Notorious by Virginia Henley Page A

feel her power. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
    â€œI’m so glad you like her. Good night, my dear. Sleep well.”
    When Brianna was alone she gazed down at the touchstone, amazed that Jane had chosen the she-wolf for her emblem. She traced the exquisite creature with her fingertip. “Shadow…Shadow.”
    She set the touchstone down on the table beside her bed, but once she slid beneath the covers, she picked it up and slipped the thong over her head. The wolf lay in the valley between her breasts, close to her heart. It wasn’t long after Brianna fell asleep that she drifted into a dream.
    She heard a sound in the distance that made the hair on the nape of her neck stand up. She raised her head from her paws and listened intently. The howl came again, stirring her senses and calling to the wild spirit that lay hidden, deep within her. She got to her feet slowly, silently, as her innate wariness cautioned her to use her eyes, her ears, and her keen sense of smell to alert her to the dangers that might lie in wait for her outside her den. The howl came again and the call to the wild was so tempting, so compelling, that it was almost irresistible.
    With an age-old wisdom bred into her through generations of clever, wily ancestors she carefully weighed the risks involved. Her natural reluctance gradually eroded, replaced by the knowledge that the adventure that awaited her promised to be glorious. Her restless spirit hungered for excitement. Her every instinct thirsted for a soul mate.
    Silently, she moved from her safe haven into the shadowy, moonlit night. She slipped between the trees to where the ground began to slope upward, following an invisible trail that lured her to her destiny.
    Suddenly she saw him and stopped dead in her tracks. His black silhouette was outlined by the moonlight as he stood on the summit of the hill with his head thrown back. He was the most magnificent male she had ever seen. Instinctively, she knew the dark wolf would be dominant and dangerous, but she was ready to follow wherever he led.
    He scented her presence, turned to look at her, and howled a welcome that was elemental and primal. She drew closer, answering his call, and saw that his sleek pelt was black, his eyes a fierce light gray. He took a step toward her and she growled a warning in her throat. He ignored her warning and his tongue came out to lick and taste her. She nuzzled his neck, accepting him.
    Side by side, they loped down the hill, running faster and faster in a wild frenzy of joy, relishing their freedom, ecstatic that they had found each other. They covered miles of territory, over fields, through streams and woods until dawn began to lighten the sky. They flushed a covey of birds and playfully chased them, though they had little interest in hunting at the moment. The game of mating was far more pleasurable and held them in its thrall. Exhilarated by their nightlong dash, they found a clearing in the heart of the forest.
    He stretched his sleek body in the grass and she lay down beside him, admiring his dark male beauty. She felt the primal heat of arousal in her belly and rolled playfully onto her back, yielding to his dominance in alluring age-old feminine submission.
    Brianna awoke with a start. She sat up and saw that the first flush of dawn light was inching in through the open shutters, illuminating the lovely chamber that had once belonged to her mother. She felt the touchstone against her breast and it evoked a memory of her dream. “I was dreaming about Shadow.” A frisson of delight rippled through her as she remembered more about the dream. “No, I dreamed that I actually was Mortimer’s she-wolf.” Suddenly, she blushed and her delight turned to dismay, for she knew with a certainty the identity of the dark, dominant male who had lured her to indulge in the reckless, uninhibited mating game.
    Brianna deliberately dismissed the dream from her thoughts. This