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"Daet his hands on" He kissed her without warning, derailing her thoughts with the dark heat of it "But I knohat I want to get lanced at her neck in the bathroom mirror and scowled "Why didn’t you just biteat theher on the bottoave her an unrepentant grin "Want , she pushed hi her oet hair "Makethey had ti down from the Sierra Nevada

"How the hell do you make tea?" he muttered "I don’t have tea"

"Yes, you do It’s on the top shelf - I got so if she was going to be living with Clay That thought froze her "Clay?"

He heard her, though her voice had been a whisper "I’ the daether?"

A few seconds of silence and then he was in the doorway, his eyes cat-green Walking over, he kissed the mark on her neck "You try to leave and I will hunt you down"

Relief poured through her, but she sh with the back of her brush "Like a rabid dog? Very romantic"

"I’aze in theforever would be As yesterday’s inexplicable allergic reaction had proved, the disease in her blood was getting stronger day by day But, she thought with a fresh wave of fury, daht hell itself to stay with him this time

He rested his hands on her hips and bent down until their faces reflected side by side He was so beautiful - all ance and possessiveness - that she knew she’d have to be on her guard constantly Otherwise, she’d give hiers pushed up, touched skin "You want me"

"We’ll be late" But she leaned into hith contained within that e this s," heup to curve over her unbound breasts

Her breath caught at the boldunder her T-shirt "What’s that got to do with anything?" The last as a ht to touch her as he pleased

"It was early when he called" He flicked out his tongue in a quick catlike caress she was already addicted to "He’ll be delayed"

It took her desire-fuzzy brain several seconds to get hiswith those big hands that was surely illegal But even as she surrendered to him, part of her knew that this was an illusory happiness The ache in her belly, the endless need, it was a silent cry for soive her

Now that she’d met some of the couples in the pack, learned more about the leopard side of Clay’s soul, she understood the depth of her mistake These predators loved ild fury, but they were also darkly possessive, crossing the boundary into what huht term obsession But for a leopard et what she’d done, the way she’d given her body to others

With a huht to judge her But the truth was, it wasn’t about judg blood was too strong For him, it was about fidelity, about loyalty It didn’t matter that they had been children when he killed Orrin to keep her safe - they had already belonged to each other Until she had cut their link Now the past was an unacknowledged third between theed to salvage

He kissed her Enough, she thought, banishing the ugly thoughts to a far corner of her mind She ith Clay; that hat mattered Finally, for the first time in two decades, she was al point - a small cabin on DarkRiver land - at almost exactly the same time as the SnowDancer Judd Lauren was the coldest man she had ever seen Dressed in a black T-shirt and black jeans, his eyes measured her with icy precision She’d have run very fast in the opposite direction had Clay not been beside her And had Judd not been holding the hand of a s eyes of brown shot with blue, and the brightest smile Talin had ever seen

"Judd’sher ear

Brenna’s expression shifted to pure astonishment "Good Lord, the rumors are true - Clay actually talks to you"

Talin couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing despite the painful thoughts swirling in her head "Does he?" She gestured at Judd

"If I’ood, he sometimes says thole sentences in a row"

Talin was about to reply when Clay clamped a hand over her mouth from behind - at the same time that Judd wrapped an ar other things," he said to Clay, "let’s talk" Taking Brenna with hirabbed a chair, while Brenna curled up on the swing

Following the other couple onto the porch, Clay chose to lean against the railing Talin stayed attached to his side, all aone Judd wouldn’t have asked the to tell theht - the Psy were kidnapping the childrendoing things to Jon she ht not be able to erase

"You trust her?" Judd asked, cold gaze fixed on Talin