Free Leader of the Pack by Leighann Phoenix Page A

record.
    “Hey, don’t be like that,” Meghan said softly. She reached out to Aislinn again. “She was just trying to help. We’re on your side here.”
    She shook her head. Well what was she going to say? It was public record. If she lied they could look it up. “Fine,” she said with that defeated tone and more tears. “Remember when I first got here and I said that Cul- Lord Arnauk had helped me out with something?” Cullen felt his stomach turn.
    “Yeah,” Meghan smiled. “You’re entrance here was kinda hard to forget.” She was trying to be lighthearted about it but it obviously wasn’t helping.
    “Well my last boss had attacked me and Lord Arnauk stopped him. He ended up in the hospital and decided to sue me for battery and he just won. I got fined and he came after me again on my way out of the damn court.” Aislinn’s voice broke at that point. “I can’t lose this job Meghan. If I do I’ll never pay off the bills I had before, and now there’s this fine. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
    Cullen almost went into the room. He stood there growling under his breath. That piece of caoch. He had one hell of a nerve. Cullen thought. Wait ‘til he sees what I do to him when I get my claws on him again. Cullen was nearly of a mind to go back to the Blood Pit and burn it to the ground when Aislinn and Meghan came out of the break room and saw him standing there.
    Aislinn’s eyes went as wide as saucers and the tears started again. Meghan saw the standard Cullen Arnauk dismissal stare and gave Aislinn a reassuring glance before she hurried off down the hall. Aislinn looked like a scared animal about to bolt. Cullen took hold of her before she could run and led her down to the office further down the hall. When they walked in Liam looked up from his desk and upon seeking Cullen stood up.
    “Lord Arnauk?” Liam looked between the two. “Is something wrong?”
    “No,” Cullen said shortly. “Can I use your office a moment?”
    “Of course,” Liam said in confusion and quickly let himself out.
    Aislinn was still staring at him as though he was about to do something awful, and that cut through him worse than anything else that had recently happened. He could handle any one being afraid of him, but not her. “It’s alright,” he said gently. “You’re not losing your job or getting yelled at or anything else.”
    It was the look in his eyes that calmed her down more than anything else. This past week had been worse than any in her life. Perhaps worse than her time with the Circle. She couldn’t understand her need for his approval or touch, but being so close was more than she could handle right now. Aislinn stepped toward him, tears of frustration and embarrassment burning their way down her cheeks, and buried her face in his chest as she wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t really know why she did it. She had refused any comfort from Meghan. She just needed to be close to him.
    Cullen wrapped his arms around her automatically and leaned into the hug so that his check rested on the top of her head. They stood there feeling the warmth pass between them and feeling the need for more growing relentlessly. When she had finally calmed down he managed to pull back a little. He placed his hand under her chin and brought her face up to his. Slowly he kissed away the tears. Then he placed a small gentle kiss on her lips. At least it meant to be small and gentle, but as she kissed him back the intensity grew. They melted into the kiss and hands began to roam.
    As Cullen felt his wolf beginning to stir he knew he needed to slow this and find out what he could do to actually help. Seducing her in this kind of state was just not a possibility. He gently pushed her down. Aislinn tried to lean in for another kiss, but he managed to catch her and stop it. Any more like that first one and his wolf would be unstoppable.
    “Aislinn,” he said softly. “We need to talk. I need you to tell me why you