She pushed away from him again, testing his strength. He held on tighter, not willing to release her. If she thought the fever would make him weak, she was very much mistaken. Instead, it had only made him dangerously strong.

"Dammit." She let out an exasperated rush of breath. "All right. Fine. But make it quick."

Reluctantly releasing her ass, Brendon slid his hands up until they braced against her back. He pulled her forward and he leaned in, those pretty eyes watching him, wary and a little bit curious.

Brendon brushed his lips against hers. A small, completely nonthreatening move. She didn't do anything back. Merely stared at him. Since she didn't try and rip his throat out, he came in for another pass, this time lingering a bit.

Still, she didn't make any moves one way or the other.

Pulling her close to his body, Brendon closed his mouth over hers. Her hands remained on his shoulders, tense like the rest of her, ready to push him away at any moment. He licked her bottom lip, the tip of his tongue tracing a line between. Her hands tightened on his shoulders but instead of pulling him off, she gripped him tight and kissed him back.

And holy hell...what a kiss!

Rhonda Lee Reed, you are a whore!

Yup. She could hear her momma's voice clear as a bell in her head. Telling her the same thing she told her when she found Ronnie in the backseat of Johnny Patterson's Pinto with Ronnie's favorite pair of red cowboy boots plastered to his roof.

And here she was again. Involving herself with the wrong kind of guy. Actually, the wrong species. Plus sick. The man had a horrible bout of fever.

He should be resting. He should be sipping fluids to keep his temperature down and moaning in agony. He should not have some stranger's tongue down his throat.

So she needed to stop this. Now.

But damn if the man wasn't an amazing kisser.

Ronnie should have known as soon as she looked into that gorgeous face the night before she was in trouble. Even bloody and broken from the beating he took, absolutely nothing could take away from his raw beauty. Sharp cheekbones and an almost muzzlelike nose did nothing but enhance the man's sinfully full lips. Lips Ronnie had no problem imagining all over her body.

It was when he opened his eyes and looked at her, though, that she felt every female hormone in her body suddenly zap to life. Those astounding dark gold eyes framed by coal-black lashes completely did her in. Add in that six-foot-six, nearly three-hundred-pound, muscle-bound body and Rhonda Lee Reed was in hog heaven.

So not surprising she'd lost utter control of this situation.

One second staring at the blindingly boring Engineering 101 textbook, wondering if her plan to go back to college continued to be one of the better ideas she'd recently had, and the next-in the lap of a damn cat with his tongue in her mouth.

At the end of the day, though, she blamed Sissy Mae Smith for this. Her best friend since she'd turned three, that evil female had gotten Ronnie into more trouble than seemed possible for two good ol' She-wolves from Tennessee. There were rock stars with cleaner pasts than her and Sissy. Not that they ever did drugs or anything run of the mill like that. Hell, who needed drugs when Sissy had no qualms about getting her drunk on tequila, wrapping a bungie cord around her waist, and shoving her off the side of a building with Sissy's famous "Would you just trust me" yelled after her? Then there was that slight run-in with the Mexican police, and that little town in East Germany that ordered them never to return...

Oh, and those Vegas cops-yeah, they wouldn't be going back to Nevada anytime soon either.

Honestly, Sissy Mae could start a knife fight in a convent.

Still, Sissy wasn't the one tussling with an overgrown house cat. She and the rest of the Smith Pack were off enjoying Christmas day while Ronnie stayed behind to babysit. Which, in the big scheme of things, was definitely something his Pride should be doing. Where were those damn females anyway? One had shown up, seeming extremely "put out," and once the doc told them Shaw would live, she'd skedaddled right out of there. Didn't even go in to check on him. And that's when Sissy Mae sucker punched Ronnie.

"We can't leave him alone," she'd said. "No one wants to wake up in a hospital alone," she'd said.

"And?" Sissy's big brother, Bobby Ray, had demanded. "What are we supposed to do about it?"

Ronnie knew how this would play out and had quickly ducked behind Mace Llewellyn to hide. Like Shaw, Mace was a big buck. So maybe if Sissy Mae couldn't see her...

"Ronnie Lee will stay. Won'tcha, Ronnie?"

If Ronnie thought she could get away with it, she would have spit the water she'd just gulped down, right in Sissy's face. Because now that Sissy had picked her specifically, no other She-wolf would stay. So either they all left and Shaw would wake up alone in a strange hospital or Ronnie would have to stay.

With an entire Pack to protect her, plus three big brothers, her pain-in-the-ass momma, and of course Daddy, Ronnie would never wake up in a hospital alone. The thought anyone would have to go through that, even a cat, made her feel like she had to do something.

Grudgingly, through gritted teeth, she'd agreed. "Fine. I'll stay."

Now here she was necking like a horny seventeen-year-old with a man she didn't even know. Okay, and true, this wasn't the first time she'd done this. She knew that. Hell, there were a number of .38 Special and Charlie Daniels Band concerts where she and Sissy Mae had left quite the indelible mark. But she'd promised herself three weeks ago, when she'd turned thirty, that those wild days were over. Instead she'd go and get her degree. Try staying in one place longer than five minutes, which meant no more backpacking across Europe, Asia, and Africa with a nutbag-aka Sissy Mae. And no more fooling around with shifters she barely knew.

What made this even worse? The poor bastard wasn't even in his right frame of mind. She should be pushing him off her and tucking his big-exquisite-body back into the hospital bed so he could get over that fever in peace. She definitely shouldn't be tightening her thighs around his waist and pulling him closer.

Only whores do that, Ronnie Lee.

There went her mother's voice again. Lately she hadn't been able to get that woman's damn voice out of her head. It was starting to make her crazy!

Slapping her hands against his big shoulders, Ronnie pushed him back. "Stop. Stop. We need to stop."

"Why?" he murmured, leaning in close to nibble her neck.

"Cause this is...um..." Ronnie had a hard time concentrating with him swirling his tongue against a spot right under her ear, but she had to try. "It's...um...something."

His teeth gripped the wet flesh of her neck and bit down. Not too hard but hard enough. Her fangs burst out of her gums as her body shook.

"We have to stop. Right now!" Never had she lost control like this before. Her fangs didn't just "slip out." Ronnie Lee always had control when it came to males. Always. That's what made it so easy to walk away the next morning. And she always walked away the next morning.

"Don't make me stop," he begged, his enormous hands trying desperately to pull her back against him. "Please."

Yup. Definitely caught in the fever, because lions didn't ask for anything. They sure as hell didn't say please or beg. It wasn't in their nature.

He gripped her waist and yanked her tight into his lap. She could feel the powerful heat of his hard erection rubbing against the inside of her thigh. Much more of this and she'd be lost. Much more of this and it wouldn't matter if her momma never let her back in the family home.

Ronnie shoved him back while forcing herself in the opposite direction. His grip loosened and she scrambled away from him and off the bed.

"Don't," he ordered. "Don't leave me."

Trying to get her breath back, Ronnie shook her head. "I'm not leaving you, hoss. I'm just not having sex with you either."

He growled, baring huge fangs. "Why not?"

Ronnie walked back to her things and grabbed the painfully boring textbook she'd been hopelessly trying to read. "Because I have sense."

"Your sense sucks." Lion eyes stared at her from under a gorgeous mane of gold and brown hair that reached his shoulders. Shaw's big body leaned forward, and Ronnie gave him about ten seconds before he leaped off that bed at her. "Come here," he snarled.

She did, the book still in her hands. "What?" she asked once she stood near him.

Those gold eyes swept her from head to toe and back, leaving all sorts of interesting tingling in their wake. "Stay with me. In this bed. Now."

She nodded. "Okay, hoss. Okay." She stepped closer, brushing his cheek with her hand, and he closed his eyes on a sigh.

Her own fangs bared, Ronnie grabbed the eight-hundred-pound book in both hands and swung. It slammed into Shaw's jaw, knocking the man on his side and completely unconscious.

Tossing the book back across the room, Ronnie shook her head and sighed. "Damn cat."

"Is he supposed to be that horny?"

The doctor, a cutie-pie leopard, glanced back at the nurses who had to turn away so they wouldn't laugh in his face.

"Miss uh..."

"Ronnie. Just call me Ronnie. And answer my question, doc. I mean, I could have been rolled in catnip the way that boy was acting."

Clearing his throat, the doctor took her arm and steered her away from the nurse's station. All of them shifters, Ronnie didn't worry about what they might overhear. And with such a light onsite staff due to the holiday, Ronnie didn't give a damn how loud she got.

"Ronnie, have you never taken care of anyone with fever before?"

"Of course I have. My daddy. My brothers. But they never...ya know."

The doctor quickly shook his head. "No. No. Of course not. They're family. But how did your father act around your mother when he was in the fever?"

Ronnie had to think about that. She'd been sixteen when her daddy had the fever after an ugly battle with a wild boar and she hadn't spent much time thinking about it once he recovered. But then she remembered how her momma kept throwing her out of the room. A lot.

"Oh."

Smiling, the doctor nodded. "Yeah. 'Oh.' He must be attracted to you, Ronnie. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't bother. Especially lions." He rolled light gold eyes that would freak even Ronnie out in the dark. "You know how they are."

He patted her shoulder in an almost friendly gesture. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll get one of the male nurses to watch him. He's a bear. Huge. Can easily handle him. That way you can go meet up with your Pack."

She almost agreed immediately but then remembered how he'd ordered her to not leave him. There was a desperation to his demand that had her frowning when she realized none of the Llewellyn Pride would be around to take care of him.

"I can't leave." Although she really should. "I promised him I wouldn't." Ignoring the doctor's raised eyebrow, Ronnie turned away and headed back to Shaw's private room.

"Use the call button if he gets really out of hand, Ronnie."

She waved in agreement and kept walking, turning a corner and heading down another hallway. Considering shifters didn't need the hospital all that often, they sure did have a huge amount of space around this place.

After pushing the door to Shaw's room open, Ronnie froze. Shaw was gone, which would definitely concern her. But the two bodies lying on the floor concerned her more.

Ronnie moved closer, her nose wrinkling when she smelled that they were human. Both looked to be in their thirties, one with dark brown hair and a big mustache. The other blond with a brutal scar on his throat, like someone had taken a knife to it. She also smelled the gun oil from their weapons and grimaced at their incredibly tacky suits.

And what, exactly, had they done with her lion?

Ronnie crouched beside the men and found their guns, Glock .45s, expertly dismantled. The pieces tossed under the bed. Seemed her rich lion had some hidden skills. Shaw had battered these guys pretty good, but they'd definitely live.

She sniffed the air and locked on to Shaw's scent. Keeping her nose up, she followed Shaw down a long hallway and around a corner. As she reached the end of that hallway, she saw a door leading to a set of stairs that would take Shaw down and out of the building.

"Oh Lord." She ran the last few feet, slamming into the door and shoving it open. Her momentum kept her moving forward. Right into the back of Brendon Shaw who, for some unknown reason, felt the need to sit on the railing. She should have sent him flying over, but he only grunted when she collided into him.

Glancing over his shoulder, Shaw smiled at her. "Well, hi, sexy."

Ronnie pushed away from his back, taking a few seconds to tie his hospital gown back so she didn't keep staring at the man's perfect ass.

"Darlin', what are you doing out here?"

"Just watching the sun rise."

Brushing his hair out of his eyes, she said, "You're in a stairwell, darlin'. And the sun rose several hours ago."

"Really? And it looked so pretty, too."

She grinned and Shaw groaned in response. "You have the prettiest smile I've ever seen." Ronnie felt her heart warm for the big goofus. Until he added, "Just like that sunrise."

"Okay, hoss, let's get you back-" That scent hit her hard, causing her to pull back.

"What?" he asked, his gold eyes suddenly clear. "What's wrong?"

She briefly placed her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet and she sniffed the air again. The humans Shaw had dropped were on the move. She doubted they were still looking for Shaw after that beating, but no telling what they'd try if they stumbled across him. And Ronnie really didn't want to kill anyone today-if she could help it.

"We've gotta get you out of here," she whispered, knowing their voices would echo enough for humans to hear.

"Why are you whispering?" Shaw demanded, ten times louder than was necessary.

Again Ronnie slapped her hand over his mouth. "Keep it down!" She used her other hand to guide him back over the railing and onto the stairs.

"Come on, darlin'. We've gotta move."

She hustled him down five flights of back stairs to the exit that would lead her out the rear of the hospital. She knew she could take Shaw back into the hospital, but she wasn't real impressed with their Christmas day security if humans could sneak around the Shifter floor undetected. No, she'd be better off taking him someplace safe and away from the city.

"Stay here," she told Shaw, leaving him by the stairs.

Ronnie took several quick steps to the back door. She examined it and saw it had an alarm on it to alert the hospital staff of anyone coming in or out. Still not wanting to alert the men after Shaw, she quickly located the necessary wires and yanked them out, disconnecting the system. The hospital would probably know someone had tampered with it and their security guards would be there soon to check on it. Just enough time for her to get Shaw out.

Pushing open the door, she carefully leaned out so she could see if it was safe to leave. Thankfully, she didn't see or smell any humans lurking around and, even better, there was a taxi on the corner.

But before Ronnie could move, she felt big fingers brush against her lower back as they pulled the waistband of her jeans out. Eyes wide, she looked over her shoulder at the man staring intently down into the gap between her jeans and her skin.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"You have the cutest ass," he sighed out. Gold eyes looked up at her. She had no idea if the fever gave him that hungry look or her butt. "I could spend hours playing with this ass."

"Now isn't that a lovely compliment." She slapped his hand away. "Look, you need to get control of yourself."

Placing his hands against the door frame, with his enormous arms over her head, he leaned into her. Great, the man was hitting on her like they were at a disco.

"Let's get a hotel somewhere and work this out," he murmured.

"We need to get you someplace safe, cat."

"But I like you."

"Once you get through this fever, you won't even remember my name."