be easy. I admire the hell out of her for being so damned calm.”
“Me too,” Ben trailed off and didn’t continue the thought. He did more than admire her. He liked her, delighted in her, and craved her. Oh yeah. Straight-up lust.
Ben couldn’t admit this to his friends, though he realized they already knew. Jaycee was growing protective of Rhianne, and if she decided Rhianne could do much better than Ben, she’d defend Rhianne with teeth and claws.
Ben wasn’t Shifter. As much as Shifters welcomed him, drank with him, and trusted him, he still wasn’t one of them. The Shifters who didn’t know him took one whiff of his Fae-like scent and barely stopped themselves from trying to kill him.
Shifters might decide Rhianne’s ability made her one of them, and try to absorb her into them. Dylan would be very interested, in any case.
Ben hauled himself off the bench. “I’ll check on her.”
Jaycee and Dimitri said nothing as Ben left the kitchen, but he felt their gazes on his back.
In the dim shadows of the bedroom, Ben saw that Rhianne had curled on her side, the thin sheet rising and falling with her breath. She hadn’t woken when Ben laid her down, just whimpered and frowned, quieting only when he’d tucked a sheet and blanket over her and turned off the light.
The blanket was now crumpled at the bottom of the bed, and Rhianne shivered. Ben quietly closed the door behind him, crossed to her, and drew the blanket around her body once more.
He started to tiptoe away, when she cried out, a heartbreaking sound of loneliness and fear. He’d heard the same kind of noise from his own throat, for the same reasons.
Ben turned back to the bed. Rhianne began to thrash, caught in some dream. She bunched the blanket in her hand and thrust it away, as though hot, yet she trembled.
“Shh.” Ben smoothed her hair, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
Rhianne quieted somewhat but cried out again when he withdrew. Ben shook her gently, trying to pull her from the nightmare.
She swam toward wakefulness, blinked without fully coming awake, and dove right back into sleep. When Ben stepped away again, however, the shivering returned and Rhianne whimpered softly.
Ben let out a long breath. He gazed out the window at the darkening grounds, the moon setting behind trees. The chandelier in the bedroom swayed, crystals tinkling.
“Yeah, I know what you think,” Ben whispered to it.
He seated himself on a nearby chair and slipped off his boots, then his jeans and shirt. In his underwear, he climbed into the big double bed, reaching for the blanket.
Rhianne snuggled into him as he spooned up to her, but she didn’t wake. Ben covered them both with the blanket, draping his arm around her, her fragrant hair under his nose.
Rhianne never woke. She let out a long sigh, then her shivering ceased, and she slid into quiet slumber.
Sunlight touched Rhianne’s eyes. She slowly woke, feeling wonderfully rested, the strange and troubling dreams of the night fading into a vague memory.
She was too warm. Someone had draped a blanket over her, but the most radiant source of heat lay behind her. It also snored.
Rhianne swiftly rolled over. She became aware of two things—she wore nothing under the covers, and Ben lay next to her, his arm over his eyes, a quiet snore drifting from him.
Rhianne’s heart hammered. Her first instinct was to leap up, wrap the blanket around her bare body, and flee.
Instead, she settled onto her elbow and gazed at Ben. His face, relaxed in sleep, bore none of the lines of tension he wore during the day. His black hair, cut short, lay in silken strands against his head, tempting her to touch them.
His smooth lips beckoned her as she remembered how tender they’d been against hers. Yet, she’d felt the strength in him, as though he tamed himself for her. The thought made her heart race yet again.
What was he doing in here? Rhianne was pretty sure their kisses hadn’t gone further, but the aftermath of the battle with the snakes was a blur. Had she and Ben succumbed to post-fight euphoria and taken it to the bedroom?
If so, why couldn’t she remember? Making love with Ben was something she’d never want to forget.
No—she recalled now. They’d returned to the kitchen and had beer and wine with Jaycee and Dimitri, thanking the Goddess they were still alive. And then …
Nothing. Rhianne assumed she’d fallen asleep in her weariness, and Ben