He kept thrusting, and Deni moved under him, meeting those thrusts. His jacket held his heat, and she slid her hands into it, finding his hard back beneath. Jace’s honed body was sleek under her touch, the lithe dance of his muscles exciting.

They were both breathing hard, uttering little groans, holding on to each other when heavy footsteps sounded on the other side of the couch.

A pair of brawny fists jammed to the back of the sofa, and Deni looked up in time to see Ellison spin away in half disgust, half irritation. “Are you kidding me?” Ellison growled.

Jace said, “Shit,” and the feral whiteness returned to his eyes. He was up off the sofa, his jacket falling, but it wasn’t long enough to hide his privates. Deni saw his cock, still dark and hard from what they’d been doing, black hair crisp at its base.

Deni knew Dylan was upstairs, away from their basement sanctuary, of course. Ellison kept his back squarely turned. That back was quivering, but Deni couldn’t tell whether from rage or laughter. A little of both, probably.

“Goddess, Den, he’s a Feline,” Ellison said. He shook his head without turning around, the overhead light gleaming in his blond hair. “Both of you get your asses upstairs. After you’ve covered them.”

He gave one more shake of his head and started for the steps. His cowboy boots grated on the cement stairs, then he was gone.

Deni swallowed, tamping down her need to burst into hysterical laughter. “I guess he was faster than I thought he’d be.”

Jace didn’t smile. “He needs to respect you.”

Deni sat up, pushing her hair from her face. “He just caught you making the beast with two backs with his little sister. Give him a break.”

Jace growled again, then he reached down and helped Deni to her feet. As she came off the couch, he pulled her against him. “You all right?”

“Yes.” Deni truly was. She should be embarrassed at being caught by her brother—at being reckless like this. But she wasn’t. It seemed natural to be coupling with Jace. Shifters celebrated sex, because it meant life, cubs, continuance. She wouldn’t apologize for it.

“What about you?” Deni asked. Jace was shaking, but his hold on her was strong.

“I’ll be okay.” Jace took a long breath and pulled her into a tighter hug. His bare c**k touched her abdomen. “I get it now—what you must go through when you start losing track of who you are. I shouldn’t have made light of it.”

Deni looked up at him in alarm. “Are you losing track of who you are?”

“Not quite.” Jace kissed her hair and rested his cheek on the top of her head. “But almost. You keep reminding me who I am, though, all right?”

* * *

“They’re looking for someone,” Dylan said when they emerged upstairs.

They spoke in the kitchen, where the windows were high, small, curtained, and looked out to the backyard. The wide windows of the bungalow’s living room were out of bounds.

Jace didn’t like human police roving Shiftertown, but right now, his body hummed from the nearness of Deni, and the remembered joy of being in her one more time.

He loved the sweetness of her scent, today coupled with fresh earth from her digging in the dirt. The taste of her filled him like heady wine. He was imprinted with her now, the feel of her soft thighs against his legs, the way she squeezed him when he pressed inside her.

“Jace?” Deni said.

She wasn’t trying to get his attention, he realized after a heartbeat. She was asking Dylan if Jace was the Shifter the police were looking for.

“They didn’t say,” Dylan answered. “I don’t even know if they’re looking for a Shifter. They had a tip-off, I got one of the officers to tell me, about the fight club. I told them there’s always rumors of a Shifter fight club, because humans find it titillating. Same as rumors of Shifter hookers.”

Shifter women never sold sex, never had. But Shifter women could be promiscuous, because Shifters didn’t find sex shameful. As long as a Shifter was unmated, they could have as many partners as they wanted. Not all liked to go roaming, but some Shifter women spread it around. Humans confused that with the sex trade; hence, the rumors.

“Tip-off from a human?” Ellison asked.

“They wouldn’t tell me that.” Dylan’s eyes glinted. “What Shifter would betray us?”

Ellison shrugged. “One pissed off for some reason. At other Shifters, or at you. Broderick springs to mind.”

“He sprang to my mind too. I’ll be having a talk with him.” Dylan’s Irish accent made the words sound casual, but Jace heard the steel behind them.

“If they’re going door-to-door, what about the workshop?” Jace asked.

Dylan shook his head. “They haven’t found it yet. Lie low here, and I’ll send for you when it’s clear. If it is.” Dylan looked Jace up and down. “We might want to stop the experiment anyway. It’s affecting you.”

“Agreed,” Deni said quickly.

Jace shook his head. “No, we’ll never get the Collars off by being afraid to have them off. I want to keep at it.” It was tempting to turn his back on the agony, and Sean with his soldering iron, and run for home, but learning all they could about the Collars was too important. Besides, Deni was here.

“We’ll see.” Dylan gave him another hard look. Jace knew his display on the porch had not won him any favors from Dylan, but Jace had definitely not liked Dylan touching Deni, even innocently.