Page 5 (1/2)

She wouldn’t use the aniainst Nate

It was the ive her "freedom" and it was the ht If only Nate’s huotten in the way

Except, of course, she loved that part of hih his fur over and over

It was a long while later when she curled up beside him and went to sleep

NATE waited to lift his head until he was absolutely sure Tamsyn was fast asleep The last hour had been both pain and pleasure, torture and redemption

The animal couldn’t understand why he didn’t claiht, a split-second shift into huht there on the softness of the rug

The te

She was the , tall drink of wo his hand up and down the sleekness of her thighs - exposed by that jersey she’d stolen years ago

He’d known, of course It had given him pleasure to think of her covered in his scent Since he hadn’t seen her wearing it around, he had guessed, had wanted, it to be her nightwear of choice

His claws dug into the rug as he shifted his attention to the proud thrust of her breasts There was no question about it

- Ta

No one would think to look at her that she’d been their healer for two years already Oh, the few packs they had trusted after Shayla’s murder - packs with men and women seeded from DarkRiver - had sent senior healers to complete her education, but it was Tamsyn the pack looked to She was their own and she was deeply trusted

Because she had never let them down

He remembered her at seventeen

Her mentor was dead and Shayla’s mate, Carlos, lay critically injured Their son, Lucas, reile reed he’d thought would snap under the weight of the dying sentinel’s wounds

But she hadn’t broken Instead, she’d put every inch of her abilities into healing Carlos

She hadn’t been able to save his life, but she had given hith to whisper his final words - ones that told them Lucas was still alive Tammy had been completely drained by the effort to save Carlos, but when they had rescued a badly injured Lucas, she had so it for weeks

She had slept only when Nate forced her to, worried she’d collapse under the strain Even then, she would crawl out of bed after a few hours at most Finally, Nate had had to half kidnap her He’d held her in his lap and told her to sleep And she had, curled up trustingly in his arone She’d grown into a woiven the chance to be a juvenile Leopards valued their freedo time in the wild He, too, had left DarkRiver for several years in his late teens Tas clipped at fifteen

Backing away frohan off the couch using his teeth and pulled it over her It would’ve been easier in his human form, but he didn’t trust his willpower that much One touch was all it would take He’d crumble like so much dust

He decided to keep watch over her from the outside

TAMSYN woke up war up, she hugged the afghan around herself and stared into the laz-fire Her internal clock told her it was , sometime around six Despite the fact that she’d done all she could to entice Nate, he hadn’t soto hiht in her throat It was the first tiht spring, not fro protectiveness, but because he didn’t want to be tied to her Her lower lip trehter around her body in a vain effort to ward off hysteria

Being unwanted by awasn’t e, wasn’t infatuation, wasn’t a connection you ever broke She was tied to Nate on the level of her soul More than that, she loved him Some people said that there was no difference between the bond and love, but she knew there was It was one thing to be compelled toward Nate, another to adore hi about hih to his unashamed masculinity

But what if, for Nate, the bond was simply a compulsion? One he couldn’t dissolve, but that he wouldn’t have chosen if he’d been given the choice?

She was hardly a prize, she knew that, had always known it Added to that, Nate was older, more experienced

Maybe he’d expected and wanted to find a mate who could match him, a woman who’d seen far more of the world than just their small corner of it