Part 18 (2/2)

”Nothing.” She shrugged, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pus.h.i.+ng out against the softness of her black cowl-neck sweater. ”You just don't do it much.”

He reached out to pinch a bit of her sweater with his fingertips. ”What is this stuff?” It was so d.a.m.n strokable he was having a hard time keeping himself from doing exactly that. Shaping his mate's body with his palms seemed like the best idea he'd had all day.

”Angora blend.” She pulled away from his touch and took a step backward. ”Do you want to paint an ornament? Or you can help the children.”

He didn't like the distance she'd put between them. ”What's the matter with you?”

Something flickered in her eyes before her lashes lowered to screen her expression. ”I'm living my own life. It's what you want, right?” A small smile. ”I'm finally beginning to appreciate what you've been trying to tell me.” With that, she went off to check up on a group of giggling teenage girls.

Nate wondered if he looked as sucker-punched as he felt. She'd pulled that stunt out of nowhere. All these months of fighting him, of demanding he accept their bond, and she was suddenly going to fall in line? Right. He'd believe that when he saw it. Tamsyn had called him every day from New York-she couldn't shut him out if she tried.

Twelve hours of near-silence later, long after everyone else had left, he grit his teeth and handed her an ornament. ”This is the last finished one.” Many had taken theirs home to complete.

”Thanks.” She hung it on her d.a.m.n tree before jumping down from the branch on which she'd crouched. ”I think it'll look fabulous when it's done, don't you?” Without waiting for an answer, she turned to walk up the path to her door.

”Where are you going?” He barely kept the growl out of his voice.

She threw him a confused look. ”It's dark. I'm going to have a bath and dinner.”

He waited for the invitation to join her. It didn't come. ”Your parents aren't back.”

”Oh, don't worry.” A tight smile accompanied her words. ”A few of my girlfriends are dropping by tonight.”

”Who?”

”Friends. Actually, do you mind not coming by at all?” she asked. ”We can hardly talk girl-talk if we know you're out here skulking.”

His temper wasn't easily stoked. But it was smoking now. ”Skulking?”

She gave him an airy wave. ”You know what I mean. We'll be fine. I even asked some of the other soldiers to swing past during their night watches. You should go do your own thing.” A few seconds later, her door shut behind her.

He didn't move, rooted to the spot by pure disbelief. She'd told him to get lost. n.o.body told him to get lost. Especially not his mate. He'd taken the first step up the path to her home when he felt someone walk out of the woods behind him. He turned to find Juanita. ”What?” It was the leopard speaking.

”This is part of my night route.” She gave him a curious look. ”What are you doing here?”

What kind of idiotic question was that? ”Looking after my mate.”

Juanita scowled. ”You're on the eastern perimeter, Nate. If you wanted a change, you should've told Cian. We'll have a gap there otherwise and you know we can't afford to. Especially not with Solias King's men sniffing around.”

He knew she was right. ”Cian factors mates into the watch a.s.signments.”

”Yeah, but you haven't claimed Tammy. He probably thought you wanted some s.p.a.ce from her-you're getting more and more irritable.” Her tone was blunt. ”Look, I'd take the eastern for you, but I'm pulling a double anyway and I'd prefer to stay close to home.”

There was nothing he could say to that. He was one of the most experienced soldiers in the pack, and as such, he had a job to do. ”Don't let anything happen to her.” It was half warning, half threat.

Juanita's response was a raised eyebrow. ”Tammy's no cub. She can handle herself.”

TAMSYN PUT OUT THE SNACKS WITH TREMBLING HANDS. SHE couldn't believe she'd ”ignored” Nate all day. The act had stretched her nerves to screaming point, the compulsion to speak to him as powerful and as intrinsic as her heartbeat. She was obsessing over their parting words when the soft buzz of the doorbell sliced her thoughts in half.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. ”Oh, it's you.”

Juanita grinned. ”I told you it would work.”

”He's furious.” She looked over the other woman's shoulder, hoping to see Nate. ”I thought he was going to march up here and demand I-”

”Precisely.” Juanita put her hands on her hips and shook her head. ”He's used to demanding something from you and getting it.”

”Isn't that what mates do?”

”Sure. But he's being an a.s.s about it. He's not exactly meeting your demands, is he?”

Tamsyn scowled on Nate's behalf. ”You don't-”

”Don't you dare defend him,” Juanita ordered. ”And don't you back down, either. You're just giving him a taste of his own medicine. This is what he's been doing to you for over a year. Let him see how he likes it.”

It made sense, but Tamsyn wasn't a soldier, to think of love like strategy. Her heart was that of a healer-gentle and easy to forgive. ”He hates it.”

”Good.” The other woman grinned. ”If you don't allow him access to you anytime he wants to feed the animal's need to be close to you, he's going to get desperate sooner rather than later. Then he'll jump you and, bang, we'll all live happily ever after.”

Tamsyn nodded. She liked the idea of being jumped by a s.e.xually hungry Nate. ”If he doesn't do it soon, I might attack him myself.” Her sensitivity to his proximity was getting worse, the mere sound of his voice enough to melt her to damp readiness.

Juanita grinned. ”I give him a week.”

TWO NIGHTS LATER, TAMSYN DECIDED JUANITA WAS A GENIUS. Nate was scowling at her from across the Pack Circle, such violent need in those midnight blue eyes that she could feel her stomach twist itself into a thousand knots.

”Stop staring at him,” she muttered noiselessly to herself. She hadn't said much more than h.e.l.lo to him for the past forty-eight hours, but if she didn't keep her eyes to herself, he'd figure out just how hard it was for her to maintain her distant air. She ached for him and the ache was a pulsing beat in every inch of her skin...and worse in lower, hotter places.

Breaking the connection through sheer effort of will, she focused on the dancers in the middle of the Circle. They were part of an impromptu gathering sparked by the full yellow moon, a happy diversion from the general air of wary alertness that had gripped DarkRiver since the attack by the ShadowWalkers. That wasn't to say that their defenses were compromised. Those on watch were being spelled by off-duty packmates so everyone could join in the fun.

And it was fun-warm, friendly, brilliantly alive. Several people had pulled out instruments and the music was energetic and strong. She clapped along with the players, and when Lucas came to offer her his hand, she took it with a smile. ”Watch out, I've got two left feet.”

He grinned, the savage markings on one side of his face-markings he'd been born with-making him look more panther than boy. ”Good thing I don't scare easy.”

Laughing, she let him swirl her around in an energetic dance that required enough of her concentration that she almost stopped thinking about Nate. When the tall juvenile snapped her back into his arms, she was breathless. ”You're in a good mood,” she said, glad to see him happy for once.

There was darkness in Lucas, such darkness. She knew it would be there until the day he took vengeance on those who had stolen his family from him. He was four years younger than her, but looking into those eyes, she saw not a child but a man. Lucas would one day be an alpha of incredible strength, of that she had no doubt.

He held her closer, touching her with the easy friendliness of Pack. She rested her cheek against his shoulder and swayed to the gentler beat that had replaced the pounding dance music. ”So?”

”So I thought you needed to be held.” The words were blunt, the tone affectionate.

”Thank you. I did.” There was no need to lie. Not with Pack.

”Dorian said you don't want us to beat some sense into Nate.” He sighed as if in disappointment. ”Are you sure?”

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