Wild Invitation A Psy Changeling Anthology - By Nalini Singh Page 0,75

on that, shaved. The task took a bare few minutes, and then he no longer had even that slim buffer against the echoes of nightmare.

It had been worse this time, because he hadn't expected it, hadn't prepared himself for the horror that awaited him in the dark of night. It had been so many years since he'd been trapped inside that phantom car, burning and burning and burning.

"Enough." It was a quiet command to himself.

Leaving the bathroom, he pulled on underwear, jeans, a black T-shirt, socks, and boots.

The den was quiet when he stepped out, not unexpected at five in the morning. He almost turned toward Grace's room, wanting desperately to ask her to let him hold her, just that. But he didn't have the right to push for those skin privileges, so he took himself up to his office and began to go through a number of financial reports Jem had forwarded.

His fellow lieutenant kept an eye on Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, was the one Sebastian in San Diego called first if he had a problem. Cooper, by contrast, looked outward to the border with Arizona, Joshua Tree, and the arid Mojave falling under his mandate.

His and Jem's geographic closeness - relatively speaking - meant they could get together in person every so often, but they did most of their work via the comm. Both having an aptitude for and training in finance, they were in charge of the pack's investments, working with a small, dedicated team to ensure SnowDancer stayed healthy on that level. Normally, Cooper found the intricacies of the work invigorating, a complex jungle of a different kind, but today it felt like wading through quicksand. Still, he got it done, then began to plow steadily through the other paperwork that had built up on his desk.

All the while, the rain continued to fall beyond the window, and no matter what he did, he couldn't forget the charred black of his parents' bodies.

GRACE returned to work on sector 4B the next morning, after a systems and tech meeting where it was revealed the previous night's storm had done major damage to the solar panels. Specifically designed to blend into the environment so as not to give away the den's location, the panels provided the main source of its power.

"We're switching to hydro-station power till the replacement panels come in," the lead power tech had said, referring to the ecologically sound system that harnessed the kinetic energy of the water as it thundered down the mountains. "Shouldn't cause any issues, but keep an eye out for power surges anyway."

As she worked, Grace couldn't help but replay the previous night in her mind. Every now and then, she'd push back the sleeve of her coverall and sneak a look at the bracelet Cooper had given her. Which led her to recall the callused skin of his palm against her neck, the wild, dark taste of him in her mouth as his tongue licked at her own.

The things the lieutenant could coax her to do...

Her nipples rubbed against the supple fabric of her bra.

Glancing guiltily around, she saw she remained alone. But the moment was enough to have her snapping her attention back to work.

When lunch came and went - a lunch she had with her crew - without word from Cooper, her mood began to plummet. Dominant males never backed off during a courtship. Perhaps Cooper had rethought things in light of her wolf's response by the blackberries, decided he didn't need the hassle of dealing with a timid submissive when he could have an enthusiastic dominant playmate anytime he wanted?

"Or maybe," she muttered, annoyed with herself, "he's a lieutenant in charge of a den and got caught up in work." Putting down her tools, she closed the cover on the computronic junction she'd finished checking, then glanced at her watch. Three forty-five. Since she was well ahead of schedule after working like a fiend on the off-chance that Cooper would turn up for a visit, she decided it was time for a coffee break.

About to tag Vivienne, she hesitated. Neither side of her nature was comfortable pursuing a male, but this one had made his interest clear. Taking a deep breath, she stowed her tools in her office, then went looking for Cooper. He wasn't in his office, but Bethany saw her coming down the smooth stone stairs and said, "If you're trying to hunt down Coop, he's out with the crew handling a slip