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raw emotions she couldn t control. It was rare she allowed herself to break down and
then only in the privacy of her room, never in public, never where someone could see
her.
But with Al, with this man she couldn t really have, not for any long term, it felt so
right to be in his arms and giving in to tears. In some ways it felt more intimate than
making love with him. Here she was really naked, no gloss of confidence masking her
true feelings.
She cried for her sister, little Tammy who always wanted to do the right thing,
caught up in forces beyond her control and now possibly in jeopardy of losing her life.
She cried for how her parents would find out about her sister s relationship with Kurt, a
selkie and someone they could never approve of.
And she cried for herself, for how she felt about Al and the promise his mother had
tried to force her into. His own mother knew she wasn t a good choice for him. She d
only bring pain to his life. Al was a man with his own place in the world and she
couldn t be part of it. She could never bring him into her circles& that much had been
clear from when they d tried to have drinks at the Asylum.
They each had their own worlds and while at this time those worlds intersected,
that couldn t last. Eventually they d each have to go their own way.
But it wasn t fair. She wasn t even in heat anymore and she still wanted him.
Gradually her tears subsided and as the storm of emotion passed she felt Al s arms
holding her close and his hands rubbing her back, his voice a soft whisper in her ear,
saying soothing words.  It s okay, all right.
She leaned back to look in his face and saw the surprise and confusion there.  I m
sorry, she stammered.
He hugged her closer.  No need to be. It s been a rough couple of days. You were
due for some release.
She gave a short laugh and rubbed her head against his chest.  I thought that s
what the sex was for.
Al didn t join her laughter.  There are all kinds of release, Babe. Sex is great but
sometimes we need more than that. He kissed her forehead.  Sometimes a woman just
needs someone to talk to. Or a shoulder to cry on.
Barbara couldn t help but smile.  How did you get so smart about women?
91
Cricket Starr
 Well you might have noticed I have a mom and a sister. One of my aunts runs a
clothing store in Beverly Hills and I help her out sometimes. I m around women a lot.
He grinned at her.  Besides, I m the Bad Dog. Women like me. Makes sense to
understand them.
Now that the storm of emotions was over, Barbara felt strangely better. Lighter, like
a burden had passed. The tears had been as much of a release as sex was.
 We still need to talk to Roland Herz and find out what his connection to Tammy s
disappearance is. Richard said he d call us when he finds him.
 So we better get back to the car. The number I gave him was my cell phone and
that s with my clothes, Al said. He ran his hand along the side of her face.  Much as I
love standing out on a beach being naked with you, it s time to return to civilization.
Reluctantly Barbara stepped out of his arms and slipped back into her wolf form,
the familiar shift of bone and muscle nearly painless, the itch of the fur sliding over her
skin a warm comfort against the cool ocean breeze. When she was finished she stood
there, a tawny wolf, next to the solid black-coated wolf Al had become. As she followed
him across the rocks and to the beach, she wondered for just a moment if the black color
would carry over to his cubs. Black coat genes were said to be dominant& and she
could imagine a couple of young boys with pitch-black fur at their first turning.
Barbara stopped dead in the middle of the trail. Why was she thinking about Al s
cubs? She couldn t have any plans for being around him after they d found her sister.
Barbara shook the idea out of her wolf-shaped head and continued to follow Al to
the car.
Not surprisingly, Richard s car was gone when they arrived back. Using the car as
concealment they shifted to human and Barbara fetched her spare key from the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]