Ellison backed up a few steps, but Broderick charged him. Ellison came up, and the two males met, both wolves now, snarling, biting, clawing.

Broderick chomped on the back of Ellison's neck, and Ellison rolled away, wanting to groan in pain. He scrambled to get his paws under him, the light of the fires in the abandoned hay barn starting to blur. Broderick was a blur too, the noise around him a hum of confusion.

Something brushed past him, something that smelled sweet and good, and of mate.

"Stop!" he heard Maria shout. "Stop the fight!"

Ellison blinked. The lights were still fuzzy around the edges, but he saw Maria clearly, inside the ring, between him and Broderick. The refs were coming for her, shock on their faces.

A big rule of the fight club was that no one, no one, stopped a fight once it started. The only stopping was when an opponent yielded, or the refs thought one of them too far gone and needed to be contained.

No one watching was allowed to touch the fighters, and certainly not to enter the ring. Especially a human. Especially a human female.

The two refs, big Felines, were heading to grab Maria and drag her out. Ellison put his wolf body between her and them, growling hard.

Outside the ring, Connor said, "Maria, you can't do that."

Tiger stepped over the barrier. Ellison noticed no one tried to stop him. "Don't touch her," Tiger said clearly.

The refs halted. Broderick shifted into his human form and put his hands on his hips. G.o.ddess, the man stank.

"You can't stop the Challenge," Broderick said to Maria. "Or he forfeits." He grinned at her. "You don't want that, now do you?"

"He was already hurt before he walked in," Maria said angrily. "You knew that. You should have put it off."

"Hey, he picked the time and place."

Ellison leaned back against Maria, a fine place to be, and she put her arms around his neck. "Do it some other time. You can stop this."

Ellison's body decided to shift. He didn't want to-he felt stronger as wolf-but Maria with her arms around him made him change form back to human male. He ended up with Maria's arms still around him, pulling him close.

"Hey, love," he said, his voice barely working. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"I'm taking you home," Maria said. "I don't want to see you hurting anymore."

Around them, the crowd stopped screaming and booing and moved closer to listen. Shifters could never mind their own business.

"Let me finish this first," Ellison said, the words rasping. "A mate always answers a Challenge."

"Doesn't matter. Even if Broderick wins, I'll refuse him, and come back to you anyway."

Some of Ellison's tension left him, and his breath became less labored. His ribs started to feel better too. The healing touch of the mate. He hadn't quite believed in such a power before-especially when the mate was human-but he did now.

Ellison leaned to her, his forehead against hers. "Look around you. All these males here would want you as mate. They call you fair game, but you're the one who does the choosing. Anyone you want, for the taking."

"I already chose."

Her words poured strength into Ellison's body. Enough strength for him to rise up and kick Broderick's sorry behind? Well, maybe not.

Maria was speaking again, her words flowing, but his heart only heard the peace of her voice. "You told me I should stop surviving and start living. You should too, Ellison. Stop just getting by, and show me how to live. Live life with me."

Ellison felt the smile spread over his face. "Oh, sweetheart. You've done it now."

"Done what?"

"Made me know the mate bond is real. I love you, Maria."

Maria took a sharp breath, then her answering smile blossomed. "I love you, Ellison Rowe."

Ellison kissed her. This kiss went on . . . and on.

Shifters around them cheered. Or howled, roared, whistled, or made ribald remarks. d.a.m.ned nosy neighbors.

"Aw, s.h.i.t." Broderick spit on the ground. "d.a.m.n it, I can't compete with this. You're a lucky d.i.c.khead, Ellison." He heaved a long and aggrieved sigh. "I withdraw the Challenge."

His family groaned. Deni whooped, and Connor followed suit. Other Shifters said, "Awww," and clapped and cheered.

"You're still an a.s.shole," Broderick growled. But he came forward, holding out his hand.

Ellison turned and put his into it, making sure his grip was as strong as Broderick's. He kept his other arm around Maria so he wouldn't fall down.

"Come on," Broderick said. "Get yourself dressed, and I'll buy you a beer at Liam's place."

"Rain check," Ellison said, warming as he drew Maria to him again. "I'm going home."

Ellison carried Maria into his bedroom at the very back of the house, slamming the door with his cowboy-booted foot.

Maria had never seen his bedroom. In the light from the lamp beside his bed, she saw a large map of Texas on one wall, a red pin in the center marking Austin. The flag of Texas, with its one white and one red stripe, blue field on the left bearing the lone star, hung downward on another wall. Photos of Ellison's sister, nephews, and friends were pinned up over the desk. Ellison was laughing in any snapshot he was in, saluting with a longneck beer, or tipping his cowboy hat in an exaggerated way.

She took all this in before Ellison collapsed with her onto the bed. It was a single bed, narrow, and Maria squashed against him.

"Love." Ellison rolled onto his back, rubbed his hands through his hair, and blew out his breath. "G.o.ddess, what a day."

"It ended well." Maria rose on her elbow and tapped the tip of his nose. "You should sleep. You need to heal."

"Not yet." His voice lost its teasing note, his playfulness dissolving. "Not yet." Ellison skimmed his hand along her side to her breast. "Do you know what went through my mind when you ran into that ring tonight, all fired up?"

"Annoyance?"

Ellison dissolved into laughter. "Man, those refs are never going to let me hear the end of it. The fight club is all about the rules." He touched her face. "No, I thought you were mighty s.e.xy running in there, telling everyone what to do with themselves. Crazy, but s.e.xy."

"They were going to let you fight when you were already hurt," Maria said indignantly.

"You think I couldn't take Broderick in my rundown state? You wound me."

"Don't be stupid. It should be a fair fight. You have to win with skill and strength, not arrogance." She made a face. "And no way was I going to be Broderick's mate."

"I wasn't about to let you be." Ellison ran the ball of this thumb across her lips. "Then he had to go and do the n.o.ble thing, and make all of Shiftertown soft on him. But even an a.s.shole could see that we were meant to be together."

"Broderick was good to step back."

"Nah, he'd be embarra.s.sed if I kicked his a.s.s when I was already hurt." Ellison grinned. "No, you're right. I was halfway down already and Broderick came through. Makes me almost like the guy." He winced and touched his ribs where Broderick had gotten in a blow. "Almost."

"You see? You should rest. We'll talk about being mates in the morning."

"Oh, no." In one quick move, Ellison rolled his body over hers, pinning her with his warm weight. "I've been waiting all day to get my arms around you again. I was thinking about us in the pond all last night and all today, remembering the bluebonnets, the sunshine. You." He skimmed his lips, warm and satin smooth, across her mouth. "Why did you decide to start making love to me, yesterday? Not that I minded."

"I wanted to." Maria slid her hands to the small of his back, his flesh warm through his shirt. "I was worried that when you finally seduced me, I would be afraid. So I thought if I did it fast, without thinking about it, then I'd know if I would be afraid. Does that sound crazy?"

"And were you?" Ellison's voice was quiet. "Afraid?"

"No." Maria dug her hands into his back, pulling him closer. "No, I wasn't. It was . . . so beautiful."

"Yeah, that's a good word for it. f.u.c.king amazing is another."

"That's two words."

"Whatever."

Ellison knelt back from her and skimmed her shirt up and off over her head. Cool air touched Maria's b.r.e.a.s.t.s, held by her satin bra, the spring breeze from the open window soft.

Ellison reached over and switched off the lamp. In the white moonlight, he unsnapped her bra, slid it off, and tossed it aside, then took time to rest his gaze on her, taking her in.

"Trouble with pond water is it's too muddy," he said. "You can't see what you want through it."

She smiled. "I know."

"Oh, sweetheart, you can make a man hard looking at him like that, and saying that."

"I only said I know."

"Maybe, but it was the way you said it."

Maria started laughing. She loved this man, who made her feel good, and made her laugh, at the same time he spiraled her into wanting. She reached for his belt buckle and popped the big thing open.

"Why do you wear this?" The buckle had an oil well and Texas emblazoned on it.

"Because I like Texas. It's big, it's bold, it's not afraid of the world. I like to brag that I'm from the most in-your-face state in the country."

"But you're from Colorado."

Ellison grinned his big Texas grin, then subsided. "You want to know the truth?" He traced a soft pattern on her breast, which slid fire to her heart. "When my sister and I and my nephews were rounded up to be brought here, Collared and registered like cattle, I didn't know what was going to happen to us. By the time we were dumped here, left in front of this house, which was at the time a rundown pile of c.r.a.p, I'd figured out one thing. Deni and I had left behind a lot of sadness, a hole where our lives used to be. I looked around at this vast place, and I decided Texas would be our new beginning. I left behind my old life and totally embraced the new, every part of it. Got me a big pickup, a flag, a belt buckle, and an accent. The hat and boots I already had, 'cause you know, real cowboys come from Colorado."

Maria laughed again. "You have a big ego."

"So I fit right in. But I learned to love everything Texas, my new home, my new life. It saved me."

She nodded, understanding. "Like me trying to learn to be American, and go to school, and live with Shifters."

Ellison drew his fingers up her throat and around her chin, his touch featherlight. "We're both carving out a place for ourselves." His voice went quiet. "How about we do it together?"

Words welled up inside Maria, so many words that she couldn't make them coherent. "Yes," she said softly.

The Shifter wolf flashed into his eyes and out again. "Maria, honey, yesterday, in the water, everything was slow, sensual." He slid his touch to her breast again. "Tonight, I don't know if I can be as sweet."

Maria's heart beat faster, a point of heat curling between her thighs. "I don't want sweet."

"You sure?" Ellison's breath came faster, his body tightening. "I don't want to rush you, or scare you. But if I start . . . I won't be able to stop."

More excitement licked through her. "I'm sure. It's not the same." She laced her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck. "You're Ellison. You care about me. It's different."

"I do care." Ellison's voice gentled. "I love you, Maria. I've been waiting for you for so long."

Maria had been waiting for him. She hadn't known it those long years, through the misery and the pain. But she'd realized, that day she met him, when he'd touched his hat and said, "Ma'am," that her knight in shining armor had come.

"I can't . . ." Ellison said. "G.o.ddess."

He rolled off her, coming to his feet, his eyes pale gray in the moonlight. He yanked off his belt and boots, jeans and shirt, emerging bare. Bruises and abrasions were dark across his torso, but they were healing, his Shifter metabolism working on them already.

Ellison leaned down and yanked open the b.u.t.ton of Maria's jeans. She tried to help slide them down, but he had them off in a few swift jerks, pulling the panties after them. He left her shoes, slim sandals, on her feet, too impatient to remove them.

Ellison came back onto the bed, his warm bare body over hers, lowering himself without hurting her.

That was the last thing he did gently. He skimmed back her hair from her forehead and took her mouth in a deep, long kiss. His tongue tangled hers, the kiss hot and satisfying.

His kisses fell on her throat, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her belly, back to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s again. Ellison closed his mouth over one nipple, suckling, until Maria arched, the tight little pain bringing out a noise of pleasure.

More kisses, down her abdomen, one pressed to her navel, and the next between her legs. Maria felt his tongue, and she cried out. Ellison licked her there, moving his tongue around her opening, plunging inside it, her hips lifting from the mattress. Maria had never felt such a thing, had never experienced this kind of fine wildness.

Because Ellison did it for pleasure alone. The feral Shifters had cared only for their pleasure, and for creating cubs, and hadn't been concerned about Maria.

Ellison was taking the time to show his mate pleasure, joy, how it felt to be treasured. It was loving, caring.

The sensation also had Maria winding toward climax. White fire rippled through her, radiating from Ellison's skilled tongue all the way to her fingertips. She rocked against him, her hand furrowing his hair, pulling him closer, closer.

Ellison lifted his beautiful mouth away and slid his body up hers. He enclosed her in his arms, catching her cries of climax on his lips at the same time he slid straight into her.

Maria's eyes widened. Yesterday in the water, she easing herself onto him, she'd not had this fullness. He'd filled her, yes, but tonight she had the entire length of him, and it was powerful. Ellison spread her wide, she tight and hot, the place where they joined filled with wonderful ache.

"Ellison," she said, her voice rolling through the room. "I love you!"

"I love you, Maria." His voice was fierce, his body strong. "Mate of my heart. Together. We do this together."

"Always." Together in life, in family, in love, now.

Maria rose to meet him, Ellison's openmouthed kisses like washes of fire, Maria burning to ash beneath him.