"why did you do that? i could have taken it. i didn't ask you to stand in for me."

tears of rage and frustration streamed from connor's eyes as he beat on liam's chest.

liam grabbed his fists, his voice incredibly gentle. "connor, lad, stop that now."

connor jerked away from him. he started to strike at dylan, then probably realizing that was a bad idea, rounded on sean. sean responded by wrapping his arms around connor and pulling him close.

liam moved behind connor and stroked the young man's hair. "the punishment wasn't for you, con. fergus was pissed at me for not groveling enough. he couldn't come up with a legitimate reason to have me beaten, so he picked on you. it wasn't your transgression, lad, it was mine."

kim saw connor relax, the young man leaning into sean. "why'd you let him? grandda', why didn't you fight him?"

"not the time and place," dylan said. "come on, we have to go."

he turned and left the room without waiting for them, his boots clicking on the tiles of the hall. connor finally unwound his arms from sean and went after dylan, wiping his eyes, and the other three followed.

"you are going to explain what the hell just happened, aren't you?" kim asked, as she started up the stairs ahead of liam. after the elegant surroundings in the basement, the stairs were dingy and musty. she thought about spiders again.

liam ruffled her hair. "kim, who likes everything nice and neat. what a woman."

he caressed her neck under her hair. he might have just gotten skin whipped off his back, but his touch still raised goose bumps on kim's flesh. it was the touch of a man desiring a woman, nothing less.

damn if she didn't want to turn around right there and jump his bones. never mind that his father, brother, and nephew were only a few steps ahead of them. kim wanted to kiss liam as she had last night, maybe have him lift her so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

liam kissed the corner of her mouth. "come on, love. let's go out to the sunshine."

kim kissed him back, which did not dampen her fires; then she made herself turn and follow sean up. they clattered through the silent house, then out the front door.

the shifters were waiting for them, all of them, arranged in a semicircle between them and kim's car. kim's heart started to pound.

"aren't they going to let us leave?"

"not yet," dylan said.

doors around the group of houses were opening, and female shifters emerged. with kids. happy to be released from whatever confinement had been imposed on them, the kids raced to the playground, making the sad patch of grass suddenly come alive. the entire dog population joined them, tails waving.

fergus had clipped his cat-o'-nine back to his belt, and now stood with arms folded, talking to some of the male shifters. kim almost fell over with shock when a woman moved through the crowd and slid her arm around fergus's waist. she wasn't some wimpy thing, either-she was tall, strong, muscular, with a hard but beautiful face. like glory, though not as flamboyantly dressed.

"who is that?" kim asked liam.

"his mate," liam said. "andrea."

"wait, wait, wait." kim waved her hands. "he was going on about taking me as his mate. why, if he already has one?"

"clan leaders can mate with more than one woman, and fergus has two already. selfish, because there aren't many females to go around, but it's true that mixed offspring have a better chance of surviving."

"oh, for god's sake." kim rounded on liam. "can you have more than one mate? do you have three wives tucked away in shiftertowns around the state?"

liam burst out laughing, and sean followed suit. their laughter held a note of tension, as if they were happy they had something to laugh about. liam put his arm around kim. "i couldn't handle more than you, love. and i hope you can handle me."

his smile gave the double entendre impact. kim flushed. "we need to talk."

"not yet." liam walked kim out to the semicircle of shifters. he didn't retrieve his shirt; his back had to be killing him under the burning sun.

fergus faced them as they approached, andrea letting go of him but remaining only inches from his side.

"why would she want him?" kim whispered. "especially when he has another?"

"because he is the most powerful man in the clan. only dad comes close to him for dominance. and i should have mentioned that shifters have terrific hearing."

"thanks."

"liam." fergus's voice rolled across those of the other shifters and the kids playing. "stand here."

liam stopped in front of fergus and turned kim to face him. he brushed a finger over kim's cheek, then held up her left hand in his right, twining their fingers.

without waiting for everyone to quiet down, fergus said, "under the light of the sun, i recognize this mating."

he spoke in a monotone, the words rapid, as though he wanted to get this over with. he was ready to move on to the next thing, and kim wondered what that next thing was.

liam smiled at kim. the other shifters started clapping and cheering, and connor threw his arms around kim and gave her a breath-stealing hug.

"thank you, kim."

before kim could ask, "for what?" connor was leaping away, whooping and yelling with the others. fergus twined his arm around andrea's waist and walked away with her.

kim never knew where it came from, but all of a sudden beer foam showered the air. sean shook a bottle and sprayed it over them, laughing hysterically. he'd gotten his sword back, she saw, the hilt protruding over his shoulder.

"just what i wanted, beer in my hair," kim said.

liam rubbed his thumb across her chin. "we'll have time to wash it out later." he leaned down and pressed dry, warm lips to her mouth. "is this kiss up to your standards? i'm still learning."

he smiled, but his skin was hot under her fingertips, his chest still sweating. "are you all right?" kim asked. "i saw the collar shock you."

"i'll live." another light kiss, liam's hand stealing to her waist. "i'm thinking of another ache right now."

the stiff thing pressing her abdomen left no doubt about what he meant. "you're back's a mess," she said.

"so we'll be washing that along with your hair."

liam kissed her again. around them, the shifters partied, a complete change from the cold resentment in the basement. they could have been at a block party, friends and neighbors coming together to celebrate. dylan struck up conversation with some of the shifter men, and sean had been lured away by a couple of females. sean and the ladies were flirting pretty fiercely, although shifters liked to touch a lot, so maybe they were discussing movies or something while hands ran along arms and shoulders and backs.

questions swam in kim's brain-she'd thought she'd researched everything about shifters, but she realized she'd only learned what they'd let humans learn. there was too much she didn't know, too many nuances she needed to understand. she hadn't argued about this "mating" with liam because she saw that it let liam walk away from fergus, and fergus stop trying to beat up on connor and dylan. and she definitely hadn't wanted to do any kind of mating with fergus.

she'd smile and laugh with them, go along with their pretense that everything was all right, but once they got back to austin, she and liam were going to have a long talk.

a shadow fell over her, and kim looked up to see fergus looming next to them. "you accept the mating?" he asked liam.

he asked liam, not kim. asshole.

liam's expression remained cool. "i do."

"you know what it means, then?" fergus kept his voice soft, turning away from the other shifters. "you are responsible for everything she does. she steps a toe out of line, it's you who pays. your father won't interfere; he knows the rules."

kim's anger flared. "you-"

she found liam's fingers over her lips. "not now," he said. "i know what it means, fergus. you forgo the claim forever, then?"

"i do, but i have a condition."

"why does that not surprise me?" kim muttered behind liam's fingers.

"brian goes down," fergus said. "you, woman, will let him, and liam, you'll make sure she does it. he pleads guilty and takes the punishment. those are my terms."

without waiting for their answer, he turned from them and walked away.

chapter twelve

liam knew that kim didn't understand. he held her hand as she drove, and sensed the confusion pouring off her. he'd explain everything to her soon, but right now he just wanted to have her pull the car over so he could drag her off and sex her.

he burned with it. when a shifter claimed a mate, the urge to procreate released. he'd always known that in theory but never realized it would be this much of a flood. it was all he could do to stop at holding kim's hand. he wanted to slide his fingers under the waistband of her jeans, lean over and press kisses to her neck, unbutton her blouse and dip his hand inside.

the little sweetheart hadn't let him get into the car until she'd dragged a towel and a first-aid kit out of her trunk, demanded a bottle of clean water from one of the shifters, and doctored liam's back. she'd rinsed and dried the wounds, then applied antiseptic, which had stung a little.

liam had tried to tell her he'd heal quickly, but she only clenched her teeth and doctored him anyway. he also couldn't tell her, with sean and connor hovering, that her touch fired his longing to open his pants and have a go with her right there.

the others must have sensed his craving, because the teasing had begun.

"so does a mate's touch really heal, liam?" sean had asked.

"i don't think he's going to last until we get home." connor snickered beside him.

"you'll live, son," dylan had said, clapping liam on the shoulder. "it's worth it."

kim hadn't known what the hell they were talking about, but from her blush, she'd suspected.

he squeezed kim's thigh now, and she responded with a smile, albeit a nervous one. not disgust, not, "keep your hands off me, shifter." kim liked him. would she like him after she fully understood what was happening?

"damnation," connor said from the backseat.

liam looked over his shoulder. connor's nose was buried in a magazine kim had grabbed for him at the convenience store where they'd stopped for gas. though kim had offered to pay for gas, magazine, and cold sodas, dylan had silently fished out some cash and pressed it into her hand.

it was a sports magazine, because the only thing connor liked better than cars was sports, football in particular. not american football with pigskin and pads, but real football, what americans called soccer. connor had never been to a true football game, in a stadium overflowing with raving crowds that made american fans look like a pack of knitting grannies. connor watched it on telly when he could and avidly followed the republic of ireland national football team in the sports news.

"ireland is playing today," connor mourned. "tonight for them, but today over here."

"never on a major network," sean said. "that would be a bloody miracle."

"sportz 3." connor lifted the magazine sideways, studying the grid of sports offerings for the week. "satellite channel. game starts in an hour." he sounded glum.

"never mind, con," dylan said. he leaned against the window and closed his eyes. "it's a human game, anyway."