I laughed softly—and knew that's exactly what Rhoan had intended. "This from the man who currently has how many mates?"

"Only three."

Which was two too many in Liander's view, but both he and I knew my brother wasn't ready to settle down yet.

"Trace is in," Jack said. "They're in Bullaburra."

"Which is where?" Rhoan asked, before I could.

"In the Blue Mountains. Tell them to stay put. It may take a few hours to get things moving, but we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Leave your mobiles on," I said, "so we can contact you if we have to move."

"Will do. You be careful."

"Natch. See you soon." I hung up and met Kade's gaze.

"You're close to your pack-mate," he said.

"Very. We're wolves, and pack is all to a wolf." Especially when there was only him and me in the pack, thanks to the fact our mother's pack had thrown us out when we'd reached maturity. "But we're not physically close, if that's what you're getting at."

"Why not?"

"Because he prefers men." And because he was my brother. I mean, that was illegal, not to mention icky.

Kade drained his coffee, and put it in the sink. "So, how long have we got before we're rescued?"

"Four hours, at least."

He raised an eyebrow. "So what do we do in the meantime?"

The look in his eyes set my pulse racing yet again. But I meant what I'd said earlier, and no matter how much my hormones might be pleading to be set loose, I just didn't dare do it. No matter how good having sex with Kade promised to be—and I had no doubt that it would be good—it wasn't worth the risk of recapture. "I think we should sleep. Or rather, take turns sleeping and keeping watch."

"That's boring." He reached across the bench and untucked the end of the towel, his fingertips brushing heat across my skin. "Especially when there's other things we could be doing."

"Down boy." I slapped his hand away and re-tucked the towel. "The last thing we need is to be attacked by big bad hairy things because we were too busy having sex to notice they were near."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. Especially for such a delightful piece of tail."

I smiled. "Well, the piece of tail would prefer to wait until the danger is over."

"Such a shame."

"You could at least say that with a little more sincerity."

His soft laugh sent goose bumps rippling. He leaned across the bench, and slowly, languorously, kissed me. "How much more sincere do you want me to be?" he said, after a while.

"I think"—the words came out all husky, and I quickly cleared my throat—"that that's more than enough sincerity for the moment."

"You sure I can't change your mind?"

I was sure that he could, actually. Thankfully, he didn't try. "Yes. So, who rests first?"

"Well, given I'm not going to be able to sleep until certain parts of my body relax, it's probably better if you take the first shift."

I raised an eyebrow. "And just how badly do these parts need relaxing?"

"This badly." He stepped back, and that's when I saw the stallion in all his proud glory. My mouth went dry. Obviously, the tent pole I'd viewed earlier had only been half-mast. Lord, he was big.

"You're right," I said. "There's not going to be much sleep happening with that hanging about."

"If it was hanging about, it wouldn't be such a problem." His chocolate eyes twinkled lightly with the mirth tugging at his lips. "Go, before the temptation gets too much."

I went. A few hours' sleep was never going to be enough, but it was better than nothing. I did a changeover with Kade, and spent the next hour and a half alternating between drinking coffee and prowling the premises. There was nothing and no one around.

Maybe I was wrong about the orsini. Maybe they couldn't track us as well as I thought they'd be able to.

I made myself yet another cup of coffee and leaned on the bench, warming my hands on either side of the cup as I stared out the main kitchen window.

Dappled light played across the yellowing grass, and in the shade along the fence line, daffodils bobbed. The forest beyond was filled with shadows, though sunlight danced amongst the leaves and cast occasional sprays of green and gold waltzing across the tree trunks.

There was nothing or no one moving out there. Nothing or no one moving in the house. And yet…

Unease stirred. And I had no idea why.

"Why the pensive face?"

I jumped slightly, and looked around as Kade came into the room. "I just realized I've used up all the instant coffee," I said. "A very sad thing when you're as addicted as I am."

He stopped behind me, one brawny arm going around my waist, pressing his body against mine as he leaned forward and kissed my ear. "That's very sad indeed," he whispered, his breath so warm against my skin. "You want me to make you feel better?"

A smile twitched my lips. "You're as insatiable as a wolf in moon heat."

"Hey, I'm a randy stallion who hasn't had sex for over two months, and I'm standing behind a woman who is both luscious and naked. What do you expect?"

"A little restraint until we're safe, perhaps?"

"I have been restrained, sweetheart. Trust me on that." His lips touched my spine, a butterfly kiss that was powerfully arousing. "So, who were you thinking about when I came in? A lover?"

"No."

"But there is a lover who is causing some grief?"

"Yes." I twisted around to look at him. "How did you guess that? Are you a telepath?" And if he was, how was he reading me? Quinn—the lover I'd mentioned before—couldn't, and yet he was not only one of the most powerful vampires I'd met, but also one of the most powerful telepaths.

"No. Telekinetic. But I'm very good at reading women."

I raised an eyebrow. "Just women? Not men?"

His smile was devilish. "I have no interest in men."

And wouldn't my brother be pissed at that. "So, what do you think you saw in my expression?"

"Regret."

He was good. While I hadn't actively been thinking about Quinn, those thoughts were always present, sitting at the back of my mind, waiting to pounce the minute I relaxed my guard.

"Tell me," he added.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Wolves aren't the only ones who can be nosy."

I looked away, studying the shadows beyond the fence line again. "He doesn't like what I am."

He brushed another kiss across my spine, but higher this time, closer to my shoulder. Goose bumps fled excitedly across my skin.

"A paper pusher?"

I smiled. "No, a werewolf. He thinks us little more than whores."

"I'm betting he doesn't think the same of your pack-mate."

"According to him, it's okay for men to sleep around."

"Has to be a human." Disgust edged Kade's voice. "Because only they would say something dumb like that to a werewolf."

I smiled. "He's a vampire."

He shrugged, something I felt rather than saw. "Same thing, as most vamps were once human and have all the old prejudices." He paused. "You loved him?"

"I barely knew him."

His touch trailed up my stomach until he'd reached my breasts. Lightly, teasingly, he began to pinch the engorged points. My breath caught somewhere in my throat, and my heart began to race. I knew I should move, should put an end to it now, before it went too much further, but somehow, I just couldn't force the thoughts into action. Part of me—most of me—hungered.

"That's not what I asked," he said.

"No." I hesitated. "And no, I didn't. It's just that there was something between us, something I wanted to explore. He refused, simply because I am wolf."

"You don't look the type to give up."

"I'm not." I had tried. I'd rung. I'd even met him for dinner a couple of times. But Quinn had made it patently clear he didn't want anything more than what he'd already had. In the end, I'd walked away. As Rhoan had noted, it was Quinn who was the loser, not me.