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before tying the animal to
a low hanging branch to graze.
    The lanky man with the
reddish-blond, scruffy beard came next, tying his horse off to another tree. He
leaned his back against a tree trunk, his long blond hair dripping water down
his nose and chin.
    “My name’s Ranger,” he
said, nodding at Mali.
    “I’m Mali,” she said,
huddling close to Jaxon beneath their leafy shelter.
    Behind the heavily
muscled Adolpho, who apparently decided he’d rather wait out in the rain than
join the ladies, came the last man on his horse. This one was stocky with broad
shoulders, though he was half a head shorter than Jaxon and Ranger.
    “Torolf,” he said,
introducing himself like the others.
    “It’s good to have a
name for everyone,” she said, rubbing her damp arms. Luckily for them,
lightning hadn’t cut across the sky, or they’d be sitting ducks under the tall
trees.
    Jaxon looked up at the
sky as if trying to judge how long the storm would last.
    “The road’s going to be
mud pies from here on out,” Ranger said, picking at his teeth with a blade of
grass.
    “If we go ahead and
make camp, the morning sun and this wind might have it dried out enough by
mid-morning. The wagon won’t bog down first thing,” Jaxon said. He pulled his
cloak off and laid it on the ground, taking a seat. He patted the ground,
looking at Mali.Grateful to sit on something
other than a hard saddle with her legs spread to the point of dislocation, Mali
settled on the cloak and crossed her legs.
    Rain filtered through
the canopy, dripping occasionally on the top of her head. Small beads of
moisture found the part in her hair and tickled down her scalp. Mali scratched
her head, feeling mistreated just by being there instead of home. She hadn’t
played or sat in the rain since she’d been a child. Back then, it’d seemed like
fun—especially with her mother waiting inside with a warm fire and dry clothes.
She didn’t have anything here, and the dampness of her clothes combined with
the sheeting wind made her thin cotton dress damp in spite of the fact that
Jaxon had sheltered her from the weather as much as possible.
    She was disconcerted to
notice her nipples poking against the fabric. Mali shivered and crossed her
arms over her chest.
    “Guess you wish I’d
taken your side now, hmm?” Jaxon said, glancing from her chest to her face.
    Something in the look
of his eyes and the set of his jaw made a rush of heat flow through her and
settle in the pit of her stomach. “What do you mean? I thought you had taken my
side.”
    “They didn’t want you
in there. You’d be dry right now if I’d made them behave themselves.”
    Mali shrugged. “They’re
grown women. I don’t think you or anyone else could make those bitches behave.”
    Ranger and Torolf
exchanged a glance and snickered.
    “Nest of vipers,”
Ranger muttered.
    “I feel sorry for
anyone taking anyone of them home as a mate,” she said. Her brow furrowed.
    “Me too,” Jaxon agreed.
    Adolpho snorted. “None
of you have it that bad. I have to ride listening to them right behind my back.
They complain every time I hit a pothole.” His eyes dropped and a smile curled
his lips. “I hit a lot of potholes.”
    They all laughed.
    Mali began to wonder if
her parents were right in keeping her secluded from the pack all these years.
They didn’t seem that bad. No worse or different than her family. Some of the
tension and fear that’d gripped her began to ease off in spite of the reactions
of the other women. She knew most of them were probably in the grips of heat or
close to it. Having gone through it herself just a year past, she knew the
havoc going into heat could play on her emotions with no outlet to relieve the
painful ache. It was almost enough to allow her to forgive them. Almost.
    Looking at Jaxon made
strange quivers inside her belly, and she began to wonder if being around the
opposite sex might send her back into the throes of heat. She hoped not.