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ear.
It d taken him two days to get her alone. Two days of hunting and cursing when yet another
problem was brought to his attention. Thankfully, his head was no longer battered by whomever Tess
had banished, but he needed to remember to ask Tess about who d been inside it. Later. Right now, he
had other more important things to deal with. Namely, his mate s growing tears.
You asked me to lie, and I did. Period. He searched her features, looking for any hint that
she accepted his words. Nothing yet. I conned your bedroom key out of Stone so I could be with you.
I kissed you because I want you. I follow you because I can t stand being away from you. And more
than anything, I want to make love to you, Tess. A tear escaped and slid over her cheek. He brushed
it away with his thumb, a bit of his heart breaking at how upset he d made her. That s the truth sweet.
Every word. If you don t want to hear it, I won t say it again.
Tess sniffled. Okay.
Okay, what? Okay you believe me or okay don t say it again?
Okay, I believe you, but I don t think I can hear it again. She took a deep breath, her breasts
straining against her small top, and he forced his gaze to remain intent on her face. Someday, you ll
find your mate and I ll be barely a memory. Once things settle, I ll hunt up a nice town where no one
knows me and have a nice, boring life. I m not meant to be with a shifter, Harding. Ever.
There was a hard finality in her tone and his lion roared in displeasure, clawing at him and
demanding that he overpower Tess. She was his mate. She would be with him. That nice town would
be Ridgeville.
Sensing the overwhelming pain that seemed to wrap around her body, he swallowed the
words and simply nodded. Okay, sweet. Let s watch some late night TV for a while then. She
pulled away from him, moving as if to stand, and he tugged her back to him. Lemme just hold you,
okay?
Harding& She whined.
Just a little.
With a grump, she settled back against him, wiggling into place once again, and he smothered
the moan that built in his chest. She had to feel his cock beneath her ass, his length fully hard and
trapped between them. Yet she didn t pull away. That action, or lack of action, gave him a spark of
hope.
Maybe she wasn t as unaffected. Maybe&
The TV glowed in the darkness, images changing as she flicked through the various channels.
Every so often the rapid flick from one to another would pause and Tess would smack the remote
against her palm. Damn thing. Another few shows sped by and then it stopped once again. It hasn t
worked right since I whacked Jackie with it.
Harding stiffened. When was that?
She pointed the remote at the TV. Huh? More shows passed by. Yesterday maybe? She
was being pissy.
About what?
Tess shrugged. Same bitch, different shit.
Uh-huh.
Her flippant response worried him, and he made a mental note to talk with security. He knew
cameras were set up within the common areas of the compound. Actually, they were in every room,
but Stone had the ones in the private rooms turned off. The women had gone through enough. They
didn t need a bunch of men spying on them like Freedom had.
She didn t look at him, but he sensed her new tension until it felt as if he held a rigid block of
cement instead of cradling the relaxed woman of moments before. Harding stroked her arm, gently
petting her until some of that tightness left her body. You ll let me know if there s a problem? I told
you that I m here to protect you from people on the outside and inside, Tess.
She nodded, but didn t say anything, just kept flicking through the channels. He let her have
her silence. Despite her protest, he d made a little headway with her. He d stated his desires. She
may have rebuffed him, but she was still in his arms and wasn t shying from his erection.
The remote stopped once again and a masculine groan followed by a feminine gasp brought
his attention to the TV.
A TV showing lovely, late-night, soft-core porn.
And no rapid slap of the remote against Tess s palm followed. Nope, but the delicate, sticky-
sweet scent of her arousal did drift toward him, taunting him and his cat.
Which brought Harding to one conclusion: God hated him.
*
Oh, someone hated her. Probably God. Or else the Devil loved her. Yeah, that could be it.
Now that she d told Harding in no uncertain terms that she didn t want him, she d found porn. Porn
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