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syndrome,” she mumbled.
    Chilly, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. It was cold in the house. Rooting through her dresser drawers, she found some sweats, wool socks and a sweatshirt. She had to figure a way to get out of there and to a town of some sort. But she was damn tired. She decided to nap and then work out what to do once she woke up.
    She’d set her internal clock for about 3 a.m. and after a fitful bout of sleep, got up quietly. Silently putting on her sneakers, she eased toward the door. Ever so carefully she reached out and tried the knob. Locked. She’d expected that but it still came as a disappointment. She went into her bathroom and rustled around a bit through her things until she located a bobby pin and a brooch to use for picking the lock.
    She walked back into the bedroom but heard voices outside the door. Quickly she jumped into the bed, pulling the blankets up just as the door opened a crack.
    “Kari? Is everything all right?” Laurent whispered. “I can hear that you aren’t asleep.”
    She snorted. “I went to the bathroom. Do I have to clear that with you or am I free to do that small thing?”
    He laughed softly. “Sleep well. Let me know if you need anything,” he said and closed the door behind him. Hearing the snick of the lock, she cursed him. Him and Andreas Phinney and Dr. Kennedy. The whole lot of them.
    * * *
    She woke up as the sun was rising and stretched. The bedside clock read six forty-five. She was hungry but she’d decided to take all her meals in her room. She didn’t have any desire to go downstairs and enter into their shared delusion that she was a werewolf queen.
    No, if she was going to be a prisoner, there was no need at all to be nice to them or mix with them any more than necessary.
    When she walked out of the bathroom, Andreas was waiting for her, sitting in a chair near the door, reading the newspaper. With a shaft of sunshine glinting off that gorgeous honeyed hair, he looked more like an ad straight out of Esquire than a werewolf. His large, muscled form was handsome and positively mouthwatering in a soft blue button-down oxford shirt and khakis. Hell, he even wore gorgeous designer loafers. Werewolf, indeed. The man looked like casual, rich elegance personified. That now-familiar tightness hit her body as her nipples hardened. The betrayal of her body infuriated her. She tried not to breathe through her nose as it was clearly his cologne that affected her so deeply.
    “So I take it werewolves don’t know how to knock?” She stood in the doorway wearing nothing more than a towel. She was annoyed by his presence and his damnable appeal.
    He jerked up at her tone and stared, his lips slightly parted. He dragged his eyes in slow perusal from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. Putting a hand on her hip, she glared at him. “Do I have spinach in my cleavage?”
    “I apologize, Kari. I didn’t know you would come out here undressed. I’ll go and wait in the hall, shall I? When you’re dressed we can go downstairs together for breakfast.”
    “Um, gee...” She paused theatrically, pretending to mull it over. “No. I don’t think so. I’m not having any meals with you, Mr. Phinney. If you insist on continuing this ridiculous criminal farce, I’ll have my meals here in my room. Alone .”
    “Kari, how can you get to know us if you stay up here?” Agitation rode him. It warred with wanting to coddle her and smooth the way for her. He wanted her to be adjusted to the situation even though he knew it was irrational.
    Her eyes widened. “Are you getting testy with me? Get to know you? My god! You are totally delusional! No! I don’t want to get to know you. I want you to let me go. I am not a werewolf. I am not your Mate or whatever you want to call it. I don’t want to be here. I’m not going to do anything to ease your conscience.”
    Frustrated, Andreas rubbed his hands over his face. Truth was, he wasn’t used to being told no or