Zander led the way along the path, which was shielded by tall trees. The lake was quiet today, no one fishing in the open, no one in the shadows on the far side.

The resort’s cabins were as private as advertised. The one Zander took her to was nestled in a fold of the lake’s bank. Trees rose behind it but none obscured the view of the water. A small gate led to a well-kept flower garden in front, the cabin itself more of a cottage than a rustic dwelling. A Dutch door let in air and light, and the windows all faced the lake. No other cabins were in sight.

Zander opened the door with a key and went inside, looking around first before he signaled Rae to follow. The cabin was good-sized, with a wide living room, a kitchenette, and a bedroom and bath behind another door. Rae could move in here with no problem at all.

The resort had left a basket of fruit, cheese, and chocolate truffles, along with two bottles of wine, one red, one white. A bouquet of red roses stood in a vase next to the basket.

“They must have given you the romance package,” Rae said, running her hand along the sinuous bottle of chardonnay. “They think we’re a couple celebrating an anniversary or something. Lucky mistake. I could go for some wine, cheese, and chocolate.”

“It wasn’t a mistake,” Zander said. He dropped his bag and swords on the sofa and closed and locked the door.

Rae’s heart began to thump. “It’s a tight space for swords in here.”

Zander turned from the door and moved in that quick way of his so that he was in front of her, his eyes black like a starless night. “Right now, I don’t give a fuck about swords.”

“No?” Rae asked, her voice soft, though her heart banged and warmth rode low in her belly. “What do you care about?”

“Being with you.” Zander slid his hand behind her neck and closed his fingers around her braid. “You looking at me with those gray eyes makes me want to throw the rest of the world to hell so I can kiss you.”

Rae tried to think of something poetic in response as she rested her hands on his chest. All that came out was “Uhn.”

Zander’s eyes glinted. “You say the sweetest things.”

“You’re a shit,” Rae whispered.

“I know,” Zander said, and kissed her mouth.

* * *

This kiss was different somehow, even from their encounter last night or anything that had happened on the boat. Zander no longer held back, no longer kept himself in check. He was her protector, but now he would be her lover.

As was meant to be, something inside Rae whispered.

Zander’s hard mouth opened her, his hand on her braid not letting her go. He’d been tender before, no matter how much they’d played but now he stripped that tenderness away, until Rae knew only his strength, his fire.

Rae gripped his shoulders, holding herself up, her fingers not making a dent in his hard flesh.

He shoved one hand under her shirt and tank top, lifting both up and away. Rae hadn’t bothered with a bra this morning—she often left it off for ease of shifting—and soon she was bare to his touch.

She wanted to see him as well. Rae tugged at his T-shirt, pushing it up until it was tight across his shoulders. She broke the kiss to lick his bare chest.

Zander rumbled with growls. He slid his hands under her backside and lifted her against him. Rae’s breasts crushed to his hard chest, and his long braids brushed her skin, the beads cool.

Zander’s kisses turned fierce, his mouth moving on hers. The spread of Rae’s thighs fit well against the hard ridge in his jeans, making her want all fabric between them gone.

He turned with her in his arms until Rae’s back was against the cabin’s painted wall. Zander’s body was hard, smooth skin over strength, his muscles tightening as he steadied her. His dark eyes held depth that drew her as he lowered his head to kiss her neck, then bite it.

Rae rocked back as Zander nibbled and suckled, his teeth catching in her Collar.

“I want this off of you,” he said, his breath scalding. “I don’t care whose turn is next—I’m going to make Eoin jump you ahead of the line. I don’t want anything touching you that can hurt you.”

He tugged at the chain with his teeth as though he’d rip it from her neck then and there. He then kissed where he’d bitten with gentle lips and feathered kisses to her shoulder.

Rae ran her tongue across Zander’s throat, which was bare of any Collar. His pulse beat under her lips, Zander free of all restraints, a wild man who kept himself in check by his own strength. Un-Collared Shifters didn’t necessarily have to go feral, he was teaching her by example. For all his seeming craziness, Zander had tight control of himself.

That control was being pushed now. He turned with her again, as though dancing her through the room, until they ended up in the tiny bedroom.

The room dimly reminded her of the forward cabin on his boat, not much in it but bed, she thought as Zander lowered her to it. No tossing her down, only a gentle thump to the mattress. Rae was on her back, hips on the edge of the bed, already arching up to him in need.

Zander slid off her boots then unfastened and unzipped her jeans with steady fingers, tugging them down and off. He pushed Rae back with a strong hand as she reached for her underwear, then hooked his fingers around the waistband and pulled them from her himself.

He stood up as she lay naked and exposed, the quilt warm against her back. Zander’s eyes softened, and all the harshness left his face.

“You are so beautiful.” For a moment he stood lost in wonder, self-restraint no longer needed. “I don’t think you understand how beautiful you are.”

Rae flushed, aware she was lying there in nothing but her socks. Zander’s slow gaze on her body made her feel beautiful—no longer the awkward Lupine who never could keep up with her agile and graceful Feline brothers.

Zander’s look told Rae he liked what he saw of her curved but compact body, flyaway dark hair, and eyes that were plain gray, without the brilliant colors or soulful darkness of other Shifters’. He ran his fingers across her throat, down between her breasts, and over her belly to the swirl of hair between her legs.

“Beautiful and strong,” he said. He slid his hands to the creases of her thighs and nudged her legs apart, coming to stand between them. “Staying away from you has been hell.”

Rae swallowed, the feeling of his jeans against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs hot and exciting. “The mating frenzy can be hard to fight,” she said in a hoarse whisper.