called over and over, the command eventually turning into a hoarse plea as it echoed throughout her house. He couldn’t stop. Even when his voice was nothing more than a raw whisper, he kept repeating her name until, exhausted, he slipped into a restless, tormented sleep.
Rae made it as far as the hallway before the loud crash and first shout of her name had her collapsing against the wall. Like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from, she forced herself to endure his repeated shouts, unable not to. She slowly sank into a huddled ball as his voice grew more ragged and finally, mercifully, faded to silence.
Still she couldn’t move. The quiet was like a yawning chasm she didn’t have the strength to leap past. Then pain rushed in to fill it, threatening to swallow her up, eat her alive. She hated him, hated him, hated him. Tears came. Hot, heavy, silent.
Crumpled in her own hallway, paralyzed by an exhaustion she couldn’t imagine recovering from, she gavein to sobs as uncontrollable as her inability to walk away from him. The last thought she had before allowing fatigue to drift her into sleep was that she knew her tears weren’t just for herself.
The howl woke him. Jarrett opened his eyes slowly to the predawn shadows. The fog of waking up and his body’s aches did nothing to haze over what had happened just before he’d fallen asleep. The memory was every bit as stark and clear and ugly as if it had happened minutes ago, instead of hours.
He listened to the plaintive cries of the wolf pup and felt an answering tug inside his own chest. He wondered where Rae was. Had she left him? Gone into town? Gone for good?
He wouldn’t blame her if she had, he thought, then automatically chastised himself. That sort of thinking was not going to get the job done. But he was too damn tired to do battle with his emotions or his conscience.
“Damn animal. Shut up already,” he grumbled, the pup’s howl suddenly grating on his nerves. He lifted a hand to his forehead, pleased as much by the cool dry skin there as the steadiness in his fingers. He slowly flexed and relaxed various muscle groups. Minor improvements, but it was progress. Slow progress. God, he was so damn weak.
Curbing the useless frustration, he rolled carefully to his side. Five long minutes later he was standing beside the bed. The trip to the bathroom was slow, but he accomplished it on his own. He even managed to wash hisface and rinse his mouth before the fatigue and dizziness set in again.
He flipped off the light and started to head back to the bedroom. He knew he shouldn’t push too far or he’d lose what little ground he’d gained, but he found himself turning to the hallway door instead.
He wasn’t going anywhere, he promised himself. He just wanted to open it and listen for any signs that Rae was still in the house. Maybe the pup had woken her too.
What he found when he opened the door made bile rise in his throat as swiftly as adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream. Despite the shadows, he knew immediately that the woman slumped over in the hallway was Rae, but it took five or six mind-numbing seconds before he realized she was still alive. From the soft sounds coming from her mouth, she was apparently sleeping.
Sweat popped out on his face and chest as the rush subsided. He leaned heavily in the doorway, cursing his reaction under his breath. He’d frozen, like a green recruit, smack in the center of the doorway.
If she really had been attacked … Well, he’d probably be dead in his bed right now. Still, that didn’t excuse his immediate response. He hadn’t moved for cover, or changed his focus to his surroundings and the possible dangers that awaited him.
No, he’d stood there without a thought for his personal safety, much less for the danger to the mission. A literal naked target, big as life, and he’d just stood there, staring at her. His heart in his throat, his only thoughthad been that she’d been taken from him while
Rae made it as far as the hallway before the loud crash and first shout of her name had her collapsing against the wall. Like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from, she forced herself to endure his repeated shouts, unable not to. She slowly sank into a huddled ball as his voice grew more ragged and finally, mercifully, faded to silence.
Still she couldn’t move. The quiet was like a yawning chasm she didn’t have the strength to leap past. Then pain rushed in to fill it, threatening to swallow her up, eat her alive. She hated him, hated him, hated him. Tears came. Hot, heavy, silent.
Crumpled in her own hallway, paralyzed by an exhaustion she couldn’t imagine recovering from, she gavein to sobs as uncontrollable as her inability to walk away from him. The last thought she had before allowing fatigue to drift her into sleep was that she knew her tears weren’t just for herself.
The howl woke him. Jarrett opened his eyes slowly to the predawn shadows. The fog of waking up and his body’s aches did nothing to haze over what had happened just before he’d fallen asleep. The memory was every bit as stark and clear and ugly as if it had happened minutes ago, instead of hours.
He listened to the plaintive cries of the wolf pup and felt an answering tug inside his own chest. He wondered where Rae was. Had she left him? Gone into town? Gone for good?
He wouldn’t blame her if she had, he thought, then automatically chastised himself. That sort of thinking was not going to get the job done. But he was too damn tired to do battle with his emotions or his conscience.
“Damn animal. Shut up already,” he grumbled, the pup’s howl suddenly grating on his nerves. He lifted a hand to his forehead, pleased as much by the cool dry skin there as the steadiness in his fingers. He slowly flexed and relaxed various muscle groups. Minor improvements, but it was progress. Slow progress. God, he was so damn weak.
Curbing the useless frustration, he rolled carefully to his side. Five long minutes later he was standing beside the bed. The trip to the bathroom was slow, but he accomplished it on his own. He even managed to wash hisface and rinse his mouth before the fatigue and dizziness set in again.
He flipped off the light and started to head back to the bedroom. He knew he shouldn’t push too far or he’d lose what little ground he’d gained, but he found himself turning to the hallway door instead.
He wasn’t going anywhere, he promised himself. He just wanted to open it and listen for any signs that Rae was still in the house. Maybe the pup had woken her too.
What he found when he opened the door made bile rise in his throat as swiftly as adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream. Despite the shadows, he knew immediately that the woman slumped over in the hallway was Rae, but it took five or six mind-numbing seconds before he realized she was still alive. From the soft sounds coming from her mouth, she was apparently sleeping.
Sweat popped out on his face and chest as the rush subsided. He leaned heavily in the doorway, cursing his reaction under his breath. He’d frozen, like a green recruit, smack in the center of the doorway.
If she really had been attacked … Well, he’d probably be dead in his bed right now. Still, that didn’t excuse his immediate response. He hadn’t moved for cover, or changed his focus to his surroundings and the possible dangers that awaited him.
No, he’d stood there without a thought for his personal safety, much less for the danger to the mission. A literal naked target, big as life, and he’d just stood there, staring at her. His heart in his throat, his only thoughthad been that she’d been taken from him while
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