“Let’s sit down.” Deni started to lead Jace to the sofa, but he didn’t budge. His body was strong, a boulder she couldn’t move.

“Den, you should get out of here.” His grip was tight, his hand hot.

Deni’s heart beat faster as she touched his wrist and found his pulse banging beneath her fingers. “I think I should stay. Ellison will be right back.”

“No, go!” Jace pushed at her, his breath coming fast. “If you stay, I don’t know what I’ll do. I want you—last night wasn’t enough. I want it hard, and I want it now. Don’t let me take it from you.”

Deni let go of his hand, but she remained squarely in front of him. A Shifter going feral and feeling mating frenzy was a dangerous thing. Jace could do anything, even kill her, if he was crazed enough. She understood that.

On the other hand, in mating frenzy, only the mate kept a Shifter from completely losing his mind. She thought of Jace behind her on the motorcycle, warming her and giving her the strength to cut through her fears and get them home. He’d been with her every second, and he’d held her in victory when she’d made it. When Jace had to hide down here, Deni had reasoned that she owed him. She still believed that.

“I’m not leaving,” she said.

Jace’s eyes turned all the way white. He grabbed Deni by the wrists and hauled her against him.

Chapter Seven

Deni landed against Jace’s chest, his skin hot through his thin shirt. His jacket’s zipper rubbed Deni’s arms, the friction of it releasing the heat in her own body.

Jace’s kiss was hard, opening her mouth, his grip on her wrists crushing. But Deni was strong, had always been strong. She could not have endured so much without strength. She rose on her tiptoes, kissing him back, her body fitting to his.

Jace raised his head, breaking the kiss. His lips were parted, the moisture inside his mouth beckoning her. Deni knew his taste now and craved more. She also knew what he felt like inside her, and she wanted that again. She wanted his firm body on top of hers, wanted the heat of his thrusts to fill her. Deni reached for the button of his jeans and slid it open.

Jace tightened his fingers on her wrist again. “Don’t play with fire.”

“I’m cold,” Deni said in a low voice. “Warm me up.”

Jace was struggling with coherence. “Ellison will be back soon, you said.”

She gave him a hot smile. “Then we should hurry.”

“Bloody hell.”

Deni unzipped his jeans. He hadn’t bothered with underwear this morning, she found as she dipped her hand inside. His cock, hard and hot, tumbled into her hand.

Jace let out a groan. He jerked Deni against him, his arm solidly behind her as she lightly stroked him. “Gods, woman.”

“You woke me up, Jace,” she said. “I want to thank you for that.”

“In the middle of last night, you mean?” His words were strained. “I was feeling payback from the fight. Tried to keep it quiet.”

“You know I don’t mean that.” Deni squeezed his c**k until he let out another noise of pleasure.

“Damn.” Jace tugged her hand from him but only to lift her into his arms, kissing her with a ferocity that tasted of fire.

The sofa was near. Jace tipped Deni back over its arm until they both fell onto its cushions, arms and legs bumping and tangling in each other’s. Deni laughed.

The laughter probably saved her, she thought later. Jace shook his head slightly as though clearing his mind, and his eyes took on a jade hue again. He slowed his kisses to something tender, lips soft on Deni’s. She ran her fingers through the short ends of his hair, liking the warm brush of it.

Jace unbuttoned her shorts, tugging them down and off with a contortion of bodies that had them laughing again. His jeans landed on the floor on top of the shorts, and then they were body to body. Deni took handfuls of his jacket, but before she could start to coax it off, Jace slid inside her.

All the way in. Last night had been wild and fast, a raw coupling at the edge of a parking lot. Now everything stopped. Jace looked into Deni’s eyes, the feral Shifter softening into a man, hard-faced but warm-eyed.

He filled her, his breath slowing as he lay on her, touching her face. The pressure of him inside her loosened her entire body, and Deni wrapped herself around him, drawing him in.

Jace closed his eyes, letting out another soft moan. He kissed her mouth, giving a nip to the corner of it.

After a moment, he opened his eyes again and started to move. Slow thrusts, intensity building as each one completed. Jace held her gaze, his eyes a dark green now. The frenzied animal had calmed. Now it was just Deni and Jace.

Deni arched under him, Jace’s thrusts coming faster. Her back pressed into the sofa’s soft foam cushions, all the way down to the springs. She held him close, laughing into his hair as the springs started to squeak.

“Goddess, you are beautiful,” Jace whispered, feathering kisses over her face. “I came here to find you; I know I did.”

He’d been to this Shiftertown before, but Deni knew what he meant. They’d been ready to meet last night.

The soft fleece of Jace’s jacket felt good to Deni’s hands, the zipper rough against her palms. As he kissed her, she could again see where one link of his Collar and part of another had been taken off, his skin angry red beneath.

He’d been ready to kill Dylan on the porch, and the police when they’d knocked on the door. The loosening Collar was letting out his feral instincts, she guessed. Liam had explained to her when she’d first considered trying to take her Collar off that such a thing might happen. But for now, Jace gentled himself, loving her without madness.