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against him, giving urgency to his desire. It had been far too long since he’d satisfied his mating lust, and Larkan could feel his self-control slipping away. He would have promised her anything in that moment. He would have torn out the wall of the cave and presented it to her, paintings and all, as tribute.
    “You’re avoiding my questions,” she murmured, her words slurred with need.
    “Don’t talk,” he replied, stopping her mouth with his.
    But she pushed him away. As Larkan watched, Keltie emerged from the haze of desire to give him a long, questioning look. “What do you think you’re doing?”
    “I was kissing you. You seemed to like it.”
    She made an angry noise in her throat. “Yes, of course. But I know you’re still messing with me.”
    Larkan didn’t answer. His desire for her rammed headlong into his need to see her gone—and yet she was right. He was taking something he had no right to enjoy. Anger burned through his gut, filling his chest with volcanic heat. It doesn’t matter. She is just a human. And yet that was a lie.
    “I apologize,” he finally said. “I want you to forgive me.”
    “What good is that?” she exploded. “I can’t forgive you without some kind of explanation!”
    “I can’t,” he said hoarsely. “I can tell you nothing.”
    She gave him a long, hard look that hit him like a spear. “Then you get nothing.”
    And she turned and walked away, back to the cluster of tents. Larkan felt a piece of himself go with her.
    * * *
    Keltie sat halfway up the mountainside, alone. She stared down at the remains of the campsite, marveling at how bare it seemed now that the students weren’t there. The soul of it had left, while she had given in and stayed behind with the remains.
    She had to hand it to Switzer—he could make things happen quickly when he made up his mind. By noon the next day, he’d got the students and most of the artifacts from the dig packed into the vehicles. A few tents still remained, as did some of the less expensive and bulky equipment, which could stay put until the professor and his favorites returned in a few weeks’ time. They’d left Keltie more than enough supplies, and a few of the students had even volunteered to keep her company. She’d declined. She wanted the time by herself to study the artwork at leisure, and to figure out how she was going to outwit Switzer once she got back to town.
    As the last Jeep drove away, one of the third-years leaned out the window and waved. Keltie waved back, already missing the students. Somewhere in the trees a bird piped, the sound crystalline in the clear, cool air.
    “Why are you still here?” came Larkan’s voice from behind her. He almost sounded panicked.
    “You again!” She whipped around, giving him a hard glare even as her heart leaped to see him. Even if she was angry, she couldn’t forget the feel of his body against hers. “You don’t give up, do you?”
    He drew closer, the graceful strength of his movements, conjuring the heat of their last kiss. An amazing, incandescent kiss. Keltie’s mouth went dry as ash. He looked good in the autumn sun. Copper highlights softened the dark sweep of his hair, and his skin was a pale ivory, as if he didn’t get outside all that much.
    “Why aren’t you with them?” he demanded.
    “Because you were so insistent that I leave.” That wasn’t entirely true, but her inner brat had wanted to see the look on Larkan’s face.
    She immediately wished she hadn’t. He turned deathly pale, and for a fleeting moment she wondered if he would explode with rage. Then his face calmed into a grim, stony expression. “That was a foolish choice.”
    Anger had made her stubborn up till now, but suddenly she couldn’t think past the doubt welling up in her stomach. “You’re serious!”
    His green eyes went wide with exasperation. “Do you think I creep about the woods spreading lies? You’re in danger.”
    Keltie stammered. “F-from what? You’re