Free Snared by KRIS NORRIS Page B

while they still had a choice, than later, when she was bound for life. “Fine, you want to know the real reason I was sneaking out of the house…I knew that if I woke either of you up, we’d end up making love in the shower, or on the kitchen table, or maybe in the car on the way to work.”
    Rogan frowned and looked at Quinn. “So? Isn’t that a good thing? I thought you enjoyed being with us?”
    “It is and I do, but…”
    “But,” said Quinn, a hint of fear in his voice. “Did we hurt you? Push you too far, too soon?”
    “No, it’s not that.” She groaned and leaned more heavily against the wall. “Remember how I told you that I couldn’t get pregnant until we’d bonded?”
    Rogan shrugged. “Yeah. But you never really explained what that meant, and we kind of got the feeling you didn’t want to talk about it. So we didn’t push the subject.”
    “But it obviously has more serious ramifications than we thought,” said Quinn. “Or you wouldn’t be standing there, looking like you want the floor to open up and swallow you.”
    “You don’t always have to be so observant,” she said. “But you’re right. It’s got long-lasting effects, at least on me.”
    “Riddles, sweetheart. Rogan and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “It means that my body is ready…it wants to bond. It’s chosen the two of you as its mates and the next time we make love, it’ll link your genetics to mine.” She stared at their blank faces, and huffed. “It means that I’ll be bound to you for the rest of my life. If in a week, or a month or a year, you decide having a girlfriend who can claw at the furniture isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, you can walk away…but I can’t.” She sighed, feeling more exhausted than after three days of sex. “It’s a lot to ask of anyone, and we’ve only just started to really get to know each other. I didn’t know if you both were ready for that permanent of a relationship.”
    Quinn pursed his lips, looking over at Rogan for what seemed like forever before running his hand through his hair and meeting her gaze again. “From the sounds of it, you’re not all that sure, either.”
    Tayen snorted and threw her hands in the air. “Now who’s talking in riddles?” She waved a hand at him when he moved to speak. “I’ve been drawn to the two of you since you first moved here. Why do you think I fought you so hard? I knew this would happen, and I knew you’d both have reservations. I suppose I thought that if I just stayed away, the feeling would eventually pass, and I’d spend my life having the occasional, casual encounter—forgo the whole bonding aspect. But that’s not possible, anymore.” She backed up, opening the door with one hand as the other balanced against the frame. “I know how I feel, and what I want. I was leaving to give you a choice, while we all still had one.”
    She sighed when neither man spoke, dreading each tick of the clock as it marked out the growing distance between them. Finally, she nodded and motioned out the door. “I have to go home.” She turned away as a single tear dropped and shattered on the floor, talking back over her shoulder. “Oh. I’ve been meaning to tell you. That poacher’s license plate was all letters, starting with B. I’m sorry, that’s all I could get. The rest was splattered with mud. But at least you know it’s a vanity plate.”
    She gave one last look as she closed the door, then she bolted forward, ripping off Rogan’s shirt and shifting mid-stride. Quinn’s sweatpants billowed to the ground with a flick of her hind legs as she headed for the forest, her only thought to see how far she could run before she collapsed to the ground.
     
    Quinn jumped at the sound of the door clicking shut, finally shaking himself out of his thoughts. He looked at the entry, suddenly aware that Tayen was gone. He cursed and ran to the door, yanking it open and bouncing it off the hinges. He ignored