters, but I’ve never actually known anyone who has. Do they just grow old and you don’t?”

Damn, the woman was inquisitive. Not that he blamed her. Shifters didn’t share their mating process with those they weren’t intimate with. He chose his words carefully. “When humans and shifters bond, the humans’ aging slows to match their mates’.” Liam was sure there was some scientific explanation behind it, but all he knew was that Mother Nature had a way of working things out. He wouldn’t know how to explain it to her even if he could. It was like he knew planes could fly, but he sure as hell couldn’t explain how they stayed in the air. Once that bond was in place between a couple, the two were linked for life as bondmates. It probably had something to do with the biting claim the males gave to their females, because simply mated couples didn’t link the way bondmates did. If there was no official bond, the female’s aging didn’t change. Well, unless the human female got pregnant. Or at least that’s what he’d heard. It had been centuries since he’d even heard of a human and shifter bonding.

Her eyebrows knitted together even tighter. “Bonding? Is that different from mating?”

They were edging into dangerous territory.

She shook her head before he could brush off the question. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I’m asking you all these questions and we haven’t even finished our first drink.”

“No worries. It’s only natural you’d be curious. Do you think we could order dinner before delving into the secret shifter handshake?”

His lame joke brought out a bright smile and laughter from her. Which was exactly what he craved from this woman. He simply wanted to get to know her. Find out what she liked to do when she wasn’t working. What she liked in the bedroom. The other shit could work itself out later.

He gripped his beer tighter in his hand and scooted closer to the back of the booth. That shifter was so wrapped up in December, he doubted he’d sense him nearby but he wasn’t going to take any chances. And he really didn’t want December to see him. He knew her and her brother and didn’t want to get caught in a conversation with her. Not with a shifter so close.

He’d heard that their kind could sense fear and loathing and everything else in between. If he wanted to kill the rest of the Cordona pack, he’d have to tread carefully. Going after Ana the other day at the hospital had been a stupid mistake, but now he planned to finish what he’d started.

It was only a matter of time. And planning. These new males on the ranch added a wrench into his plans.

“Can I get you another beer, darlin’?” the waitress asked, jarring his attention away from the booth across the bar.

“Wh … oh yeah. One more, then bring me the check, please.”

“You got it.”

As she sauntered away, his eyes were drawn back to December and that hulking shifter. He wanted to go over there and empty his gun into that abomination’s heart. Not that it would do any good.

Silver bullets were damn near impossible to come by except for in law enforcement, and even then humans had to register their purchases. If he was caught with silver bullets on his person he’d be in a shitload of trouble. Unfortunately he didn’t know how to make them himself. Months ago he’d briefly entertained the idea of searching out some APL members, because he’d heard a few of them had moved to the area, but he didn’t want to work with a bunch of redneck hillbillies. Even if they likely knew how to make their own bullets, he still couldn’t do it. They had ties to those neo-Nazis and he wasn’t a racist. He was better than that, and he liked to work alone.

As he watched the shifter across the bar he narrowed his gaze. Shifters were freaks. Animals. They should be the ones in hiding. Or better yet, exterminated altogether. He could feel the rage starting to burn through his veins so he pulled out a twenty and dropped it on the table.

The other beer forgotten, he slipped out of his booth and out the back door. Soon he’d wipe out the Cordona women; then he’d take out Taggart’s pack. Shifters would realize their kind wasn’t welcome here, and things would go back to the way they used to be.

* * *

Connor slid off the horse and loosely handled the reins as he led the giant animal toward one of the stables. It had been years since he’d gone riding and he’d forgotten how much he enjoyed it. The past few decades he and Liam had been busy buying and selling real estate and everything else had taken a backseat. After he’d left Ana he’d decided that the next time he saw her, things would be different. He would be different. When he’d first met her he’d had enough to live on—only what he needed, which hadn’t been much—but it hadn’t been enough to take care of her the way she deserved. Now he could take care of her and their pack indefinitely. It wasn’t just a matter of pride but a matter of survival. While he’d be happy living in the woods with nothing more than the fur on his back, Ana deserved a hell of a lot better than that.

Some of the horses whinnied as he strode into the barn, but didn’t make too much of a fuss. He’d separated from his men earlier and they’d each ridden to different points along the property. There were still a few places he needed to check out, but he planned to do that with Ana. He wanted some alone time with her and if he remembered correctly, she was most at ease when she was riding. He’d use any advantage he could get to loosen her up.

As he pulled open the door to the empty stable, Ryan stepped out of the neighboring one. “Hey, Connor.”

Before he could respond, Lucas peeked out from behind Ryan, wearing jeans and an oversized jacket. The blond-haired little boy had a scowl on his face.

“What’s he doing out?”

Ryan shrugged. “He and Vivian decided they didn’t feel like being cooped up anymore.”

Connor scrubbed a hand down his face. “Has Ana met them?”

Ryan nodded and his lips curved up slightly. “Yep.”

Shit. He’d wanted to wait until tonight to tell Ana about the cubs. Bringing in potentially unwanted cubs could cause problems, but he hadn’t been willing to abandon Lucas and Vivian.

He didn’t think Ana would truly mind, but he remembered how prejudiced her father had been. Convincing her to join with his pack was one thing, but adding a jaguar cub to the mix was something else entirely. Cats and dogs didn’t exactly blend well, and ideals about species separation ran deep among a lot of shifters. In that respect, they weren’t much different from humans. “Where’s Vivian?”

“Cooking with Ana,” Lucas grumbled. “And now she doesn’t want to play with me anymore.”

“She’s with Ana?” He couldn’t contain the shock in his voice. The jaguar cub didn’t warm up to many people.

Ryan nodded again. “She’s glued to her side. Oh, Ana wanted me to let you know that we’re all having dinner in the main house tonight. Seven sharp. If I were you I wouldn’t be late.” Chuckling under his breath, he ruffled Lucas’s hair. “Come on. You can help me brush down Connor’s horse.”

Connor pulled off his Stetson as he headed toward the house. Before facing Ana, he needed to clean up. And he figured it wouldn’t hurt to let her cool down. He’d promised to be honest with her, and then she found out about the cubs this way.

He should have known better. Hell, he did know better. His lie had been destined to bite him in the ass. Worse, Liam had been right. He should have just sucked it up and told her. Sighing, he pushed open the front door and was immediately accosted by her subtle scent. She might be in the main house at the moment, but her essence surrounded him here.

Scenting her, seeing her every day was something he could quickly get used to. Half a century of pent-up sexual frustration was about to come raging to the surface, and he feared he’d already screwed things up. In the darkest part of his mind, the place he kept locked up tight, he wondered if Liam was right.