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<strong>Hot</strong>, <strong>Hard</strong> & <strong>Howling</strong><br />
He inwardly cringed. He hated hurting her more than anything. She yanked herself<br />
up, adjusted her shorts and zipped them.<br />
“Oh no you don’t. Don’t you pity me, Prime. This is your loss.” She unbuckled the<br />
gold bindings on one of the cuffs. “I waited. I gave you room to sow your wild oats.”<br />
She threw the cuff into his lap. “I let you do the brooding loner thing.” She released the<br />
second cuff and tossed it. The buff leather cuff landed perfectly next to the first on his<br />
thighs. “This was it, Trent. I’m done. We’ve shared blood. We’re all but mated as it is.<br />
Whatever it is that’s holding you back, share it with me and we’ll work through it<br />
together.” She slung the pack over her shoulder and looked down at him.<br />
Trent felt his insides churn. The wolf was up and pacing, uneasy and growling in<br />
his mind. He wanted to tell her. He really did. But how did you tell the woman you’ve<br />
always loved that you’re afraid? Afraid you’ll kill her in a fit of groundless jealousy or<br />
unrestrained anger? He looked to his feet, trying to find the strength to admit his<br />
weakness. His feet didn’t possess the ability to assist him.<br />
Nell stood quietly looking down at him, waiting for an answer, waiting for Trent to<br />
share his thoughts for several excruciatingly long minutes, but he kept his silence.<br />
“I don’t even deserve a response from you? I mean that little?” she asked quietly.<br />
She waited again for an answer. He had none.<br />
“Fine. I’ll not wait for you anymore, Trent Nicholas.” Her voice cracked slightly.<br />
She turned and started up the path that led toward her house without a backward<br />
glance.<br />
Trent’s gaze dropped to the supple leather cuffs in his lap and he wondered how he<br />
would ever get past the feeling of her skin on his fingers. Would he sleep again without<br />
dreaming of the way she had joyfully encouraged his dominant urges, or how much it<br />
had turned her on to do so? Would he ever hear the wind and not hear the breathless<br />
moans she made when she came apart as she rode him?<br />
A long, lonely howl sang through the silence of the night. He understood the<br />
emptiness in the sound as it echoed through the mountain air, making his wolf stretch<br />
and pace.<br />
He still had business to attend to. The wolf would have to wait this time.<br />
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