Generally speaking, Rhiannon experienced fear right after she noticed happiness, like its less welcome shadow twin. But right then, removed from the rest of the planet and its people and monsters, she was at ease. She curled her hand around Cian’s head at his ear and held him in the kiss, her tongue moving in unison with his. “Not just the night,” she said when their mouths finally parted. “Much longer.”

But who cared about the rest?

They would stay a while longer and then run the distance back to Cottonwood Cove. She would climb into an actual bed and sleep under the sheets in a pleasing tangle of the Were’s arms and legs. When it was time, she’d drive back to the city in a daze of sore skin and daydreams, and it would be okay.

Because what kept her in the desert wasn’t just its unique energy. It was also Cian.