"You complaining?"

Dez frowned, deep in thought.

"Fine." He started to walk away, but Dez's hand on his rapidly growing cock stopped him in his tracks. "I didn't say leave."

"You didn't say stay either."

She pulled him toward her, using his cock as a handle. She kissed his chest, nipped the flesh.

"Stay, Mace. Stay with me."

Wow. This certainly couldn't be Dez MacDermot. The bitter ex-wife of a lawyer who told everyone in his office she was a cold fish with a dry pussy. Dez now realized the man was an asshole, because she was anything but cold.

She looked up and was startled by Mace's expression. Intense and desperate were the words that came to mind. Funny, Mace never seemed like that before.

He stared down at her without saying anything. Simply stared. Then his hand came up and cupped her cheek.

She cleared her throat. "You're making me nervous."

"Why?"

"I've never had anyone look at me like that before. I can't tell if you're falling for me or if you're going to kill me using my own kitchen knife."

He laughed, which eased the moment for her. "I have claws. Don't need the kitchen knife."

"Well, that's good to know. Now I can sleep peacefully."

He pulled her naked body flush against his. Just her skin against his had his cock rearing right back to life. "Exactly which one is scarier?"

"You falling for me."

Mace shook his head. "I'm not falling for you, Dez."

"Oh." Damn. "Good."

"I've already fallen. Head first."

Oh shit. "Um..."

He smiled. "Um?"

His hand lazily traced patterns across her chest, around her nipples, and under her breasts. She started to squirm from the pleasure of it.

"Mace, maybe we're movin' a little too-"

He cut her off. "Actually, I fell for you a long time ago, Dez. The day you dropped your books at my lab station and sweetly asked 'Youse mind if I sit here?'" Dez smirked at Mace's accurate portrayal of the Bronx accent she'd so desperately tried to curb. "And it's not my problem if that freaks you out."

"Do you even care if it freaks me out?"

"No."

Christ, could the man be more like a cat?

Mace pushed her hair off her neck and licked her wound. "That still hurt?" "Mmmhm...what?"

"You're not paying attention, Dez."

"Mmmhm...what?"

He grabbed her ass, pulling a squeak out of her. "Pay attention, baby."

"What is it with you and ordering me around anyway?"

Mace leaned in, his nose right against her neck. He breathed in deep and sighed. "I love how it makes you smell."

Oh, that's a damn good answer. She could get used to these shifters. She understood their logic better than she understood any human's she'd ever met.

Dez pushed at Mace's shoulders. "I don't think that's good enough, cat." He watched her, concern on his handsome face. He didn't want to hurt her. Man, was she falling for this guy or what? That couldn't be a good thing.

She stood up on her toes to get closer to his face. "I don't take orders from any man." She looked him up and down. "Especially you." She quirked an eyebrow, and Mace's concern turned to amusement. Well, amusement and lust.

He pushed her back against the wall. "You'll do what I tell you to." He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head. "And you'll enjoy it."

Could a woman spontaneously come? Dez felt perilously close.

So that banging at her front door, not a welcome intrusion. Especially when it set her dogs off to full-on warning barks, and some rather scary fangs burst from Mace's gums along with a growl that quickly became a roar erupting from his throat.

She heard Bukowski's voice as Mace released her and protectively wrapped his arms around her body. "Dez, if you can hear me, open this fuckin' door!"

"Who the hell is that?" Mace snapped. He really needed to find a way to control those fangs of his.

"My partner." She pushed past Mace, grabbing the green and white blanket off the floor. "Stay here. I'll get rid of him." She glanced at him over her shoulder as she wrapped the blanket around her body. "And feel free to stay hard."

She moved toward the door, eager to get back to Mace with his enormous dick and killer voice. Dez had no idea what Bukowski wanted, but it better be good.

As she neared the door, she heard Bukowski again. "Answer me or I'm breaking it down!"

Dez's body froze, but not her mouth. "Don't you dare!"

Her dogs stopped barking, running to stand protectively on either side of her. Fighting to control her anger, Dez snatched her front door open and came face to face with Bukowski.

Mace pulled his jeans over his painfully hard cock and thought about all the ways he could eviscerate Dez's "partner." He had no idea he could detest a man he barely knew, but the loud-mouthed bastard had interrupted their "playtime." Unacceptable.

When he heard Dez's "Don't you dare," he was all ready to go out there and kick some NYPD ass. But the smell of Irish Spring soap stopped him. He scented the air. They were moving through the backyard. Actually, they were right at the back door. He scented two...no. Three. Although only one of them used that particular soap.

Dez had guns hidden all over her house. He could smell the gun oil. The one in the cabinet under her sink was the easiest to get to. He crouched, his hands wrapped around the grip, when they came through the back door. Almost silently. If he'd been human, he wouldn't know they were there until they were on top of him.

Still crouched, Mace released the safety, spun, and landed flat on his belly. The barrel of his weapon pressed against a throat.

Hard to enjoy the moment, though, with a .45 slammed against his head.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I kept trying to call you and never got an answer. I finally called your neighbors about an hour ago. The old couple next door. They said they thought they heard screaming last night."

Maybe Sister Mary Joseph had been right. Dirty little girls like you, Desiree, get caught and dragged out in front of the town and stoned.

"Get in here." She grabbed her partner by his arm and dragged him into her house, slamming the door behind her.

"Did that scumbag do this to you?" He motioned to the wound on her throat. It probably looked much worse than it felt.

"No. Of course not."

"Don't bullshit me, MacDermot."

Exasperated, she snapped without thinking, "Do you think I'd let some guy do this to me and then fuck him?"

"Oh my God! You fucked Llewellyn?"

"I am not having this conversation with you!"

Dez, busy wondering how much time she'd actually do for killing her partner, barely noticed when her dogs suddenly spun around and charged back into the kitchen. She doubted they suddenly regenerated the balls she removed years ago and charge Mace. Someone else was in that kitchen. And one look at her partner's face confirmed it.

Bukowski tried to grab her arm, but Dez yanked herself away from him, taking his sidearm with her. She headed to the kitchen but stopped dead in the doorway.

She lowered the gun to her side and took a deep breath to calm her exploding nerves. One false move here and she could destroy everything she held dear.

First, she ordered her dogs out with a barked "schnell." Then Dez laid Bukowski's gun on the side table and calmly walked into the room. She walked up to the four men in her kitchen.

Mace had her gun, a sweet little .38, shoved up against Vinny's neck. Vinny had his Glock .45 against Mace's temple. Jimmy and Sal had their semiautomatics-no way legal in this state-trained on Mace's back. A Mexican standoff, and she could only hope to keep these four idiots from killing each other.

First, she focused on Jimmy and Sal. "I need you two to stand down." When they ignored her, "I need you two to stand down...now."

Their eyes shifted to her and, so slowly she thought they were completely ignoring her, lowered their weapons. She wasn't out of it yet. Vinny was one of the best Marines she knew. Mace a government-trained killer.

She moved until she stood right next to them, her feet nearly touching both men. Slowly she crouched beside them and carefully placed her hands over each man's, pulling their weapons away and up. Mace and Vinny never looked away from each other. They finally released their hold on their weapons, and Dez quickly stepped away. After one glare, both Sal and Jimmy handed over their guns as well. They knew better than to fight her when she got like this.

They also knew she had no qualms about putting all their asses in prison for illegal weapons possession and forced entry.

She walked back toward the table where she placed Bukowski's gun and dropped the weapons there. She fought to control the shaking of her body. The thought of anything happening to her best friends or to Mace almost too much to bear.

She faced the man she held responsible for this bullshit. "Get in the living room," she spit out between gritting teeth as she handed him back his gun. "Now!"

Mace slowly stood, the dark-haired man following. They heard Dez leave the room with her partner, but they still hadn't looked away from each other.

Mace glanced over the men. The blond one sported a tattoo on his inside wrist. The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. Marines.

"So...you guys interested in a job?"

Dez dragged Bukowski into the living room. "Have you lost your ever-loving mind?"

"You're sleeping with some scumbag whose sister you're investigating for murder and you have the nerve to ask me that?"

"I'm not investigating her anymore. I'm off the case. As of now." Why should she pursue the case? She already knew the answers. "And I can't believe you dragged the guys into this either."

"They were as worried as I was."

"You could have gotten them killed. In my house! The man's a goddamn SEAL. He eats entire tactical units for fuckin' breakfast!"

Bukowski shook his big, shaggy head. He often reminded her of one of her dogs. "I thought you were smarter than this, Dez."

"Smarter than what? What is your problem with him?"

"I don't want you to get hurt." She sighed. Here came the big brother syndrome right on schedule. "No. Really. A guy like Llewellyn, all he's going to do is use you."

"You don't even know him."

"And you haven't seen him in twenty fuckin' years, but you went ahead and hopped right into bed with him."

"I don't hop."

"Dez, I don't wanna be cruel. But come on. A guy like that with somebody like you?"

She wasn't as hurt as she probably should have been. She knew exactly where she stood with Bukowski and, in his own brutish way, he wanted to protect her. Still, that seemed a little harsher than necessary. And she was about to tell him where he could stick that particular comment when the swinging door to her kitchen exploded open, the wood banging off the wall and coming off its hinges.

Mace stormed into the living room, amazingly pissed off in just his jeans. It didn't help his fly was only halfway zipped up, reminding her of what Bukowski forced her to miss out on. She could still taste Mace in her mouth.

Dez stepped aside as Mace strode angrily across the room. Usually the man didn't let anything get to him. Not with that military-trained feline personality. Yet here he was, protectively pushing Dez behind him as he faced off against Bukowski.

Great. Another male protecting her. How did she keep getting into these situations?

"If you've got something to say, why don't you say it to me?"

Dez glanced behind her. No sign of the other three. They must have left once they realized she was fine. They knew better than to stick around for her wrath. They'd seen the damage she could do when that MacDermot temper made its rare entrance.

"I wasn't talking to you," Bukowski barked angrily.

"Well, ya are now!"

Mace towered a good six inches over Bukowski, but both men refused to back off. Idiots. God save her from protective men.

She sighed. "Would you two just-"

"Shut up, Dez!" They both said it at the same time, never once taking their eyes off each other. It took all her strength not to grab the gun she kept hidden under her couch cushions and shoot both of them in the head.

Instead, Dez turned on her heel and headed back upstairs, her two dogs trailing faithfully behind. At least there were some males in her life that obeyed her. "When you two are done pissin' around me, feel free to let yourselves the fuck outta my house!"

Mace watched that cute ass walk away from him and he didn't like it one bit. Well, he liked the view. A lot. But he didn't mean to push her away. Not when all his future plans involved her.