The moment the elevator doors closed, Darcy's left hand, hanging at her side, went hot.
The heat rose straigh
LOGIN"Thirty sleds?"Asher grabbed the messenger by his sweat-soaked collar, veins rising on the back of his hand, but he didn't draw the black steel saber at his waist. He looked down at the messenger's pale face, speaking fast. "Casualties at the checkpoint? What time did they break through? Which way were they headed when last spotted?""Alpha! Four brothers wounded, no deaths!" The messenger swallowed, words spilling out. "Half an hour ago. They rammed straight through the northern Third Gate. All light tracked sleds, following the old frozen riverbed north toward the wastes!"The civilians queuing for supplies in front of the depot heard the commotion. The line stirred."Mona, keep distri
Dawn hadn't even broken when the top-floor suite door was nearly pounded off its hinges."Asher! All three West District depots are blocked! Hall's loyalists stirred up over two hundred low-ranking wolves to raid the cold-weather grease. Two patrol squads have drawn blades and can't hold them back!"Mona's hoarse voice poured through the thick oak door, mixed with the biting wind outside.On the big bed, the covers were still warm.Darcy was jolted awake. She'd barely cracked her eyes open when a strong arm slid across her waist from behind, pulling her flush against a broad, warm chest.Asher didn't even open his eyes. His nose rubbed deep into the smooth curve of Darcy's nape, his hot jaw pressed against the back of her neck."Anyone hurt? Where's Gideon?" Asher's voice was rough, but it carried no sleep. He was already reaching for the bedside comm unit."Two guards took hits, nothing serious. Gideon's holding the line," Mona answe
The pickup pulled up in front of the Main Peak building.The moment the truck stopped, someone walked out the main entrance.Rowan came down the steps quickly with Darcy's thick coat over his arm and opened the door for her. He didn't give Silas in the truck a second glance. He draped the coat over Darcy's shoulders and pulled the front closed.Silas leaned on the steering wheel, tilted his head, and raised an eyebrow at Rowan. He chewed on a toothpick and said nothing.Rowan helped Darcy out and looked down at her arm. "It's cold. Let's go upstairs. The West District paperwork came in."Darcy waved at Silas in the truck. "Drive slow."Silas hit the gas. The big pickup swung around, kicking up snow, and drove off.Darcy rode the elevator to the executive offices with Rowan.Inside, she took off her coat and dropped into the big leather chair. Rowan poured a cup of steaming hot water and set a thick stack of documents in front of her."All three of Hall's private storehouses are sealed
At one-fifty in the afternoon, an old black pickup pulled up in the snow outside the Main Peak building.Darcy opened the door and climbed in. She braced her right arm in its sling with one hand. The moment she settled into the seat, Silas leaned across from the driver's side, his whole body blocking out the space in front of the passenger seat.He was too big. The heat hit her first, a warm male smell mixed with fresh soap and dry tobacco.Darcy's back pressed into the seat.Silas's thick arm reached across her chest and pulled the seatbelt over. A thick wool pad was wrapped around it, positioned right over her collarbone.The buckle clicked shut.He didn't sit back right away.Silas planted both elbows on either side of her seat, leaning in low, covering her completely. They were too close. His hot breath hit her lips.He pressed his callused thumb against the soft wool pad on her chest, then his fingertip slid up and brushed lightly under her cold chin."Let me get it. Don't strain
The moment they stepped into the suite, Asher kicked the heavy oak door shut behind them.The lock clicked. He scooped Darcy up in one motion, carried her through the entryway in long strides, and set her gently on the edge of the big bed.Asher dropped to both knees on the carpet with a thud. His hands flew to the buttons of her heavy outer robe, his movements so fast they shook. The robe slid off her shoulders. Asher caught her left hand and turned it over and over in his palms.The back of her hand was smooth. The knuckles were clean and pale. Not even a red mark.Asher kept his head down, his thumb rubbing back and forth across the soft center of Darcy's palm, his breathing rough.
Asher's head was still buried in the curve of Darcy's neck, his breath heavy and hot against her collarbone.The weight made her neck ache. Two hundred people below the platform were staring at them. The hall was so quiet a pin drop would have echoed.She didn't pull away. She raised her uninjured left hand and pressed her palm to the back of his hot neck.The man's skin was hard as iron, the tendons pulled tight. The short, stiff hair at the back of his head prickled against her palm. Darcy rubbed the soft flesh at the nape of his neck gently, stroking along his hair."Your shoulder?" Asher's voice was muffled against her collar, his jaw trembling.







