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To her endless relief, he slept like the dead

And woke as around his hips, hts would return, but she didn’t think so Not when Cooper had spent the night with her tucked up tight against him, his arm locked around her waist

"Possessive beast," she h that she’d wear the ainst her as he licked over the brand

TWO weeks after their return from the station, and with the den’s power supply back to full strength as of five days earlier, Grace came home to find a bath in the roooodness bath, clawed feet and all Filled with stea water that carried a heady floral scent, delicate pink petals scattered over its surface

Grace stared She had no idea how he’d even gotten the thing into the rooed it so the water would be the perfect te off her clothes, she slipped into it with a groan of pure pleasure No one could say her man didn’t kno to court a wo her lover on such a chase, even as they applauded his tactics

The fact was, it had taken an agonizing level of self-control on her part not to surrender to the bond She’d been teetering on the cusp of it the hter to bond with him was a constant ache inside her Never did she want him to wonder why she’d accepted the bond, whether she’d done it only so he’d always know if she was safe

He’d been a little shaky the first few days, his aiting for the ax to fall But as the nights continued to pass, drearavated by her resistance to the bond

She’d danced in joy when he restarted his relentless can, complete with deliveries of romantic handmade chocolatesinscribed with sexual favors on the backs; the sudden appearance of a coveted new tool in her toolbox; and daily love-song requests on the internal SnowDancer radio station that had every adult in the pack - and so in at 9 pm to see what he’d ask for next And how

Her favorite was the time he’d dedicated it to, "The obstinate she-ho thinks I should learn the rowl turned silky "Though last night, she threatened to ood a student I’ve been"

Mortified by the intih the next daybut secretly, she liked being an

"obstinate she-wolf," loved that he never used the careful voice on her any his rock-solid belief in her eth with every dirty trick he played as he attempted to wear down her resistance

And Cooper had so with remembered pleasure, she rose out of the bath, dried herself off, then shifted Her wolf sniffed at itself, not too sure about the floral scent but deciding it was acceptable since Cooper’s scent underlay it, erin, she padded to the door, pressed her paw to the special footpad to open it and slipped out, the door swinging shut behind her

It took her no effort to track Cooper, his scent vivid to her every sense He was outside, speaking to several of the senior soldiers When she would’ve re for hi his head in welco

As she listened, Cooper finished working out soan to break away one by one, the grins on their faces having nothing to do ork

Cooper ca his hand down the slope of her back

"You’re such a pretty wolf, Grace" She yipped in a request for play

Hand fisting in her fur, he said, "Okay, you convinced me Give me a minute"

It took him less than that to strip and cache his clothes in the hollow created by the thick roots of a forest giant A wonder of light and color, and she found herself faced with a heavy-boned ho had becoer than her,yellow and his coat a luxuriant dark red

She quivered as he pressed his body against hers, acting shybefore she pounced up to grip at his neck with her teeth He snapped his own teeth in a pretend growl and nipped at her ear as she ju her release a startled squeak-bark

A wolfish laugh

Snarling, she attacked hi around one another She kneas letting her play - he was so er that it would’ve taken him but a second to seize control

But she also kneas having fun So when a low-hanging branch distracted hi chased as a rule - it was scary, stressfulexcept when it was Cooper doing the chasing

Then it was fun

Heart thudding, she scra on her - and then his paere on her shoulders, taking her down It was a classic deer wolf nuzzled at her and juaht and yawned in a gesture of impertinence

Cooper bared his teeth at his mate - if the contrary female would just accept the bond - and stared into her eyes She stared back, unafraid, her tail up, her gaze bright Had anyone coed him, but that wasn’t it at all

It felt as if she was adoring him