Page 41 of His Atonement

14. Adopt a rescue animal.

15. Finish Allie's album.

16. Kiss someone like it'll be my last kiss. (Ha!)

17. Fall in love for real.

But the last one has a hard line through it and a revision.

17. Learn to play the cello.

There are check marks next to numbers one, five, eight and nine but that's all so far and it has left me with more questions than answers.

Why does she have this list?

Is this some sort of promise she's keeping to her grandmother or is there more to it than that?

Why are there so few things on the list? Does she not wish to do more with her life than such simple, mindless things?

Why did she eliminate falling in love? Not that I should care about that, but does Frankie not want what her cousin has, or is it because she feels she does not deserve it?

And who the fuck does she intend to experiment with sexually or kiss like it'll be her last? Who will be showing her more than thisvanillasex she referenced with obvious distain?

I bet it's that wolf, Colt.

That bastard whom I actually like quite a bit most of the time and find myself oddly intrigued by is probably more than willing to experiment with my Frankie, show her the many ways sex can be so much more than vanilla.

I bet that son of bitch already has and—

Motherfucker, those cuts on her thigh!

They could be from his claws, his fangs!

That piece of shit has probably already begun showing my Frankie all the things she has so clearly been missing, which would account for his disappearance as well as hers!

Oh, hell no. No, this will not stand.

If anyone is going to show my Frankie unlimited pleasure and the various ways to achieve it, you can bet your ass it will be me—our little game and the way she infuriates me aside.

No man or beast shall even think of touching Frankie in any way at all, let alone one of a sexual nature and I am going to make sure of it, consequences be damned.

I do a quick sweep of her cabin to make sure she isn't hiding in her home, then take off out the front door, following her scent deep into the woods.

The goddamn woods.

Colt is probably fucking her right now, has her laid out under the crescent moon slowly rising in the sky, those long legs wrapped around his waist or his head while he feasts on my female.

Well, fuck that without any lube.

I will put a stop to his ministrations immediately, scold Frankie for allowing another to touch her, then take her back to her cabin and punish her accordingly with the gifts I sent.

Yes, by morning there will be no question in Frankie's mind, no question in anyone's mind about who she belongs to because she might not know it yet, but Francis Mae Masters is fuckingmine.

Explicit Content

Iknew the property was vast, knew the Dragovihk Clan owned an enormous portion of the forest, the mountains, the surrounding land, but I had no idea just how deep their territory ran until now.

I've been racing through the woods following Frankie's scent for what feels like hours and only now begin to see signs of her anywhere.