Page 12 (1/2)

That done, he would think the bond shut again

Her blood flushed hot as the vibrant h her veins Mates were joined on an incredibly deep level To other changelings, the scent of one half of a uish froether Nate’s refusal to accept the bond had denied thee

"No," she said out loud, forcing calm on herself All healers had to learn such discipline It allowed the to heal those they loved--a pack healer didn’t have the luxury of passing on the hard cases to another medic Every one of their cases was hard, because Pack was fa th of the eh her Then, for the first time, she tried to close her end of the exquisite pleasure/pain that was her link to this man she adored beyond life…and discovered she couldn’t She fisted her hands Forget the knoisdom that said the bond couldn’t be blocked--if Nate could do it, why couldn’t she?

It took her an hour to come up with some sort of answer She remembered what her mother had said--that Nate had had to learn to suppress his needs in order to allow her the tie That control see he did in relation to her But now he’d thrown off the reins and let the cat out to play

It ht be impossible to put the lid back on that bottle

Her eyes widened Nate was not going to be pleased if that proved true More importantly, she wasn’t pleased She didn’t want him to want her because he’d been forced into it by the pris her own beast understood far too well She wanted him to love her

It was a terribly impractical dream for a practical, sensible healer

EVEN WITH THE BOND, IT TOOK NATE THREE DAYS TO TRACK Tae so far south of the lake, there was nothing else within shouting distance "What the hell are you doing out in the middle of nowhere?" he said, the second she opened the door

Her eyes narrowed "Trying to get away fro her back, she walked into the house, her hips encased in those dary Not for food For her Every soft, curvy, bitable piece of her His cat wanted to test the resilience of her butt, while his--He slammed the door shut behind hi at red alert while we prepare to take on the ShadowWalkers and you choose this shack to hide in?"

"It’s not a shack and I’ back down to what appeared to be her breakfast "It’s Cian’s place He likes the water"

Cian had lied to him Not exactly a surprise "It’s miles from the lake!"

"It’s not that far He likes privacy, too"

Nate dropped his stuff by the door and shoved a hand through his hair "What, this was some silly little jaunt and no one bothered to tell me?" He saw red

Then she raised an eyebrow and that reddarker, e of doreed to stay on per for"

He didn’t believe her "You’re leaving the pack"

"Yes" She put down her uneaten toast and stood "There, you’ve seen h to cut, her eyes sparking with anger that intrigued the leopard even more than the spicy/wild/hot woman scent of her "You can leave the saan to clear the table

"Put those dishes down "

She ignored hi the distance between them, he closed his hand over her wrist She released the dishes softly to the table but didn’t turn to face him "What do you want, Nate?"

"I want you to talk to ainst her It took only a single move to enclose her in the circle of his arainst her neck He was ravenous for the scent of her, the feel of her "Come on, baby"

Her body tre lips "I can’t do this anyo"

Twelve

A GROWL ROLLED UP FROM HIS THROAT "FOR HOW LONG?"

"Why are you asking me that?"