"Sounds nice," Elizabeth said wistfully. "I never have time to go to places like that."

"I'll take you. You'll make time."

"Then you won't be by yourself. I thought that was the point."

They'd cleared the crowd and were now relatively isolated under tall Texas oak trees. Ronan stopped. "I won't mind being alone there with you."

Elizabeth let go of his belt loop and turned to face him. It felt right to put her hands on his waist, to feel the warmth of his big body through her fingertips.

Ronan's eyes went dark. "I'm going to kiss you, Elizabeth," he said, a growl in his voice. "I've been dying to kiss you all day."

"Yeah? What stopped you?"

"Human gang leaders and too many nosy Shifters."

"There aren't any around right now." Trees screened them from the Shifter gathering and the bonfires' glows.

For answer, Ronan leaned to her, his breath touching her mouth, his lips following. He kissed her softly, as though afraid he'd break her, all the while holding her with hands so strong.

Elizabeth pushed up on tiptoes to reach him. "You're so tall," she whispered. "Can't you shrink a little?"

Ronan's smile warmed his eyes as he slid his arm behind her bu**ocks and lifted her off her feet.

He held her securely in powerful arms, his chest like a wall. Elizabeth wrapped her legs around his waist, arms around his back. Much, much better.

They were face to face. Ronan brushed his lips to the corner of her mouth, then licked there. "I'm not used to kissing humans," he said. "Hell, I don't kiss many Shifters. I don't want to hurt you," he finished, brow furrowing.

She nuzzled his cheek, liking the roughness of his whiskers. She kissed his nose where it had been broken. "I'm pretty resilient."

He lost his smile. "No, you're not. You're so vulnerable. Elizabeth, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not killing that idiot with the gun and then taking you back to Alaska with me. It's beautiful there. I had a cabin in the woods, right next to this stream that roars all the time--even in the winter you can hear it gurgling under the ice. It's an amazing place. You'd love it."

"But they forced you out, didn't they?" Elizabeth asked softly. "That's why you're here."

"I got rounded up when Shifters were outed twenty years ago. A couple of people knew there was a Shifter living back in the woods, and one told the police." He sighed. "I'd counted them as friends, but one sniff of a reward for Shifters . . ."

"I'm so sorry." Elizabeth's fury rose for whoever had betrayed him. She remembered the witch hunts for Shifters twenty years ago, though she'd been only a kid at the time, with too many problems of her own to pay much attention. When humans had realized that shapeshifters were real and living among them, they'd reacted with paranoia. Instead of trying to understand the Shifters, they'd rounded them up, killed some, done experiments on others, confined them, slapped Collars on them to control their violence, and heavily restricted them. Only because of the actions of some equal rights groups were Shifters allowed to live at all.

How anyone could have handed over this wonderful, warmhearted man to be locked away, far from his home, Elizabeth didn't understand. Ronan craved solitude but gladly gave it up to help those in need, with no other incentive than he felt bad for them. She'd learned, the hard way, the difference between people who practiced charity to look good and the people who were truly caring.

"I told you, Ronan," she said. "You're one of the good ones."

"Aw. Bet you say that to all the bears."

"Just the big wrestler ones I want to kiss."

"Shut up and kiss me, then."

Ronan held her in arms that never moved as their mouths met, touched, explored. Elizabeth's body heated, and her limbs relaxed with longing.

She wanted to be alone with him, and she wanted to make love to him.

The thought stunned her. Elizabeth broke the kiss, her face an inch from his, their breaths tangling. But then, maybe it wasn't so astonishing. She wanted to be alone with him, so see his body bare for her, to feel his weight on her as he made love to her. Ronan made a noise like a growl, his eyes holding a hunger that matched her own.

They heard the kids playing, Olaf's small roar as he ran with the other cubs, Rebecca admonishing, "Stay close to the porch, Olaf."

Ronan touched his forehead to hers. "No one will be at the house," he said.

Elizabeth nodded, her need for him overwhelming. Ronan unlocked her legs from around him and slid her to her feet. She felt the hardness of him on the way down, and her eyes widened. Ronan was a big guy, and she'd heard rumors about Shifters. Knowing she'd soon see whether they were true made her shiver in excitement.

They walked away from the crowd, hand in hand, Elizabeth's heart beating in time with their swift pace. She liked this, the two of them wanting the same thing, united in their unspoken longing. They needed privacy for it, but they also knew that they could return to friends and family anytime they liked.

Ronan's house was dark, but he didn't take Elizabeth inside. Instead, he led her down the side path to the Den.

When he turned on the light, Elizabeth saw that this was a decidedly masculine hangout. The big room contained a television, kitchenette with a big refrigerator--probably well-stocked with beer--shelves stacked with games, a couple of card tables, and a gigantic bed covered with an equally gigantic quilt.