It was definitely an interesting time around the settlement, and not one she missed.

But here she was, back home, trapped with a man that called to her senses, with a rising moon and little time to find some control.

“What’s going on, Lyka? I can feel you freaking out.”

“Just stay away. Don’t touch me.” She wanted him to touch her so badly, she nearly grabbed his hands and put them on her. And he was going to know it, too, if she didn’t find some way to keep her mental shields nice and high.

“What did I do?” he asked.

She closed her eyes to block out the concern on his handsome face, but it didn’t work. She could still see him, all gleaming in the moonlight, his muscles the color of burnished bronze. Those broad shoulders of his would look so good between her thighs, and what his mouth could do to her while he was there . . . pure heaven.

“Talk to me, Lyka, or I’m going to shove my way in your head. I feel you throwing barriers up. You’re not going to like what I have to do to tear them down.”

She didn’t know if she was strong enough to keep him out or not, but what she was going through was private, for Slayers only to know.

He pushed against her mind, trying to find some way in. The pressure made her head throb, and she knew she had to give him something or he was going to learn everything.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he insisted.

She hugged her knees and rocked. “Full moon.”

Cool air blew past her. The fact that she wasn’t wearing panties—that they’d been shredded when she’d shifted—made it all that much harder to forget that her pink parts were steadily warming.

“So?”

“Promise you won’t fuck me.”

His tone was the same as if she’d asked him to cut off his own dick. “Hell, no.”

“I’m not ready to have young.”

“Okay. Good to know. But I’m still not following why you’re suddenly freaking out about this now.”

She opened her eyes and knew what he saw. Her pupils had lengthened as the animal in her prowled around, demanding that she take action and claim her mate.

No, not her mate. He hadn’t been approved by the council. She might have tied herself to him for life, but that didn’t mean her people would approve.

“Promise me you won’t touch me, no matter what I do. Even if I beg.”

He shook his head. “I won’t make that promise. I will always give you what you need, Lyka. There’s no shame in needing me to touch you, comfort you.”

He didn’t understand, but how could he? He wasn’t a Slayer. He’d never felt the consuming desire to give in to the needs of the flesh. To release the beast and let go.

Moonlight shone through the narrow window, growing closer to the corner where she now cowered. “Just give me some space. Please.”

He moved closer, intoxicating her with his scent, making her want with such desperate force, she was certain it would tear her apart. It was beyond arousal, beyond desire, causing her physical pain. The need had never been like this before, clenching her womb like a vise.

She curled up on her side in the hopes of making it stop, but all it did was remind her that she was naked beneath Joseph’s shirt.

Her mental walls began to crumble. She did her best to reinforce them, but she wasn’t experienced enough in such things to be sure her patches would hold.

“Trust me,” he told her as he stroked across her mind, coaxing her to give him the knowledge he wanted. “Tell me how to ease your pain.”

She hated it that he knew she suffered, that she was weak. She hated it even more that he was more than capable of taking away the pain. All she had to do was spill her people’s secrets to an outsider.

“We’re bound now, Lyka,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. “Family. I’m no outsider.”

He was so warm, so strong and solid. Just touching his skin seemed to ease some of the tightness in her chest.

“Get out of my head,” she said, though her words lacked any real fire. How could she be angry with a man who was trying to offer her comfort?

“Is it some kind of sickness?” he asked.

“Call it temporary insanity.”

“It looks more painful than that. How long does it last?”

“Until the moon is no longer full.” Or until the fire is quenched.

“Ronan will be here soon. I’m sure he’ll be able to ease you.”

“No!” she shouted. Everything inside her rose in denial at the idea of another man touching her. Just the thought of the Sanguinar’s hands on her was enough to make her want to vomit.

“Wow. Okay. Violent reaction noted. I’ll make sure Ronan keeps his hands off you.”

She relaxed a little in Joseph’s embrace. His fingers stroked up and down her arms and across her back, soothing her enough to ward off the worst of the pain.

“But we have to do something, Lyka. You’re in no condition to fight like this. And the chances of us being attacked out here aren’t exactly slim. You have to be able to run away, at the very least.”

She couldn’t even think about that right now. Standing was inconceivable. Fighting was as likely as her flapping her arms to fly to the moon and giving it a good gut punch for making her miserable.

“I’m sorry, honey,” he said, “but we really don’t have a lot of options. You’re going to have to trust me to help you.”

“You don’t even know what to do,” she said between clenched teeth.

“Maybe not, but your brother will. I’m calling him.”

Oh, hell. The only thing worse than suffering through a violent storm of sexual need without relief was letting her big brother know it was happening. “He’s going to be dealing with his own issues right now. It’s a Slayer thing.”

“Good. Then he’ll be able to tell me what to do.”

Another wave of pain ripped through her, making every muscle in her body clench. She heard Joseph dial his phone, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. She couldn’t even find enough air to beg him not to make the call.

Dark spots rippled in her eyes, adding more proof to the pile that she was in no condition to fight.

“It’s Joseph,” she heard him say. “Lyka’s in pain. Some Slayer thing, she says. What do I do to help her?”