face.
“I can climb into a tree. That is safest for me. But your people don’t climb trees.”
“No, we don’t. But I believe there is a safe house nearby.”
She blinked. “A safe house?”
“A building we use to sleep in when we discover we’ve ranged too far afield. The safe
houses were built by the Ancestors centuries ago, and we still use them for protection when we find ourselves in the neutral territory at nighttime. It’s not always feasible to return to Antler lands before the sun sets.”
Her upper lip curled with scorn. “So you wander in the woods, playing at being wild, but you daren’t sleep there? How very far from the forest your people have grown.”
Anger bubbled up within him, along with the memory of being surrounded by snarling Claw. He’d roamed the forest since he made his first shift to animal form at age five, and only been attacked once, but the memory of that day was more than enough to make him cautious. “We don’t enjoy being eaten.”
“We take our chances,” she replied. “We live . That is what taking an animal’s form is all about. Otherwise you might as well remain in your human form all your days.”
He snorted. “Perhaps you like to risk your life, but I don’t. This close to Pack land, I prefer the safe house.”
She looked disgusted, almost contemptuous, but she shrugged. “Very well. Lead on.”
He had rarely come this far into the forest, but his memory was excellent, and he found the safe house in moments. It was disguised so that it appeared almost a thicket in the woods, yet once they were inside a light flashed on automatically, and stout silvery stone walls stood between them and predators.
Katara looked around with disdain. “This is the residence of cowards.”
Annoyance made his skin ripple involuntarily. With an effort, he managed to stop himself from shifting again. “What you see as cowardice,” he said, barely keeping his voice even, “my people see as prudence.”
“Prudence is but another word for cowardice. My people would rip me to pieces if they knew I had slept in a place such as this. They would say it proved I had lost my claws. And they would be right.”
Hart grinned coldly, refusing to let her contempt irritate him into shifting. He didn’t want her to know that her opinion meant anything to him. “I have no claws to lose.”
“That,” she responded with ice in her voice, “is more than obvious.”
Hart felt his skin ripple again. He turned away from her, looking at the small room. It was but sparsely furnished, with two small chairs and a table in the middle of the room, and a lone narrow cot against the wall. An odd litter of sticks, rocks, and rope cluttered the floor, but it was the cot that drew his attention. The idea of sleeping in a small chamber with the Claw caused lust and fear to struggle deep within him like two stags battling for supremacy.
The lust won.
“It appears we’ll be sleeping together,” he said.
Chapter 5
At Hart’s words, a startling eddy of lust swirled through Katara’s veins. Being enclosed with this extremely attractive man excited her on a primitive, visceral level. She’d been aware of her own arousal since the door had closed behind them.
The thought of sleeping on that narrow cot with him, her naked body pressed up against his muscled chest, sent heat slicing through her like a striking fang.
She reminded herself firmly that he was an Antler, and thus beneath her. “Perhaps I will sleep outside after all,” she said.
“No. We stay together.”
“Then I will be happy to sleep on the floor,” she answered, tamping down the heat in her veins as best she could.
She could tell by the dark glow in his eyes that she hadn’t been entirely successful. Doubtless he could scent her arousal, even from across the small room. “Don’t be absurd,” he said curtly.
“I can climb into a tree. That is safest for me. But your people don’t climb trees.”
“No, we don’t. But I believe there is a safe house nearby.”
She blinked. “A safe house?”
“A building we use to sleep in when we discover we’ve ranged too far afield. The safe
houses were built by the Ancestors centuries ago, and we still use them for protection when we find ourselves in the neutral territory at nighttime. It’s not always feasible to return to Antler lands before the sun sets.”
Her upper lip curled with scorn. “So you wander in the woods, playing at being wild, but you daren’t sleep there? How very far from the forest your people have grown.”
Anger bubbled up within him, along with the memory of being surrounded by snarling Claw. He’d roamed the forest since he made his first shift to animal form at age five, and only been attacked once, but the memory of that day was more than enough to make him cautious. “We don’t enjoy being eaten.”
“We take our chances,” she replied. “We live . That is what taking an animal’s form is all about. Otherwise you might as well remain in your human form all your days.”
He snorted. “Perhaps you like to risk your life, but I don’t. This close to Pack land, I prefer the safe house.”
She looked disgusted, almost contemptuous, but she shrugged. “Very well. Lead on.”
He had rarely come this far into the forest, but his memory was excellent, and he found the safe house in moments. It was disguised so that it appeared almost a thicket in the woods, yet once they were inside a light flashed on automatically, and stout silvery stone walls stood between them and predators.
Katara looked around with disdain. “This is the residence of cowards.”
Annoyance made his skin ripple involuntarily. With an effort, he managed to stop himself from shifting again. “What you see as cowardice,” he said, barely keeping his voice even, “my people see as prudence.”
“Prudence is but another word for cowardice. My people would rip me to pieces if they knew I had slept in a place such as this. They would say it proved I had lost my claws. And they would be right.”
Hart grinned coldly, refusing to let her contempt irritate him into shifting. He didn’t want her to know that her opinion meant anything to him. “I have no claws to lose.”
“That,” she responded with ice in her voice, “is more than obvious.”
Hart felt his skin ripple again. He turned away from her, looking at the small room. It was but sparsely furnished, with two small chairs and a table in the middle of the room, and a lone narrow cot against the wall. An odd litter of sticks, rocks, and rope cluttered the floor, but it was the cot that drew his attention. The idea of sleeping in a small chamber with the Claw caused lust and fear to struggle deep within him like two stags battling for supremacy.
The lust won.
“It appears we’ll be sleeping together,” he said.
Chapter 5
At Hart’s words, a startling eddy of lust swirled through Katara’s veins. Being enclosed with this extremely attractive man excited her on a primitive, visceral level. She’d been aware of her own arousal since the door had closed behind them.
The thought of sleeping on that narrow cot with him, her naked body pressed up against his muscled chest, sent heat slicing through her like a striking fang.
She reminded herself firmly that he was an Antler, and thus beneath her. “Perhaps I will sleep outside after all,” she said.
“No. We stay together.”
“Then I will be happy to sleep on the floor,” she answered, tamping down the heat in her veins as best she could.
She could tell by the dark glow in his eyes that she hadn’t been entirely successful. Doubtless he could scent her arousal, even from across the small room. “Don’t be absurd,” he said curtly.
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