Carol's Mate Read Online Free PDF Page B

pushed him away countless times, he kept coming back. She remembered the last time vividly…
    True Mates: Carol’s Mate
    27

    * * *
    Carol stared at the open textbook in front of her and sighed. Unfortunately she couldn‟t concentrate worth a damn. Not since The Kiss. It had happened over a week ago—ten days, three hours, and twenty-two minutes, not that she was counting—and she still hadn‟t been able to put it out of her mind.
    Once again she went through her litany of reasons why a relationship between them wouldn‟t work. They were two completely different species. Her kind were known for their rough sexual play. She might do serious damage to his fragile human body, and he didn‟t have a shifter‟s ability to change and heal. Already she‟d had to stop herself from clawing his back and sinking her fangs into his neck. And then there was the fact that he didn‟t—couldn‟t—know what she was. Sex brought out the beast. In orgasm, it was impossible to control the shift. Glowing eyes, fangs, and nails turned to claws were a little difficult to explain.
    Strong sexual attraction aside, this guy really got to her on an emotional level.
    Getting more deeply involved with Mark would only lead to heartache. Once these last two semesters were finished, she was returning to Refuge and her pack to complete her internship and, later, to work. She‟d settle down with one of her pack mates, push out some pups, and life would continue on.
    She couldn‟t see a city boy like Mark being willing to settle in some small, one-traffic-light town way up in the mountains, surrounded by a bunch of shape-shifters and humans with extrasensory perception. Even if he was, there was still the fact that they were genetically incompatible. She‟d like to have children one day—at least two. Maybe more. That wouldn‟t be possible with a human as a mate.
    Resolve once more firm in her mind, she focused her attention on the text, only to have a determined knock at the door interrupt her. Carol groaned. She had end-of-semester exams coming. She needed to study.
    She rose, went to the town-house door, and looked out the peephole. It was Mark. She was too stunned to question how he‟d discovered where she lived. She‟d certainly never told him. Not that it was a big secret or anything.
    28
    Zena Wynn
    She leaned her forehead against the wood, breathing hard as the arousal that had never completely dissipated since their kiss coursed through her body, gaining strength. This close, she could smell him. His lust hit her like a tidal wave.
    Carol took a step backward as he pounded on the door again.
    “Carol, open up. I know you‟re in there.”
    With her car in the driveway, there was no way she could pretend the house was empty. She had to deal with him, with this. “Go home, Mark.”
    “I‟m not leaving. Open the door.” When she didn‟t respond, he continued banging, causing the whole frame to shudder. “Carol!”
    “Go away. I‟m studying.” She couldn‟t open the door to him. If she did, all the reasons in the world wouldn‟t matter. She‟d be on him in a heartbeat.
    “Carol, please.” He sounded like he was pressed right against the wood. “I know I promised to leave you alone but…”
    She came forward and placed her hand on the door. “Mark,” she sighed.
    “Baby, let me in.”
    She could fight his demand, but his pleas? Her hand moved and slid back the chain, almost with a mind of its own, then flipped the dead bolt. When she reached the doorknob, she hesitated, her conscience warring with her instincts.
    “Baby, please don‟t send me away,” he begged.
    It was the nudge she needed to let him in. “This is a bad idea,” she stated as she slowly opened the door.
    “Then we‟ll just have to make it good,” he pronounced as he strode inside and kicked the door closed. He stripped off his jacket and let it fall to the floor as he reached for her. “Woman, you‟re driving me crazy. I can‟t sleep. I