And that was hurting him. Addie didn’t really understand what he was talking about, but she threw back the covers and slid from the bed. She managed to remember at the last minute to use the steps and made it to the braided carpet without mishap.

“We’ll find them.” Addie went to him, stopping a foot or so away. If she got too close, she might not be able to talk. “Tomorrow, we’ll go out and start looking for them.”

Addie had no idea who they were or how to find them, but Kendrick’s expression was so bleak she felt the need to comfort him.

Kendrick didn’t soften. “No, I will stay here. This is a good place. But I will look for them all the same.”

Addie stared—he made no sense. “You know, you are seriously confusing.”

“I know that. I confuse myself. What the hell? I’ve learned to live with it.”

The spark of humor in his eyes was self-deprecating. Addie drew a breath and jammed her arms over her chest again, mostly to keep from reaching for him.

“Who are these Shifters you need to find? Maybe I can help.”

“They are very good at hiding. I doubt you’d know where to start looking.” Kendrick let out a breath, a sound much like his tiger had made. “Twenty years ago, when humans began rounding up Shifters, I escaped them.” He pitched his voice very low, so that anyone listening at the door or through the fireplace would hear only sound not words. “I found others like me, and we came together for protection. We stayed hidden, surviving, and I became their leader. We moved to Texas several years ago. Last year, we were found by other Shifters, who destroyed our place of hiding. We ran, breaking into small groups, to hide until I find a new place to gather again. But it has been some time—six months or so—since we scattered. I might never find some of them again.”

He finished and closed his mouth with a sudden snap, as though he’d not meant to say so much.

Well, that explained a bit—why he didn’t wear a Collar, why he wasn’t in a Shiftertown. She was still unclear on a few things, but she realized this close-mouthed man telling her even that much was a victory.

Her urge to comfort him rose strongly once more, and she took the last step between them and touched his arm.

“You’ll find them,” Addie said. “I know you will.”

Kendrick’s gaze swept down to her, landing on her fingers on his forearm. The muscles twitched there. She’d seen, before he’d flicked his eyes past hers, the hunger he’d shown last night in the diner.

Beneath her fingers, Kendrick’s skin was smooth and tight, warm. The wiry hair on his arm was nothing like his tiger’s fur but Addie wanted to stroke him all the same.

His entire body was warm, the heat radiating from it embracing her. Addie had pictured wrapping herself around the tiger—even stronger came the vision of her twining herself around his human body.

He wasn’t comfortable with her touch, Addie sensed. When she’d stroked him as tiger, he’d purred. Now he stood rigid, as though not wanting her near.

She tried to smile as she slid her fingers away. “Well, if we’re going to start looking for a bunch of Shifters tomorrow, we’ll need to sleep tonight.”

Kendrick caught her hand. His gaze fixed on her again, predator’s eyes, before he pulled Addie to him with sudden strength.

One arm went around her, holding her tightly against his body. His hand went to her hair and gently tipped her head back, Kendrick’s look still haunted as he came down to her and covered her mouth in a kiss.

CHAPTER NINE

Kendrick kissed Addison with fierce need. The craving sprang up inside him, making him drag her closer, press her body the full length of his. Her softness called out to him; her breasts crushed against him and heightened his longing.