Free EnemyMine by Aline Hunter Page B

Christ, the woman drove him insane. He’d been
trying to tell her something since he’d gotten her into bed. Hormones certainly
played a part in her confusion. Mary wasn’t a horny, sex-crazed female who
wouldn’t care about tomorrow. Her intelligence surpassed many people he knew,
including members of his pack who had degrees in fields that required dizzying
intellect.
    “I’ve already told you but I’ll repeat myself for your
benefit.” His finger dipped down the center of her chest and he made lazy
circles in the area between her breasts. “Once I have you, I’ll never let you
go. After we make love a bond will be formed that can never be broken.”
    “Are you talking about changing me?” He caught the hitch in
her voice, saw the way her bottom lip quivered. “I didn’t think you could do
that.”
    “You’d be right. I can’t change you. Not in the way you
think.” Attempting to soothe her obviously rattled nerves, he brought his hands
to her temples and played with her hair. “But I can share a part of what I am
with you.”
    “How?” He could see she was frightened, although she tried
to hide it.
    And the moment of truth has arrived . “It’s called
bloodbonding.”
    “Bloodbonding?” she repeated, as if making sure she heard
him correctly, sliding her tempting pink tongue along her even pinker lower
lip.
    “When we make love the wolf inside me will start the process
of merging with you.”
    “Merging with me?” She sounded skeptical. “How would that
change me exactly?”
    He hesitated before he admitted, “A part of my wolf will
remain inside you.”
    The scent of panic—sharp and peppery—hit just as she shoved
at his chest, forcing him away. He sighed but gave her what she wanted despite
his feral half’s protest. Rolling off her, he moved and sat at the side of the
bed. She shoved her elbows into the mattress and pushed herself upright against
the headboard. Then she faced him and ran a shaking hand through her hair.
    “It will be a part of me?”
    “In a manner of speaking.” Sugarcoating wouldn’t help, so he
didn’t bother. “It will merge with you, remain with you and unite us as one.”
    “Will I…What I mean to say is…”
    “Would you be able to change?” he asked, picking up on her
question easily enough. “No, you wouldn’t. You’d have the soul of the wolf
inside you, not the form.”
    “That’s a lot to process. I don’t know what to say.”
    “You don’t have to say anything.” He bit back a curse when
he reached for her and she shied away from his touch.
    “I need to think.”
    His stomach churned and it felt as though his heart
plummeted to his feet. He’d known she might react this way but a part of him
had held out hope that she’d accept him immediately despite the fact—a stupid,
arrogant pipe dream.
    “I understand.”
    She didn’t stop him when he rose from the bed, retrieved her
shirt and handed it to her and walked to the door. He paused as he gripped the
knob, waiting to see if she’d say anything. The silence was so profound it was
deafening, an empty wail in his ears that was only interrupted by the sound of
her sliding into the garment he’d given her. His mate was so close yet so far
away. He knew the moment she pulled away from him, sensed the way she put up a
wall between them.
    “You’re safe here,” he finally said, unable to leave without
saying something— anything . He glanced over his shoulder and saw she was
staring at the hands she’d placed in her lap, her fingers wrapped together to
form one large fist. “I’ll come back later with Doc so he can make sure you’re
okay.”
    She nodded but didn’t look at him. The rejection hit him
square in the chest. Of everything he’d considered, the one thing he hadn’t
counted on was how vulnerable he’d feel if she turned him away, how lost. His
life had no meaning until he met Mary. Without her there would be no reason to
exist, no light in the darkness that was his