E


    Alexander’s green eyes darkened as he knelt beside the bathtub. The spot where his hand met my shoulder was like a thousand tiny matches being struck at once, igniting the warmth that had begun to spread through my body.


    His nostrils red, and I knew he had scented it again.


    My arousal.


    This was exactly like the alley behind The Howling Moon all over again-that same maic pull, that same desperation. The way Alexander looked at me now, like he was starving and I was the only thing that could fill his belly, made me want to forget everything else. Made me want to pull him into the tub with me and finish what we’d started that night.


    Without thinking, I shifted slightly, water sloshing around me as I leaned toward him. Alexander’s pupils dted, and his free hand came up to brace against the edge of the tub, bringing his face closer to mine. I could smell the bourbon on his breath, could see the way


    that one pesky muscle in his jaw jumped.


    For a moment, the air between us crackled like a grassy field before a storm.


    But then reality came crashing back.


    This wasn’t love. This was lust, pure and simple. Biology and the fated mate bond working against my better judgment. Alexander had made it perfectly clear that our contract didn’t include sex or feelings, and I’d made the decision to stop wanting his mark.


    I wouldn’t let myself be fooled again by my body’s reactions to him.


    “What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, jerking away from his touch so quickly that more water slopped over the edge of the tub. I folded my arms over my chest in a futile attempt to cover my bare breasts. “Get out!”


    Alexander blinked, returning to his senses. He stood. “You were unconscious in the bathtub. I was making sure you didn’t drown.”


    “Well, I’m fine, so you can leave. You have no right to be in here.


    Something flickered across Alexander’s face, but it was gone before I could be sure what I saw. He wiped his wet hand on his pants and looked down at me with that same cold expression he’d worn for years.


    “Now we’re even,” he said simply.


    I frowned. “What?”


    “The forest. You saw me naked, now I’ve seen you naked. We’re even.”


    Heat flooded my cheeks as I remembered Alexander standing in the moonlight after his careless shift, every inch of his perfect body on disy. I’d been so worried about him being hurt that I’d barely processed what I was seeing until it was toote, but the memory had haunted my dreams ever since.


    “That’spletely different,” I sputtered. “You were the one who shifted carelessly and tore your clothes-”


    “And you were the one who fell asleep in a bathtub,” Alexander cut me off. “idents happen, I suppose.”


    Before I could respond, he turned and walked out of the bathroom.


    I stared at the closed door for a long moment, my heart still racing from our encounter. I couldn’t help but rey the way he’d looked at me, the way his hand felt on me. For just a few seconds, I’d felt desired. Wanted. Like I was something worth having instead of just a burden he had to endure.


    But that was exactly the problem, wasn’t it? Alexander didn’t want my heart; he only wanted my body, and even that was debatable. It was probably just his wolf pulling him toward me and nothing more.


    Shaking my head, I climbed out of the lukewarm tub and wrapped myself in a towel, shivering in the cool bathroom air.


    As I dried my hair, I reached deep within myself, searching for any sign that my wolf might be stirring. After what had happened in the forest, Dr. Evelyn had suggested that strong emotions might be the key to bringing my wolf back. And what I’d just felt with Alexander had certainly been strong.


    But there was nothing. Just the same hollow emptiness I’d been carrying around for months. My wolf was still dormant.