Free Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) by Susan Arden Page B

Shawn had reminded him of what was at stake: his leadership in establishing a council to rule using balanced scales of justice and, when required, punitive actions that were based on judgments handed down. Not rash decision. Not mercenary action. And certainly not retaliatory action.
    The crimson haze had lifted enough for him to agree — for the good of a million shifters — that he had enough meat to his character to step back from his own pain and frustration. He’d left with Quinn and Tristen without saying much of anything. He’d allowed them to cart him off and they’d ended up getting drunk. A truly wasted time and he hadn’t remembered much, except Quinn had retained the presence of mind to get him to a healer before his leopard nature would demand action.
    He let his gaze wind down Diana’s body before returning to meet her eyes. “So to answer your question, I made the mistake of a random mating with Mia. No ceremony or celebration. It just happened. Lucky for me, when she left for Nevada, I set out to be cleared of my ties to her. Thanks again to Quinn and Tristen. As well as Fin. It was he who knew of the healer. Otherwise, I believe I would have gone off the deep end just knowing I had intact mating bonds to Mia.”
    “I’d heard that was possible. The breaking of mating bonds, but thought it was some type of urban myth. How do you know you’re completely rid of your connection to her?” Diana’s gaze drifted downward to her lap.
    “Because we both know that Matrix has clients in Vegas and I go out there routinely.” He lifted her chin, fighting the urge to kiss her. He’d wanted to get them inside his car downstairs, and enjoy her body all over again. Until it was more than apparent she needed the whole truth, and he needed to be rid of it in a way he’d never felt before. “You realize that the graphics community is small. I’ve seen both Mia and Frazier at professional events. I’m fortunate the healer wasn’t a quack. I was assured the bond was severed and I believe it was.”
    Eradicated was more like it. The process had nearly killed him in the treatment. Mated leopards had bonds wired into their DNA. His alpha leopard nature didn’t allow him to mate and forget. Some shifters who weren’t full blood were able to fuck a circuit around town and around the globe. He wasn’t one of them. He owed his friends big time for helping him find his way back to sanity. For years his DNA had been unmarked.
    He sniffed, inhaling Diana’s appealing scent. Now, he was close to losing his head and his DNA. Would his heart follow? Years ago it hadn’t and that had been the key to getting his life back. He’d never lost his heart or soul completely to Mia. He’d been solo for so long …
    Maybe that’s why he couldn’t let Diana go through this alone. Being solo was a desperate business and he’d had friends to help him. He’d taken time off to get his head screwed back on, and then it was business as usual for the last six years.
    “No sense in crying over spilled milk. Right?” He stroked Diana’s silky skin. “We’ve so many other important things to keep our minds … and bodies occupied.”
    She pushed back from him, staring up with a serious expression making him stop pulling apart her legs and teasing a whimper from her. His cock throbbed, wanting to plow into her full force. He patiently groaned in silence.
    “From what I’ve learned, mulling over the past doesn’t help. I think we’ve both been through a lot in life. I feel as though I can trust you. I hope you don’t regret tonight.”
    “Hell, no. Not one regret in agreeing to see you through your heat cycle, or my agreement to train you to control your leopardess urges. I might learn something about myself.”
    He’d mastered the art of Zen Buddhist meditation to live with pain, frustration, and the desire for revenge. Tonight, he learned there was so much more to life. The type and depth of the exquisite sensations