Did the dog belong to the man then? If so, where was it? I kept expecting it to round the corner but it never came.

"Get out of here!" I shrieked at the man, searching around for a weapon of some sort but finding none close to hand.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," he said in a husky voice.

"Look – whatever you want, money...car keys..."

"I want you. I came here to claim my mate. You."

This sounded extremely ominous. Great. A lunatic. "Please don't," I begged, guessing what he had in mind.

"I would never dream of hurting you. Wolves mate for life, you know," came the cryptic reply. "You may as well reconcile yourself early to the fact that you are mine."

"I – I'm married," I stammered. As though that would stop a sex crazed maniac.

"Marriage is a legal institution that has nothing to do with us. There are some bonds that go deeper than the law."

"Get out of here," I said, trying to put more confidence into my voice than I felt.

"I won't hurt you," he said, raising his arms wide in what was probably a gesture intended to show me that he wasn't armed. Well of course he wasn't armed – he was naked. But the movement made me more aware of how lean and muscular he was. He wasn't large, but he was well toned. He was perfect except for a livid white scar that ran down his chest like claw marks.

"I can't do that," he repeated. His hand brushed the scar on his chest. "I've come to make you mine. I know this may be difficult to accept right now, but you'll soon understand."

He didn't stop his approach. With incredible speed and agility he leapt at me, pinning me firmly to the bed. I struggled to free myself but it was impossible. His physical strength was incredible, even – supernatural?

His hard, lean body pressed down on me so I could scarcely breathe. With contradictory gentleness, he brushed my hair from my face, his eyes taking in my features in a hungry sort of way.

"You have no idea how long I've been watching you. And the thought of that man touching you –"

"By law," he agreed in a slightly amused tone. "Which means nothing to me. You are mine by a far greater authority – that of nature. You are mine," he repeated slowly and with emphasis.

Almost as though he couldn't control it, his hips rubbed against mine. Even through my gown and panties I could feel that he was rock hard. I thought he was going to kiss me but he nuzzled his face against my neck, inhaling deeply. "You're in heat," he observed.

Judging by the way my body was reacting to the evidence of his arousal, which was jutting into my thigh, I privately agreed. Either that or I was going out of my mind. Knowingly, his hand slid between my legs. "You're soaking the crotch of your panties," he needlessly informed me.

"You don't mean that. If I thought you really mean that, I'd