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“Maddie,” I murmur, kicking into gear again until I’m collapsing on my knees beside her. “Maddie? Are you okay?”
She moans again, but then slowly lifts her head to frown at me. “Wolf?”
Her scent hits me like a goddamned freight train, the spicy sweet scent magnified times a thousand. My cock jumps to attention and my immediate instinct is to rip every shred of her clothes off and fuck her right here in the hay. Knot her. Bond her. Claim her as mine forever.
I struggle to touch her gently, to keep myself under control, holding my breath and only allow small sips of air as I run my hands up and down her arms.
“I’m here, Mads. I’m here.” I reach up to cup her face, startled by how blazing fucking hot her skin is against my palm. Her eyes are glazed over, too, and she’s shivering like a leaf as she leans into my touch, whimpering as she presses her legs together.
Fuck. We are too late.
I don’t know if she’s in full-blown heat or if she’s still on the verge, but we won’t be able to get her symptoms under control now. With a wealth of medical knowledge behind me—or none, really—I already know it’s progressed too far. She’s going to have to ride it out.
She’s clearly in pain, cramping, if the way she’s hunched over, moaning whenever she shifts to ease the discomfort, is anything to go by. She’s definitely got a raging fever, and when she sways as she tries to lean into me, I know she’s dizzy, too.
Take her,my inner animal roars, and I grit my teeth against the intrusive thought, my groin aching as my erection grows and my knot swells. Precum dampens the front of my pants and I am dying to get out of this suffocating suit.
“Wolf?” she says my name again softly as she reaches for my face like she’s trying to make sure I’m real. “I’m scared, Wolf.”
“I know, Mads,” I wrap my arms around her just as Tai crashes to his knees on her other side. Kaz stands behind him, chest heaving as he regards the scene and then nods, his eyes wide and wild as he shoves his hands into his hair, nostrils flaring.
“The dowager cottage,” he says immediately. “Lady White was saddled for that display before the ball, right? Let’s fucking hope she still is.”
He takes off at a run toward the paddock where the grooms tend to the horses after they’ve been ridden, and he comes back a moment later leading my favorite mare by her halter. She’s not saddled anymore, evidently, but I can ride her bareback and use only her mane to guide her if I have to.
At this point, the leather straps around her face with the rope clipped to them is a luxury. Kaz hands her over before crouching down to slide an arm around Maddie’s waist.
“You’re going to be okay,” he murmurs soothingly. “We’re going to get you through this, okay?”
Her eyes narrow when she manages to focus on his face. “You!”
“Yes, me.” He frowns, brushing a lock of damp hair off her forehead and tucking it gently behind her ear. “Maddie, what is it?”
She raises a shaky hand to his chest and pokes him, feisty despite her pain. “I. Am. Not. Worthless.” Each word is punctuated by another poke. “I. Am. Not. Nothing. I don’t need your help.”
Kaz jerks like she slapped him, his features contorting with pain as he realizes the same thing I do.She overheard us, but she doesn’t know he was quoting his mother. Fuck.
Another cramp passes through her and she collapses against him before she realizes what she’s doing and tries to push away, but she sways again, looking like she’s about to faint until Tai moves in behind her.
“I’ve got you, Maddie,” he says softly into her ear, and he leads her to where I’ve mounted Lady White. “I can explain, I promise, but not here and not now.”
She groans and finally drops her chin in a curt nod.
Tai lifts her up effortlessly by her thighs and she mewls. He and I both wince at the sound, but we’ll get there. I’m already hard as hell and ready as I’ve ever been, tempted to give her some relief on the way to the cottage. While I’ll probably be able to stay on Lady White while I do, I’m not sure the same can be said for her.
Instead, I simply help her get settled, wrap my arm tight around her waist, and then dig my heels into the horse’s flank. She responds immediately, breaking into a canter before we’ve even cleared the stable yard.
Maddie gasps, but I’m not sure if it’s fright or because she can feel how hard I am for her. Maybe a little bit of both.
“Hang on. We’ll be there in no time, okay.”
Behind us, I’m sure Tai and Kaz are running again, but we’ll beat them by a few minutes at least. Possibly enough time to clear up what she thinks she heard—or to get her off.Choices, choices.
My head starts to swim, though, so I might not make this particular choice with my brain. Her scent is fucking strong, and I’m fast losing my bearings. Thankfully, Lady White breaks through the trees at the dowager cottage as I consider pulling her up short and taking Maddie right there on the forest floor.
Right. The cottage. That’s where we were going. Fucking focus, Wolf.A soft snarl sounds, and it takes me a second to realize it came from me.
“Are you okay?” Maddie asks as I draw the mare to a halt and slide off before helping her do the same.
