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Piper noticed that Rafe wasn’t the only one who’d ant and fashioned into a semi-circle Piper sat between them, and neither inning to crowd her Kade’s long,an odd wave of heat through her The heat wave swelled when Rafe so to the college of your choice?"

Rafe was so close she could feel the heat of his body, s column of his throat, the firm line of his jaw, the sensual shape of his lips Piper tore her gaze away

"Uhm, I couldn’t leave my sister Once I found out the ranch was deep in debt, I had to sell it, along with our home No one wanted to take Melinda in She was fourteen and a little wild You have to understand that the town I lived in was very small and conservative A week after my father’s funeral, some of the woht Mindy should be placed in the foster system"

"You had no family left?" Rafe asked, his voice deep with sympathy

She forced a smile, but knew it looked bitter "Oh, we had family, just none interested in us My mother’s parents were millionaires When she didn’t randparents wouldn’t even help pay for my dad’s funeral, so I had to find a way to bury him properly They’ve never rels"

And she’d once again said way too ot nervous? It was like an illness Once she started going, Piper Glen would tell anyone anything

A strong hand covered hers, encasing her in warmth--and a heat that sizzled up her ar her "It is good for you that they are not in your life"

"Yeah" Though a check would have been nice "It’s good And Mindy and I ca the day and took night school classes…and here we are Mindy’s in her sophoood"

The waiter placed the iced tea in front of her, but suddenly she didn’t have a hand because Kade took hold of her other Guys from Bezakistan were really touchy-feely Piper ith the flow She’d heard people from other cultures didn’t have the sahtly "You were left on your own at eighteen years old to raise your sister That must have been very difficult"

"It wasn’t like I had to change her diapers or anything Though getting her back and forth frouard moms are like a cult If I had to sell one oing to blow my head off"

"That would be a shame since it’s such a pretty head" Slowly, Rafe released her hand and reached for one of the ridiculously well-presented oysters "Here you are, Piper"

They looked awesos it would inevitably slide the wrong way, fall out of its nice little shell, slip across the floor, and so "No, thank you"

"You do not like theeous face turned down, and she felt a bit like she’d insulted him No, upset him "Dex told us you liked seafood It e chose this place I’ll have the waiter take this away We can find a restaurant that is h perfectly ready to leave

"No! I love seafood I adore oysters I’m just really clumsy with the" Because yeah, that would be classy in a five-star place like this

Kade laughed, thea shiver up her spine "You’re worried you will make a mess?"

"Worried? No How about absolutely certain There’s a reason they call o" Her reputation hadn’t bought her a ton of friends at Black Oak Woenuinely hate her

Rafe slid back into the booth and settled closer He squeezed a lemon over the oyster and picked it up once more "Pandora was the ift from Zeus to Prometheus’s brother"

Piper knew the story "She was a trick Zeus’s gifts always came with a price"

His lips curved in a satisfied sht, but I think this was one trick that worked for the world Without Pandora, the gifted one, there would have been no women"

Kade shuddered "That would be truly horrible"

"She opened a box she wasn’t supposed to and unleashed suffering onway By unleashing suffering, she also unleashed joy Men before Pandora did not know love or happiness or true comfort because they cannot exist without their opposites to define them Pandora made mankind" Rafe brushed a stray piece of hair fros, habibti Do not be afraid to try Do not be afraid to fail Be afraid to sih of success or the low of failure"

He held the oyster up, offering to control the shell

His words, those beautiful words co from deep inside him, coated her ears with that rich chocolate voice that filled her like a sensual spell She shouldn’t take him up on the offer He was practically her boss No, more important even, since he could influence the presentation of all her research But she enty-five years old and suddenly she realized just howher sister Fear of failing Fear of being hurt

She looked hi inside her as he placed the shell to her lips and tilted the oyster in Soft, with a lovely acidic flavor from the lemon The oyster slid down her throat, a decadent experience

Rafe looked down at her, pleasure oozing fro a flush creep up her cheeks