Kiss of Snow

Leaning down, he nipped at her jaw, a quick, affectionate bite that had her jerking. “No distracting me,” she complained, rubbing her foot over the back of his calf, the hairs on his legs crisp and rough, a sexy caress against her skin. “I want to know.”

His chuckle vibrated through the palms she had on that resilient flesh. “If you’re sure.” Another small bite before he whispered it in her ear.

She blinked. “No.”

He growled, but it was playful. “Don’t you like it?”

“It’s beautiful, you know it is.” Perfect for him. “But then I have to ask about your first name. It doesn’t seem very wolfish—especially considering the age and significance of your last. Was it a family name?”

He shook his head. “My mother had decided on a name if she ever had a boy, long before she met my father, regardless of the fact that Hawke wasn’t any kind of a name for a wolf.” He settled over her, a heavy male blanket. “When they mated, she decided to take her mate’s surname, which was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in the pack, but she refused to change her mind about her son’s name.”

Sienna heard the echo of deepest love in that statement. “Your father accepted it.”

“He adored her.” A simple answer. “Plus he figured any son of his would soon handle anyone who hassled him over his name—he was right.” The arrogance was pure male wolf.

Charmed, she kissed a line up his neck. “In your mother’s defense,” she said, unable to stop petting him, “it’s a gorgeous, unique name.”

“Just not meant for a wolf.” He bent into her caresses. “Honestly? I like that they both gave me a name.”

She did, too. “What about me?” she asked. “Do I take your last name since we’re mated?”

“Do you want to?” A tilt of his head, the wolf watchful but not demanding.

She considered the question with care, thinking of who she’d been, who she was now. “Yes,” she said at last, “but I’d like to keep mine, too.” As with Hawke, the past was gone, but it had left an indelible mark, could not be forgotten. “It’s a part of me.”

Lips against her own, a wolf’s kiss. “That works fine for me . . . Sienna Lauren Snow.”

Berkley Titles by Nalini Singh

Psy-Changeling Series

SLAVE TO SENSATION

VISIONS OF HEAT

CARESSED BY ICE

MINE TO POSSESS

HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE

BRANDED BY FIRE

BLAZE OF MEMORY

BONDS OF JUSTICE

PLAY OF PASSION

KISS OF SNOW

Guild Hunter Series

ANGELS’ BLOOD

ANGELS’PAWN (A Berkley Sensation eSpecial)

ARCHANGEL’S KISS

ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT

Anthologies

AN ENCHANTED SEASON (with Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, and Jean Johnson)

THE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CAT (with Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones)

MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS (with Charlaine Harris, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook)

BURNING UP (with Angela Knight, Virginia Kantra, and Meljean Brook)

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Notes

1

File note: Covert scans of George Kim’s mind show evidence of a subtle but total telepathic wipe in relation to the Eldridge project. Given the delicacy of the wipe, there is a high likelihood it was completed by an E-Psy. He has no useful or problematic knowledge. Terminal action not required.

2

File note: Action unable to be satisfactorily completed. Parents’ minds show evidence of a subtle telepathic wipe in relation to the X Project–neither has any problematic or useful knowledge. Akim descendants unaware of any discovery relating to their genetic line.

3

File Note: See note on e-mail dated: April 10th, 1973. Parents have no useful or problematic knowledge. Terminal action not required.

4

File Note: The E in question has disappeared from the Net—all attempts to find him alive or locate his body have failed. An active alert has been placed with Enforcement and all hospital facilities.

5

File note: No request filed with Ethics Committee. No indication of any unauthorized experimentation.