No, he saved that for the night, after his eyes had finally shut. d.a.m.n the woman for those hot, twitching dreams, too.

He'd worked up a fairly good head of steam as he ducked around a tree, danced between its thick roots at the same time; then he almost fell facefirst into the pond when he spied her. He managed to cling to a thick branch overhead and avert certain disaster. Well, one disaster anyway.

She was sitting on a flat rock that jutted out into the pond, tossing stones at the

gla.s.sy surface... and having a nice little chat. With Ringer.Jesus, Joseph, and Elvis, this was all he needed to make the day complete. Relief that the little beast was safe, was brief, since there was a substantial chance that he'd wring the shifter's neck if he so much as changed a toenail in front of Talia. At least Ringer had the sense to be the same breed of dog he'd been the day they'd first met.

He was about to whistle for him when another idea came to him. Perhaps getting Ringer to pull one of his little shifting acts would be a good thing, after all. Prove to Talia that they were what they claimed to be. Maybe he should have just done that right off.

She laughed just then and reached out to pet Ringer's scruffy head. Beautiful music, that. He'd not heard her laugh like that before, without a thread of derision or surprise coloring it. This laugh had been filled with pure enjoyment. He scowled, feeling foolish for envying Ringer, even for a moment.

He pushed through the tangle of brush and climbed the path toward them. "I

see you've finally made the little sc.r.a.pper's acquaintance."

She looked up, obviously startled. Her smile remained, but a certain guardedness had crept into it. He felt a moment's remorse that he'd ruined her respite. Had she really wanted so badly to be rid of him? Was he such a bad sort? "Baleweg was concerned that you were off alone." A lie, but he'd also be

d.a.m.ned if he'd let her know the emotions she'd wrung out of him this past

hour.

"I heard a howl and tracked him," she said, the tiniest bit of defensiveness in her tone.

His brows narrowed as he shifted his attention to Ringer, who was shamelessly lying on his back for a belly rub now. Lucky little b.a.s.t.a.r.d. "He's okay, I take it?"

She nodded, but surprisingly there was no chastising in her expression. "He'd gotten himself into a tangle with some brambles, but other than a few scratches, he's fine." She scratched his belly. "Aren't ya, boy. That's a good fella." Ringer pumped his back legs in sheer ecstasy and groaned as she gave him a good scratch. She looked back at Archer, having to squint a bit as the sun suddenly peeked out from behind a cloud. "I guess I owe you an apology-"

That surprised him. "For?"

She nodded at Ringer. "He's in good shape, his coat, scruffy as it is, is clean and untangled, and he doesn't miss many meals judging from this little belly."

She grinned when Ringer shamelessly begged for more of her attention. Her obvious joy made his skin ripple in awareness.

"You've obviously kept an eye out for him. You were searching for him

earlier."

No way did heat rise to his cheeks. "He takes care of himself like a good mate.

He doesn't need me panting about after his every move."

"I thought I saw you wandering down this way." She broke eye contact,

turning her attention to Ringer. With a half-shrug she added, "I happened to glance out of the tower-room window."

Archer grinned. So, she'd been keeping watch over him, had she? Baleweg

had said she'd been distracted and needed some s.p.a.ce. But perhaps she'd seen him and come after him, hoping to share that s.p.a.ce. The very idea, as well as the fact that they were, indeed, alone together made his body tighten.

Surprising, considering that just moments ago he'd wanted to write her off as being entirely too much trouble.

But when she looked back up at him, with that hint of vulnerability in her eyes, he had a hard time remembering why he'd felt that way.

"Tell Baleweg I'm sorry for worrying him," she said.

He cleared his throat, feeling a bit bad now for the fib. "I'm sure he'll understand. You were simply heeding the call of the wild, right?"

"I guess you could say that." She stood up and brushed off the seat of her jeans shorts. He couldn't recall seeing her in shorts before. Her legs were exceedingly long and slender with a flair of calf muscle. Probably from all that walking. Probably had strong thighs, too, he imagined. Just as he imagined what those strong thighs would feel like, all tight and wrapped-

He cleared his throat and dragged his gaze to the pond. "Don't you have more lessons this afternoon?"

"I begged off."

He turned to her. "Baleweg said you were a bit unfocused. Something wrong?"

Rather than answer, she reached down to scratch Ringer between the ears. He stretched against her legs, then looked up at her adoringly.

"Looks like you've got a new mate there."

"He's a very affectionate little guy," she said. "I'm surprised he doesn't stay closer to the house. He seems to be a people person."

"He likes his s.p.a.ce." Archer waited until she looked at him. "We all do from

time to time, right?"

She shaded her eyes as the sun poked out again, so he couldn't see what was in

them. But her voice reflected weariness. And wariness. "I suppose we do.

Maybe I'm used to my solitude more than some."

"And we've taken a good deal of that away, haven't we?" She looked so

surprised at his sympathy that he continued without thinking. "Am I such a callous blodger, then? You can't imagine that I might feel bad about the way we've invaded your life?"

That earned him a smile, a very dry one. "Honestly? No. I don't think it

bothers you if it means getting the job done. Isn't that what matters most?"

"Yeah." But even as he said it, he realized it for the automatic response that it was. He refused to ponder that further. "It was what I hired on to do. I have no choice."

"Oh, we all have a choice." She looked him square in the eyes now. "Even me."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that despite what I'm getting out of this, which is a great deal more than you probably understand, I'm not at all sure I'm willing to pay you back in the way you'd like me to."

"Now, wait just a d.a.m.n minute. I think the pixies have been wreaking havoc with your mind or you've baked in the sun here a bit too long. If you think that kiss last night meant I was looking for some kind of-" He broke off when her mouth dropped open, then closed again, but only so she could burst out laughing. Ringer began barking and running in circles, as if he too found this whole thing hilarious.

Archer propped his hands on his hips. "You obviously have a low opinion of

me, and normally I don't care what anyone thinks, but I just want to make one

thing clear."

She could hardly stop laughing long enough to listen to him. "And just what is that?"

He hopped up on the rock and took hold of her shoulders before he'd even thought the action through. She didn't struggle, but her laughter stopped now.

He saw her throat work as she stared up into his eyes and it made his body even jumpier. "I'm not the sort that uses s.e.x as some form of payment for services rendered." He wasn't shouting, but there was still temper in his tone, and in his eyes if her expression was any indication.

Not because she cowered or anything. Oh, no, not Talia. Whenever he got in a temper, she usually responded by following suit. This time was no exception.

She didn't yank free of his hold, but her body tightened beneath his grip. "No, I don't suppose I should have to pay. The queen is doing that and quite well, I hear."

Her frosty tone should have roiled him further. And it did, but not in anger.

Oh, the storm that brewed in those eyes of hers. He wondered if she was aware of the tempest he saw in them and how potent its promise was. He realized then she could wear sackcloth and smear ashes on her face.

Appearances had nothing to do with what captivated him.

"I don't expect anything from you except that you follow the rules that allow me to keep you safe," he said heatedly. "That includes not running off on a wild-goose chase."

Her eyebrows lifted and the tempest stirred further. "I did not run off. I very deliberately left. And the animal I was trying to help was yours, not that I'd expect any grat.i.tude."