Falling...

They retreated and Rose's fear eased when the man pinning her relaxed and stepped away from the tree until her back wasn't touching it any longer. She lifted her head and saw anger still etched on his features. He breathed a little heavily but then his gaze softened when he stared at her.

"Damon will bring me clothes and he'll drive my truck closer. He'll park is not too far from here. I'll get dressed and take you home."

She hesitated. "They stole my purse. My keys, identification, and money are inside it."

Irritation flashed on his handsome face. "I'll get it back and make sure they didn't make a dime from you."

"Thank you." She meant it.

"I'm going to have to call your father and smooth things out with him. I don't want this starting a war between our people."

A new sliver of fear sliced through her. "That's okay. Don't worry about it. I won't tell him what happened."

"He's going to know the second you walk in the door. He'll smell me all over you and your terror is strong. I take it you didn't inherit a keen sense of smell? You reek of it."

"I live alone."

His dark eyes narrowed and he studied her. "You do?"

"Yes. I'll shower when I get home and clean my clothes." She paused. "I'm sorry I smell." The guy was hot, he said she stank, and she hated that he had to be the best-looking, guy, she'd ever been that close to. She inwardly winced at that little bit of life's irony.

The silence grew uncomfortable between them and Rose had to look away from his intense gaze, wondering why he stared at her in that odd manner. It was as if he were trying to read her mind.

Her legs around his waist started to ache and she relaxed a little, her body slipping down his torso a bit. His hands suddenly slid from their hold on her waist to cup her ass and lifted her higher.

Rose gasped. "Do you want to let my butt go?"

"If you slide any lower it's going to embarrass one of us. I'm holding you up, that's all."

"Embarrass?"

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Fear turns me on and so do you."

It took a few seconds for his words to translate into meaning inside her brain. Shocked, she twisted, her head swivelling enough to glance over her shoulder and down their bodies. The movement pressed her lower half tighter against his stomach but she got a glimpse of verification that one turned-on male held her. The sight made her snap back around and her hair slapped him in the face. She gaped at him.

Klaus blew her hair away from his mouth and one eyebrow arched. "You had to look, huh?"

Heat flushed her cheeks. "You can put me down."

"I'd rather hold you until Damon returns with my clothes. I don't want to have to talk you down from the tree again after you've admitted to me that you tend to climb when you're afraid. You were about to tell me why you live alone. Don't think I can be distracted. I want an answer."

The glimpse she'd gotten of the guy's lower region had shaken her. The reason for his strong grip on her ass to keep her from sliding down had been impossible to miss. He had a major hard-on. The sight triggered her fear of him again. The guy was big all over.

"Do you live with someone?"

His frown deepened, creating faint lines around his mouth. "No. I'm also not an unmated, attractive female. Stop stalling and explain why you aren't protected."

"I am," she lied. "I just enjoy having my apartment."

A soft rumble of a growl came from his throat. Shannon tensed and her hands gripped his bare, hot shoulders a little more firmly. Fear inched up her spine at the irritated expression he gave her.

"I'm not ignorant of you felines or your ways. Your family would keep you close to make sure your males didn't force you to mate with one of them. If you were ugly I'd chalk it up to none of your men being interested but I don't buy that for a second. If you were in my pack the males would break down your door to get to you if you lived alone. Answer the question now and stop bullshitting me."

Her heart sped up from fear but he wasn't going to let it go. He'd sworn not to hurt her, hadn't so far, and she decided to be honest. "Okay. My father died in a fire and his family doesn't know about me." She lifted her chin defiantly. "I take care of myself."

"Why don't they know about you? You need to get in contact with them. Do you know anything about shifters?" Shock widened his eyes. "You need to be protected. It's a miracle one of your males hasn't forced you to take him as a mate. You're not strong enough to defend yourself against any asshole who wants you. Your family would make sure you ended up with a guy you wanted to be with."

"I've never met another of my kind," she admitted softly. Her shoulders shrugged. "They don't live in this area. My mom moved us here to avoid them on purpose."

"Why?"

Nerves caused her mouth to go dry. She wanted to look anywhere but at him. Instead, she forced her gaze to stay with his. "They'd kill me."

"No, they wouldn't."

"Yes, they would." She sighed. "My father had to flee from his family and knew if they found us we'd die. His mother helped him escape when their leader realized my father's human blood diluted his abilities. They hate weakness and they kill for that. He could shift—my mother told me how beautiful he looked when he did—but I can't take another form. If they thought he was weak…" her voice trailed off, allowing him to draw his conclusions.

"Shit," he whispered. "I didn't realize how vicious cats were. When we have weak-blooded ones we tend to just protect them more."

"When I was young, my father swore I smelled completely human. My mom promised me that

I'd be safe and no one would ever know my heritage."

"When did you lose your father?"

"Just after my fifth birthday."

"When you hit puberty did anything change with you? Sometimes that can trigger it with mixed breeds."

"I started craving raw meat. Mom took me into the woods to see if I could shift but it didn't happen no matter how hard I tried."

His hands-on her ass tightened, adjusted her a little in his hold. "Fear would have triggered it as well. You can't shift. I assumed you were younger until I got a closer look at your face. Some female teens have problems until puberty is over. The only other reasons that would prevent you from shifting are severe injury or drugs."

"I guess that's good to know but it doesn't do me any good."

He blinked a few times. "Your scent changed. You smell of puny, your father's breed, but it is faint. Any shifter could pick it up if they were within a few dozen yards of you. Can you pick up my scent?"

She inhaled. "You're wearing cologne and whatever you wash your hair with smells kind of fruity."

"That's all you smell?"

She hesitated and then dropped her gaze to his throat. She leaned in, noticed when he instinctively jerked back a little, but then his body held still, allowing her near his neck. Her nose hovered very close to his skin while she took another sniff. She couldn't detect much except for his cologne. It held a musky, wonderful aroma. She wasn't able to pick up whatever he thought she should be able to scent. She tried again, this time brushing her nose along his skin to get a stronger intake of his scent. The hands gripping her tightened as he pulled her against his stomach more firmly. Her head lifted and she stared into his eyes.