remain standing.
Rella shifted as well and the three
Wolves made the arduous trip to the
village.
CHAPTER 15
It was getting dark and Nash had yet to
return home. Bored, listless and, most of
all, worried, Maralee roamed the small
cabin ceaselessly. Again, she found
herself standing at Nash’s desk with her
hand resting on the cover of his book. She
longed to examine its contents, but her
conscience wouldn’t let her. She watched
for him out the small window above the
desk for a while, and then returned to her
haunting only to find herself back at the
desk again.
He had said he loved her and she had
gaped at him like an idiot. It had been the
perfect opportunity to tell him how she felt
about him, yet she had been too stunned to
return his sentiment. I’ll tell him when he
returns. This thought made her even more
anxious to see him.
It was completely dark now. She went
to the desk, this time to light a few
candles.
They
always
seemed
to
accumulate around the desk, as Nash
tended to read well into the night. The
glow of the candles gave the room a cozy
feel. Maralee sat down at his desk. She
hoped he would come home soon. What
would she do if something happened to
him? The thought was so horrendous she
pushed
it
away
from
her
mind
immediately. It was bad enough she
dreamed of killing him every night. If such
dark thoughts began to plague her waking
hours, she would surely go mad.
She caught movement outside and
stood abruptly to look for Nash out the
window. Her thighs connected painfully
with the desk. Books tumbled to the
ground. Outside several Wolves milled
around in the darkness, but there were no
signs of Nash. Disappointed, Maralee bent
to pick up the books. She couldn’t seem to
stop her eyes from scanning one of the
pages exposed to her.
full moon…curse… poison of silver…
Wolf Guardian… protection of the
crescent moon…
Maralee closed the book and smiled to
herself. Why was he so wrapped up in a
fairy tale? This nonsense reminded her of
a book she had discovered as a girl. An
immortal sage had supposedly written
them, an ancestor of hers who had sworn
to being abducted by a type of Wolf that
could appear human at will. Her aunt had
caught her reading the ancient tome and
confiscated it, punishing her for wasting
valuable time on fanciful fiction. She
wondered why Nash was so afraid of her
discovering the contents of his books.
They were nothing but entertaining
rubbish. She closed the book and put it in
its proper place on the shelf. Maybe she
would tell him about the book back home
in Dubwar. He would probably like to
read it. She wasn’t sure if it was still in
existence. Her aunt might have burned it
long ago.
Long hours later, Maralee started from
her light slumber on the sofa. She heard
several unmistakable thumps on the front
steps, followed by a louder thump behind
the door. There was something on the
porch. Her heart thundered with panic.
The Wolves had been restless all night.
Circling the cabin. Standing among the
trees looking at her through the window.
Pacing the length of the porch. Had they
finally decided to attack?
“Maralee.” Her name was a quiet plea
spoken just outside.
“Nash?” She went to the door and
placed a hand on its surface.
“It’s me. Open the door.”
His voice sounded strange—weak and
pleading. She hesitated. Maybe it was a
trick. Maybe it wasn’t Nash after all.
“You better not be reading my books,”
he said.
Relieved, Maralee unlocked the door
and flung it open. She was so shocked by
his condition that she allowed him to
remain shivering on the front porch for
several long moments.
“I can’t take another step,” he
whispered. He was scarcely conscious.
“Wh- what happened?” she said, tears
springing to her eyes now that the initial
shock had worn off.
She bent over and pulled him into the
house, managing to get him to the rug near
the fire with his feeble assistance. His
skin was icy cold, as was to be expected
of a naked man coming out of the winter
night air. His chest was a mass of dried
blood, his right forearm torn to shreds. In
places, she could see bone between the
tattered bits of flesh. He had submitted to
exhaustion and never answered her
question. She retrieved the bearskin from
the chair to cover him and went to close
the door. The Wolves were gone now.
Nash had apparently scared them off.
Maralee hurried to the kitchen for a
towel and some water, and then returned
to Nash’s side. She started by cleaning the
dried blood from his chest. She didn’t
even know where to begin with his arm.
Beneath the blood, she found deep
puncture marks and places where flesh
had been torn from his body. Most of the
wounds originated around his throat.
Horrible visions of her massacred family
flooded Maralee’s mind. There was no
mistaking the wounds were produced by
animal bites. When she turned her
attention to the severe wounds on his
forearm, he opened his eyes with a pained
gasp. Great hot tears suddenly filled her
eyes, trailed over her cheeks, and dripped
from her chin.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he lied
kindly. He curled himself around his
forearm and began to clean the wounds
with slow, deliberate strokes of his
tongue.
She covered her eyes with both hands
and tried to strangle the sob that
threatened to choke her. She was only
partially successful.
“Maralee?”
“I won’t lose someone else I love to
Wolves,” she managed to say. “I won’t
rest until every last one of them is dead.”
“You haven’t lost me.”
“Who said I was talking about you?”
She peeked at him between her
fingers. He was smiling crookedly. He
winced then and returned his attention to
cleaning his wounds. The effort seemed to
be sapping his little remaining strength.
“I’m cold,” he murmured, drawing the
bearskin around himself and abandoni
ng
his wounds all together.
She could at least help him with that.
She removed her shirt and pants and
climbed beneath the bearskin behind him.
She found more wounds on his back. She
shifted away from him to retrieve the
towel to clean these wounds as well. He
caught her hand before she had managed to
move very far.
“Leave them,” he said drowsily. “I
need your warmth more.”
“You need a doctor.”
“No. I promise I’ll heal on my own.
Warm me.”
He was still shivering. Maralee
cuddled up against his back, careful not to
disturb any of the deep gouges at the back
of his neck. She lay behind him for long
hours, listening to the sound of his
breathing, reveling in the feel of his steady
heartbeat beneath her fingertips, vowing to
never take him for granted again.
CHAPTER 16
Maralee wasn’t sure what had pulled her
from sleep, but something didn’t feel right.
Nash sighed contentedly in front of her
and she lifted her head to look down at his
sleeping face. She sat up abruptly when
she found they were not alone on the
bearskin rug. A stunning, female stranger
looked up at Maralee. The woman was
licking the wounds on Nash’s chest. She
had the golden eyes shared by all of
Nash’s people and tawny brown hair.
“What are you doing?” Maralee cried,
startling Nash awake.
His hand went instinctively to the back
of the woman’s head and Maralee’s
nostrils flared.
“It’s the least I can do for him,” the
woman said, returning her attention to
Nash’s many wounds.
Maralee tried to push her away. “I’ll
do it.”
The woman looked up at her and
shook her head. “Your mouth is filthy,”
she said. “I’ll take care of it. Why don’t
you find him something to eat, woman?”
Nash sighed with undisguised pleasure
and Maralee struck him in the shoulder as
hard as she could. “Nash!”
“I am hungry,” he murmured, seeming
unaffected by her angry blow. The woman
was lapping at his throat now and seemed
to be enjoying it as much as he was. “I
guess this means you forgive me,” Nash
said to the woman, as if Maralee had left
the room.
“It’s hard to stay mad at you.”
Maralee begged to differ. “Get away
from him!”
She chuckled. “I think she’s jealous.”
“I don’t know why,” he murmured
drowsily. “There’s plenty of me to go
around.”
Maralee did not think his teasing was
funny. She stood abruptly, emitting a
sound of fury.
“Rella, could you work on my back
next?” Nash asked.
“What about your arm?”
“I can take care of that.”
Rella climbed over his body and took
the place Maralee had recently vacated.
She began her tongue bath once again and
it was more than Maralee could stand. She
stormed out of the room. How could he?
She shut herself in the tiny water
closet, with its single cabinet, sink and
water pump. She jacked the pump handle
and splashed frigid water on her face. It
did little to calm her fury or lessen her
devastation. She grew chilled, standing in
the unheated room in nothing but her
panties and bustier, but she’d be damned
if she’s go retrieve her clothes from the
living area. She’d allow her skin to turn
blue first. She was almost in that state
when she heard Nash calling through the
house.
“Maralee, where did you go?”
She didn’t answer him. A few minutes
later, he opened the door to the water
closet. She noticed he’d at least had the
decency to put on a pair of pants. He
smiled when he saw her.
“There you are. I thought you were
going to fix breakfast,” he said.
Her eyes widened with incredulity.
Breakfast?
Nash’s gaze traveled over her
partially exposed flesh. He seemed totally
unaware of her anger as he drank in the
sight of her curves and exposed skin.
“What are you doing in here?” he
asked, eyes settling on hers at last. His
smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” she bellowed.
“What’s wrong?”
He
took
a
step
backwards,
overwhelmed by her fury.
“I can’t believe you! It would be bad
enough for you to take her as a lover, but
for you to flaunt it right in front of me.”
She moved forward, pushing him aside
with both hands as she fled the water
closet. He caught her arm in the hallway,
and, though she slapped at him angrily, he
didn’t release her. “How did you find
out?”
She had expected him to deny it—had
wanted him to deny it. She stared at him
open-mouthed,
so
overwhelmed
by
feelings of hurt and betrayal she couldn’t
react. “She’s your lover?”
“No,” he denied at once. “She wanted
me to mount her last night, but I didn’t.”
Her mouth dropped open several more
inches
and
she
blinked
at
him
incredulously. “She wanted you to…to
mount her?”
“Maralee?” He seemed to realize she
was about to explode.
“You are the most despicable person I
have ever met.”
“I’m sorry. I told you to tell me when
I’m being uncouth.”
“Allowing another woman to lick you
is uncouth,” she yelled.
“Okay. What else?”
“Mentioning mounting another woman
is unforgivable.”
“I didn’t.”
“Why should I believe you? You seem
friendly enough with her.”
“She’s my sister-in-law, Carsha’s
mother.”
Maralee
was
horrified.
“Being
friendly with your brother’s widow is
absolutely appalling.”
“I agree. That’s why I refused to breed
her last night.”
That was why? Maralee covered her
heart with her free hand, expecting to find
a dagger or other sharp object protruding
from her chest. She jerked away from him
and rushed to the living area, gathering her
clothes. If she hadn’t been half-naked, she
would have already been out the door.
“What did I say now?” he asked,
following her.
“I’m leaving,” she said, struggling into
her pants. “How could I have thought this
would work?”
He took her by both arms and forced
her to sit down on the sofa. “Look at me.”
“Let go!”
“Look at me, Maralee,” he said in a
more gentle tone. She couldn’t help but
look at him. Their eyes locked and she
could not look away, even though he could
surely see the tears filling her eyes.
“Explain to me why you are so angry,” he
said. She didn’t think she could have
refused his request if she’d tried.
“Yesterday you said you love me.”
“I do. I do love you,” he said, giving
her a slight shake as if to force the words
into her.
“That should be the reason you don’t
want another woman,” she said, dismayed
by her own blatant honesty. “Any other
woman.”
He closed his eyes and let out a long
breath. Now that her gaze wasn’t locked
with his, she began to struggle against his
hold again. He opened his eyes and caught
her gaze again. She calmed immediately.
“That is the reason why I don’t want
any other woman. Now that I see how
much it would hurt you, I could never do
such a thing.”
“I don’t want that to be the reason
either.” God, why couldn’t she stop
spouting the deepest secrets of her heart?
“Then why, Maralee? Tell me.”
“I want you to want only me,” she
murmured, wanting to duck her head out of
embarrassment, but she couldn’t. She
could only gaze into his golden eyes and
spill her guts. “I want you to think only of
me. When you look at another woman, I
want you to compare her to me and find
her completely lacking.”
He chuckled and touched her cheek.
“How did you know?”
“How did I know what?”
“Exactly how I feel about you.”
“Don’t tease me.”
“I’m not. Now that you know how I
feel about you, I want you to tell me how
you feel about me.”
“You confuse me,” she blurted.
“How touching,” he said and grinned.
“I love you,” she said slowly.
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he
murmured and broke his hold on her gaze
by leaning forward to kiss her. She didn’t
want to flee from him anymore. She
wanted him to kiss her forever. To her
extreme disappointment, he stopped after
a few gentle brushes of his lips against
hers.
“How are your wounds?” she asked
him as her gaze locked on the damaged
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