Sean, my mate. Mate of my heart.

Shifter bodies were made to respond like this, needing to mate until they couldn’t walk. The Fae in her couldn’t eradicate the wanting. Or maybe it was Sean himself who brought out that need in her.

The thought opened her eyes, opened her body, and made her cry his name in climax. Sean came seconds later, his body slick with sweat, his eyes wide and dark blue. The sword sang its joy at their joining, the threads twining within her and with the mate bond. Andrea had no idea whether Sean heard it too, because before she could ask him, he kissed her deeply, pinned her hands above her head, and started loving her all over again.

“These pancakes are great, Sean.” Ronan put his big elbows on the table and shoveled in another mouthful. “Mmm, blueberry. My favorite.”

Sean, at the griddle, ladled batter in a careful circle, filling in the middle as the pancake sizzled. His eyes felt sandy, his temper just as gritty. His mating frenzy hadn’t let him sleep much nor had his worry for Andrea, though he was pleased that her nightmares hadn’t returned last night.

The shower running upstairs told him Andrea was awake ... and wet and soapy and naked. Why Sean was downstairs cooking breakfast for Ronan, he wasn’t sure.

“I know things are tough right now,” Ronan said around bites. “But it’ll work out.”

“Whist, aren’t you the confident one?” Sean said.

“And I know that when you start saying things like whist that you’re pissed off. I’m trying to help. Don’t take it out on me.”

“Sorry. Didn’t sleep well.”

“I know you didn’t. I heard all that crazy, banging makeup sex. You don’t exactly keep it down. Here’s my advice: Just let the mating frenzy take over completely, and you two won’t have time to argue. Or the energy.”

Sean had almost forgotten about what he and Andrea had been mad about last night. Oh, yeah, her at the bar. Ellison. Didn’t seem to matter as much today. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

The bathroom door slammed open upstairs, and Sean and Ronan fell silent, Ronan to eat, Sean to cook and fantasize about a wet and naked Andrea.

Andrea came down the stairs in a T-shirt and jeans, her damp hair tousled. “I smell pancakes.”

Ronan held up his last forkful. “Sean’s wicked good with them.”

Sean flipped the batch from the griddle onto a plate and put it on the counter. Andrea smelled good, far better than the pancakes, and the sight of her mussed hair shot his temperature high. Her black ringlets were thin corkscrews against her face and neck, and Sean wanted to burrow among them, licking her still wet skin.

“That’s yours,” he growled, pushing the plate at her.

Andrea took it with a nod and carried the plate to the table. Sean had already laid out butter and syrup, knives and forks, juice and coffee. He was at least good at feeding his bloody stubborn potential mate.

Andrea poured syrup over her pancakes and licked her finger. Sean froze as he watched her catch the sticky drop of syrup on her tongue. His throbbing erection, which had risen when he’d pictured her in the shower, tightened still further.

“That’s the solution, is it?” Andrea asked Ronan as she licked her lips. “Sean and I should have sex until we can’t remember why we’re mad at each other? Or anything else?”

Ronan grinned and swallowed his last mouthful. “Hey, it would work for me. You have good hearing, Lupinegirl.”

“I’m part Fae.” Andrea lifted a forkful of pancakes. “I have quite a few traits that are ... enhanced.”

Ronan burst out laughing as Andrea popped the bite into her mouth. “I get why you like her, Sean.”

Sean got why too. Her shirt was clinging to her, her gray eyes were on him, and sticky syrup lingered on her lips. What they’d done all through the night hadn’t sated him at all. Andrea swiped away a drop with her moist, red tongue, and Sean stifled a groan.

“Hey, who’s that?”

At Ronan’s tone, Sean came alert, forcing his attention from Andrea. A Shifter was cutting across the yard toward the house next door, one Sean had never seen before. He knew no one was home over there—Liam had taken Kim and Connor out for breakfast.

“Stay put,” Sean said to Andrea, and signaled Ronan to follow him out.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Sean watched from the shadows while the unknown Shifter walked up onto the Morrissey porch and peered through the living room window. Ronan waited next to Sean, folding his arms and looking formidable.

When the Shifter left the front door and moved to circle the house to the back, Sean vaulted over Andrea’s porch railing and landed in front of him.

“Can I help you, friend?” he asked.

The Shifter stopped with a growl, and Sean gave him an answering one.

The man was tall, hard-muscled, and dark-haired, Feline by the scent of him. He met Sean’s gaze with eyes of deep jade green. “Who are you?” the Shifter demanded.

“This is my territory,” Sean said, “so it’s me who gets to ask you.”

The Shifter turned, but Ronan had closed in behind him. Ronan showed all his teeth in a grin. “It’s not my territory,” he said. “But it’s a good question.”

The Shifter gave Ronan a steady stare, not intimidated in the slightest. He was obviously an alpha, and Ronan, despite his size and strength, was a bit lower in his bear clan.

Sean stepped between them before Ronan could weaken. Sean met the green gaze without flinching, two alphas facing off. Sean had the advantage of territory, and finally the unknown Shifter flicked his eyes away and gave him a nod.