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"When you haven&039;t called? Wanna know the thirdit"
Hitting it?
Her ire was clearly building "I wasn&039;t going to wait for you when you&039;ve been a no-show for two days Last tioing to forsake me The first vampire to renounce his Bride Blah, bluh, blah"
"You must have known that I would come for you - Wait, you said two days?"
"Like I care, Sebastian, if you lost track of ti to death Or I&039;d have been here"
"Wh-what did you say?"
"I traced there to help you thatBut the Scot slammed a shovel across my face, then tossed me in the river" He narrowed his eyes "Did he hurt you?"
"No But he did seeht I&039;d only been out for a day You&039;ve been out here for two days without me?" He squeezed her hands
"Ow!"
He peered down in horror to see he&039;d hurt her hands worse They s Her pants were sliced through, her skin bitten and bloodied She was injured worse than he&039;d ever seen The sand around her was dark It was blood everywhere
"My God, why didn&039;t you say soain
"Oh, pardon lued to her legs "Don&039;t want to whet your appetite"
"You can be so coarse so wife"
"Yet" Against her weak struggles, he scooped her up against his chest and pulled her tightly to hi you hoe you"
The other Lore beings stopped inheld by a vaaped at them in astonishlanced at hi her bottom lip, brows drawn "The prize "
Even after what she&039;d been through, her er under her chin, turning her to face him Her eyes were luminous in her elfin face as she stared up at hi she desired
And he couldn&039;t
"Katja, I cannot retrieve it for you I would But I cannot see the destination"
"You figured out how to find me"
"If you can helpwhirlpool and have it open for etting heavy, and alarm rioted within him
"I&039;m sorry, kena I&039;ll find another way" He traced her back to the flat, setting her on the bed In a businesslikeand bandaging her hands and ar her any worse than she was
When he ripped the ree "Can you you will not die from this?" he asked, his voice hoarse
"No, not at all," she said in a sleepy tone "Which is why I need you to trace me back to the beach at once"
Her words were ridiculous in the face of her injuries "What truly drives you to do this? Why won&039;t you tellup into his eyes, as if searching his soul
"You can trust me," he said
She looked like she wanted to trust him, but couldn&039;t will herself to "I&039;ve known you less than a month, but I&039;ve I&039;ve learned harsh lessons over the last two thousand years"
"I know I&039;ve seen them in my dreams" He could admit to hi a vaood - he just needed to persuade her "I voill never be like those red-eyed fiends There&039;s no reason not to tell me"
"There&039;s also no reason to tell you," she countered
"I could help you"
"Won&039;t you anyway?" she asked
He scowled "Of course But there&039;s got to be so that would make you trust me"
"Yes, ainst me"
"You knoould never hurt you!"
"I didn&039;t say hurtheavy "You do so love your leverage, vaed and sleeping soundly, he showered, his worry and fury finally beginning to dim But he also became filled with a new resolve He knew she couldn&039;t die But she could fucking hurt And he was done allowing her to get strangled and stabbed and beaten each night He wouldn&039;t have it any to the beach to see if he could do anything to help her finish this infernal co without Sebastian, she was thirteen points away from the finals
The exact number of points she&039;d sacrificed for hiiven up that box He&039;d checked his pockets for it but he&039;d lost it Which was understandable, considering his fall and then his crawl across the riverbank
At the beach, he spied an opportunity, and acted on it If he couldn&039;t remove the prize from the competition, he could remove the competition from the prize He returned to Kaderin within fifteensnow out of his hair
When he joined her in bed, she nestled into the pillow and murmured, "You sainst him, reminded that she fit hiht and quick, but they always did when she slept She twitched and gave a softher
When he finally slept, he dreaain It was expected now Yet these weren&039;tthe phone with both hands, eyes watering, as one of her half-sisters delivered a death sentence
36
Kaderin opened her eyes, confused to find herself still snuggled in her sheets that hinted at his sexy scent
He sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands, much as he had the first tione fro She also knew that since then, he&039;d been disillusioned by her and hurt
"How long have I been out?" she asked, her voice scratchy
"Two days"
"What?" she shrieked, shooting upright
He caught her shoulder when she swayed "Easy, kena You were injured worse than either of us thought You lost a lot of blood Let"My God, you heal fast" By now, the gashes on her legs reseht before their eyes
"It&039;s lost," she said, the words breaking "Over" A tear slipped down her cheek, and she angrily swiped it away
"Katja, it is not"
"With me out of the picture, Cindey has had all the tiotten a stick of dyna equipment - "
He reached forward to tuck a curl behind her ear "I don&039;t believe there isequipment in Siberia"
"Siberia?"
"I couldn&039;t get the prize for you But I could incapacitate your only real competition I traced the siren to an abandoned coal h her, warood Had he protected her position in the contest? "Sh-she didn&039;t sing to you?"
"Yes, she warbled frantically But I re, as he brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek "It seems I am completely taken"
Emotion made her breathless and shaky Before she could stop herself, she blurted, "I never intended to sleep with the Colombian"
Pain flashed in his eyes before he dropped his hand and stood "It doesn&039;t matter You don&039;t have to say that now"
"Okay"
He stabbed his fingers through his hair "Damn it, you are supposed to insist and then explain anyway"
"Oh Well, the truth is that I never planned to sleep with anyone that night"
"And your lack of underwear?" he asked with a scowl
"Was the front line I&039;ve found a well-timent" She added, "You really need to rent Basic Instinct"
"Then how did you get the stone?"
"Gamboa had alanted to be with a Valkyrie So, I proin - the one who tried to decapitate you in Antarctica - in exchange for the ring And for the record, I chose that task for only one reason - the same reason Cindey did Because we kneouldn&039;t"
"That is good to know" Another one of his understatements The relief he felt was evident on his face
"Now that I&039;m back in it, I need to leave quickly," she said "Cindey is clever" Kaderin wanted to cement her place in the finals Bowen had earned his spot - she accepted that, but he eakening, and with the siren out of it, Kaderin could win
"Lucindeya&039;s not going anywhere," Sebastian said "She ed frozen pit with slippery sheer-rock faces five hundred feet high, then walk two hundred h waist-deep snow to the nearest town She was dressed for the equator and seeely"
Kaderin tried to stifle a laugh And failed She startled him and herself
"That&039;s the first tirinned "What? What&039;s so a funny, huh? That&039;s because she did truly earn Nereus&039;s prize"
"You ave a chuckle and stroked his hand up and down her ar her "Do you want me to check and see if she&039;s still there?"