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"Perhaps I a bastard, but I’m one who’s ready to run five kiloest you answer my question or hear the other, then decide"
Her lips pursed with annoyance AnkaThis was the ed in since her disappearance The woer-willed than the Anka he’d lived with This one was fighting…but hurting If he was clever and firin to trust and lean on hiain He simply had to keep his wits about him, exercise his patience, and let her work it out in her head, giving her a nudge here and there when she required it
"What else do you want to know?" She gritted her teeth
"If you won’t tell ry, then I want to hear exactly what Mathias did to you"
Horror flared her a her chair over It clattered against the hardwood floors "Absolutely not"
Lucan couldn’t ed to take her in his arms and assure her that she could trust hi she said could make him care less He must know the details of her trauin to heal until she let out the truth
Frustrated at her reticence, he fixed a gentle but resolved expression on his face "Anka, I’ve given you a choice Several, in fact Pick from two questions, choose a five-kilometer run, or quit I’ve been more than fair"
She sed, paced around her chair Lucan nearly bit his tongue at the gentle flare of her hips and the delicate curve of her arse, that thick silken rope of hair hanging to the s on it and bend her back until her lips tre had it been since he kissed her, smelled her Tasted her A mere three months…and yet, forever Bloody hell, he’d missed her
Anka whirled around to face hiht, then I’ll run Let et my trainers I’ll be back--"
"No You must run now In those shoes Or that option is off the table"
"I can’t, and you bloody well know it"
"I told you to coed and couldn’t help but grin "The boots look stunning on you, I adht you’d wear those nasty heels in case we practiced self-defense again and you got to pound your dainty little foot down on uiltily, and he broadened his smile "Sorry, love If you’re not prepared to run, you’ll have to answer ether"
She thrust her hands on her hips "When did you beco to na because I’hted her chair, brushing dangerously close to her
Blast it all, she sly fahts in their closet breathing in her clothes, trying to catch even the faintest whiff of her flowers andlike Shock He prayed his baggy jog pants and long T-shirt covered up the erection desperately seeking her attention Of course he knew she’d had sex since her rape--and wasn’t that a stab in the heart?--but he had no notion how afraid she ht be of him Of real intimacy Perhaps one reason she asked Shock to hold her doas to force her past her fears so that she could accept energy without thought or guilt He’d find out for certain soon
"I’ s that don’t concern you"
Her anger didn’t concern hi about her had been his business once and it would be again
"Sit" He voiced his demand in soft tones, but put steel behind it
Anka glared at hi out, he could tell Lucan both wanted and feared it She would be safer if she quit, but heher small fists clench, her mouth purse mutinously, then she dropped into the chair
"I’"
The old Anka would have at his first hint of displeasure This one? Well, if they were going to repair their relationship, it would require honesty and better co-willed creature would be a delight "Which question will you answer, then?"
She drew in a fortifying breath "I’ a bloody pillock"
"That’s a five-kilo toan attitude like armor I’m not the enemy I’m here to help you If you can’t drop your shields and trust me, we’ll never oing to get nothing but attitude from you, we’re done for today"
Her nose flattened She bit her lip, and her eyes welled up Aoff the expression But he’d seen the worry and fear "All right, then! I’ry with you because you nearly mated with Sabelle Are you happy to know it hurts ive you some sort of thrill?"
He was happy Not that that he’d caused her pain, of course The acknowledgeh every last nerve in his body "I’m sorry if that hurt you Let me explain"
"It doesn’t matter"
"It does No, don’t look away fronant ument Don’t Just listen," he insisted "It Matters At the ti, I believed you forever beyond ickind to have a damned purpose in life Sabelle and I would never truly beon" He shrugged "Ultis She was clearly in love with Ice After the way you and I had been cruelly parted, I refused to wish either of them that sort of pain And because you were honest with rabbed her hand and stared directly into her eyes "I ultimately couldn’t take Sabelle as my mate because she wasn’t you and my heart refused any other"
Anka reared back as if he’d punched her in the stomach She shot to her feet once more and turned away furiously "You can’t say that Shock will read hts"