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And cold. Real cold.
She shivered, but that was okay. Hayder would warm her up.
At any moment she expected the glass partition to slide over and for him to step in. He d say
something ridiculously him like, I need to wash my hair, and then he d turn into a total guy and
seduce her.
Oh yeah. His hands all over my body. His cock thrusting into me. The taste of him in my mouth.
Except it didn t come to pass. Had he truly left?
She d demanded he give her space, but she never actually expected him to listen.
No one did.
Emerging from the shower, body encased in a fluffy towel, she peeked for him in the bedroom.
Mussed-up sheets, curtains pulled back, no Hayder.
She dressed quickly, matching lace panties and bra and then snug yoga pants with an almost
diaphanous blouse. Barefoot, she strode into the living room. It was empty.
But the kitchen held someone.
With a swirl of blonde hair and a wide smile, Luna turned from the stove. There you are. Just in
time too for not completely burnt pancakes.
Using a plastic flipper, the edge melted into a lumpy ragged mess, Luna dropped some charred on
one side, almost milky white on the other pancakes onto plates.
What happened to the plastic spatula?
Luna waved it. Darned things. Always melting on me. You d think they d make kitchen stuff that
handled cooking on high. Luna slid a plate in Arabella s direction before she waved her massacred
flipper. Have a seat. I ll grab you a coffee. That I know how to make.
Thank goodness for Keurig coffeemakers else Arabella feared what sludge she might have had to
drink. The pancakes proved palatable. Barely. But, since Luna had gone to the trouble, she thought it
best to gag it down with a smile and thanks. No use antagonizing the obviously crazy lioness.
And yes, she meant crazy, especially given Luna s plan. After breakfast, we ll head over to the
gym and slap you around a bit.
Having just bitten into a more powdery section of pancake, the sharp breath Arabella inhaled
dusted the inside of her lungs with dry ingredients. She choked. She sputtered. Her eyes watered, and
she just about fell off her stool as Luna pounded her back.
You going to live there, wolf girl?
Live? She certainly hoped so but had to wonder, given all the plans people had for her. Can I
ask, she said after a few sips of orange juice, why you want to beat me?
To get your wolf to come out and protect you, of course. I heard about your little problem.
How? Did Hayder tell? She didn t think he would. She hoped he wouldn t. Harry had told
anyone who listened about his defective wife. Stupid bitch can t even shift. I only keep her around
cause she can cook.
As if. Luna rolled her eyes. No, we didn t get the info from Hayder. Bloody guy growls if
anyone shows too much interest in you. He s also gotten really fond of the word mine. Totally retro
beast if you ask me. But I guess it s hot in a primitive way. Aunt Cecily says, once he claims you, this
whole prehistoric cat-man shtick will die down.
It took Arabella a moment to filter all the information. One key point stuck out. Hayder was
claiming her in public? Why instead of angering her did it warm her to her toes? She d not agreed to
anything yet. Still it tickled her to know he wasn t ashamed of admitting his feelings.
She, on the other hand, was terrified to give in to and trust hers.
But knowing Hayder wasn t the leak didn t answer her question. How did you hear about my
wolf?
Jeoff, of course. While Hayder might be tight lipped, your brother, on the other hand, hasn t
stopped blabbing about you. He s been ranting and raving how it s his fault you re like this and he
should have done something years ago. He s moaning he s the worst brother ever.
It s not his fault. I made my choice. Bad as it was.
Luna nodded. Yeah, the shit that happened to you was your fault.
Arabella recoiled.
Hold on, I don t mean it the way you think. I mean that, yes, you did choose that life, but you
certainly didn t deserve what happened to you. And you were dumb in letting pride keep you from
changing that.
I didn t want anyone to get hurt.
You re an anyone too, Arabella. Luna s mien turned from jocular to serious as they spoke.
You mean something. And you don t deserve to be hurt. It s time you cinched your brass boobs in an
eye-popping bra, pushed your shoulders back, and stuck up for yourself. It s also time for your wolf
to stop hiding. And the best way to get your bitch riled up is to hurt the body.
Hair flew in wet strands stinging her cheeks as she shook her head. It won t work. Pain is why
she went away.
Is it? I say we test that theory.
Hayder said to stay here.
Hayder said to stay here, Luna aped. Since when is he the boss of you?
He s not, but it s safer to stay in the condo.
It s also safer to bubble wrap yourself instead of playing sports. It s safer to drink filtered tap
water than fresh from a babbling stream. But do you really want to spend your life only doing what s
safe?
Put that way, Luna had a point, but the examples she used were about mundane things, not out-of-
the-ordinary situations involving control-freak Lycans with violent tendencies.
I m staying.
Something about the clucking and chicken strutting Luna subjected her to made Arabella snap.
Was she really any safer in here than out there? Hayder thought the farm was safe and look what
happened. Who was to say they wouldn t take a page from her brother s book and hire a helicopter
for a daring rappel kidnapping? If Jeoff could arrange it, so could her old pack.
She eyed the balcony door then the apartment one.
Luna sensed her wavering. Oh, come on. Worst-case scenario, some ruffians come after us and
we get to kick some furball ass. I hear you re more vicious than a wolverine on speed when
provoked.
Who said that?
Hayder. He was quite proud too.
He bragged about her? Not proud enough or confident enough to let me go out on my own.
What a jerk. We should show him.
Yeah we should. Arabella almost looked around to see who d said it.
Before she could take back the words, Luna was dragging her from the condo. She tried to protest
in the elevator, only to have Luna say, You gonna let another man tell you what to do?
The question stuck with Arabella as she let Luna lead her from the elevator and grab a posse of
two other lionesses looking to hit the gym. Suitably surrounded, even Arabella could find no fault.
Wasn t Hayder the one who claimed the women of his pride kicked butt?
Since none of them wanted to drive, they hailed a cab, which deposited them ten minutes later in
front of a two-story brown-brick building. Nothing modern or chrome here. As a matter of fact, it
didn t look like a gym at all, despite the small hand-painted sign that read, Lion s Athletic Club.
How original, was Arabella s dry remark upon seeing it. However, isn t advertising the
whole lion thing everywhere kind of inviting discovery.
Luna laughed. On the contrary. In plain sight is sometimes the best camouflage.
Out in the open, and in spite of the bodies flanking her, Arabella once again questioned the
wisdom in leaving the condo. Maybe we should have stayed in. We might have been followed.
Good. Nothing like the present to exterminate a problem.
How fearless Luna appeared. Aren t you afraid they might be stronger?
I m afraid of lightning, but it doesn t mean I won t walk in the rain. I fear human hunters with
rifles, but that doesn t stop me from running in the woods. I also fear getting a fat ass from too much
cheesecake, but that never prevented me from eating the whole damn thing. You can t let fear rule
you.
No fear. Arabella took a deep breath. Sounds so simple. I ll bet it s easy for you. You ooze
confidence.
Some of that is fake. Bluffing is a great tool. Luna winked. Now stop stalling and get your ass
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