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Cyn frowned "Who?"

"Lord Raphael You said he’d be nice and he is"

"I don’t think I ever used the word ‘nice’ to refer to Raphael," Cyn responded sourly

Mirabelle blushed "No, not exactly But he is," she insisted "Are you guys--"

"No!" Cyn said quickly "Well, not anymore," she amended "He et that, Mirabelle Men can be all nice and shen they want to, but underneath they’re still a bunch of assholes"

Mirabelle stared at her with that carefulness one uses with the utterly mad

"Never mind You don’t need to worry about that Yeah, Raphael’s a decent guy when he wants to be, and he will protect you Let’s leave it at that Now There’s a bathrooht here" She walked over and pushed open the door, sticking her head inside to ht need for a nightor a day "The bed’s coain looking around anxiously "Listen, Mirabelle, that closet is plenty big enough If you’ll feel better, we can--"

"No," Mirabelle said quickly "No I’ in closets" She drew a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back "I’ll be fine This is wonderful, Cynthia Thank you"

Cyn s her backbone Not a girl, Cyn She’s not that ht I’ll leave you to it If you need anything, I’ll be right outside, or upstairs My bedroom’s one floor up, but if you call out I’ll hear you, okay? And I promise I’ll be here all day I’m totally wiped; you’ll probably wake up before I do"

"Okay Thanks"

"No probleht" It was indicative of hoeird her life had become that Cyn didn’t even think it was odd to say those words to a va down for the day

Chapter Twenty-three

Cyn thought Raphael was already gone when she walked back into the dimly-lit kitchen She was both relieved and oddly disappointed But then she saw hi near the s, his back to the room as he stared out at the ocean He blended perfectly into the shadows, and she was reain of hoerful he was, that he could draw the darkness around hiainst normal human eyes

"Why did you call Duncan?" he asked

Cyn blinked, surprised out of her contemplation of his masculine perfection "What?" she asked, confused

He spun with an uncanny grace that made every movement seem like a dance "Why Duncan? Did you think I wouldn’t help her?"

"No," she protested "No, I knew you would; that’s why I brought her here"

"Then why call Duncan?"

She didn’t want to answer that question She didn’t want to ad there studying her with eyes as silver as the lowlate, isn’t it?" she said "Don’t you need to be back at the estate?"

He se of subject He crossed the rooht, spicy scent of his aftershave, could see the slight press of his fangs against lips that she knew for a fact were aly soft "Worried about ainst the urge to close those last few inches and bury herself in his arms "I’m not yours," she whispered desperately "I’ers in a lock of her hair and tug her closer His nostrils flared as he drew a breath "He touched you"

"No," she objected, before rey sensation of Jabril’s casual touch "Just my arm, I didn’t want--"

"I should kill hiainst her skin, his breath warainst her teotten so close Soft lips nibbled down her cheek to her waiting mouth She whimpered a weak protest when his mouth closed over hers, when his arainst the solid length of his big body