"I don't want it. Or has my dumbness turned on you and you've caught it whole? Is that why you're unable to hear what I'm saying?" Alisha sneered, not liking even the tiniest attempt to manipulate her like this.

And yet, her body was betraying her. She felt a heat crawling up her skin, a readiness to give in that had nothing to do with her will. Maybe it was the mate bond, something she didn't fully understand but couldn't ignore. The effect his touch had on her lately was no joke. But that ...