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first, but they grew bolder by the second. They ran along his hips, traced the contours of his chest muscles, and then settled on the sides of his face, drawing him down and deeper into their kiss.
    Resisting the urge to growl, he grabbed her hips, pulling her up and pressing her against his cock. Her legs wrapped around him invitingly, and he pushed her back to pin her against the tree.
    She moaned into his mouth—a sweet and wholly feminine sound that reverberated throughout his body. He could feel it in his bones and, being the decisive wolf that he was, he knew that he wouldn’t settle for any less than making her his mate.
    Alder ran a hand up her dress, pleased that she wasn’t wearing a bra. He cupped one of her soft mounds, squeezing and massaging it in his palm. His thumb found her stiff nipple, and he was eager to taste it.
    He tried to pull her dress up, but Taylor immediately stiffened. Alder slowed the pace of their kiss, attempting to coax her back into submission, but her posture remained rigid. Her hands went against his chest, pushing him back. Reluctantly, he acquiesced.
    His frustration was momentarily forgotten when he saw her face. She was panting, her skin flushed to a deep shade of pink. Her pupils were dilated, making her eyes bigger and more beautiful.
    Her lips began to move, but like many of the things she said, the words made no sense to him.
    “Do you have, like, protection?”
    “What?” The word came out more sharply than he’d intended, but his cock was wedged between them, still as demanding as ever.
    Her color deepened. “You know, like condoms?”
    Recognizing the word, he inwardly cursed. Contraception wasn’t something his kind needed. Their own females weren’t capable of conceiving, and they could easily scent when a human female was fertile.
    Alder tried to think of a way to explain this to Taylor, but his mind was drawing a blank. He wanted to tell her flat-out what he was, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t be eager to couple with him after that admission.
    While he puzzled over his situation, Taylor skillfully dislodged herself from his grasp.
    “It’s for the best,” she said, stepping away from him.
    Alder blinked at her. “What?” he said again.
    She averted her eyes. “We’ve only known each other for a day. It’s too soon for…” She floundered, waving her arms between them. “…This.”
    It finally occurred to him that she was rejecting him, and it pissed him off.
    “Bullshit,” he said, pushing his hair back.
    Taylor flinched. “Alder, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me—really—and I’m going to make it up to you, somehow. But not like this.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Is that what it would be?” he said, his irritation mounting. “A favor?”
    “That’s all it could be,” Taylor snapped, giving him a heated look. “What do you think is going to happen here? I’m a murderer . We can’t possibly have any sort of relationship together.”
    Alder put his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t give a shit about that.”
    And it was true, he didn’t. While he might not know the circumstances under which she had done what she did, Alder couldn’t picture Taylor killing in anything but self-defense. If anyone had tried to harm her, he was glad they were dead.
    She said, “Even if we could pretend like none of that mattered, why the hell would you even want to be with a girl like me? You’re a nice guy.”
    “You have no idea what—”
    She kept talking. “And I’m not a nice girl, not by a long shot.”
    Frustrated and confused, Alder turned and walked away.

Chapter Eight
    A wisp of smoke floated up from the pile of wood and brush. Alder bent down to blow on the kindling, and a few seconds later it caught flame.
    “Holy crap,” Taylor said, unable to contain herself any longer.
    It was the first thing she’d said to Alder since he’d come back to the campsite some fifteen minutes ago. This time, she’d been genuinely surprised