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Mikhail frowned "That wasn’t your fault He should have been honest with you"

She waved aside his atte and foolish A feeeks after the wedding, Max asked o to lovely parties forever I said yes" She brushed away her tears with an angry swipe "Can you i up mortality for such a ridiculous reason?"

"Did you know he ave Mikhail a wry look "It was a bit of a shock when he attackedthe bastard was dead

"I was so foolish I gave up my chance to ever have children"

Mikhail’s heart squeezed as the hter swept across his mind "You wanted children?"

She nodded, and another tear rolled down her cheek "Then I o into any details, but it was enough to make him suspect that the rumors were true"

Her shoulders slumped "I was a coward I knewto dissuade him Max trusted me, and I let him down"

"So it was your father who killed your husband?" Mikhail asked

"Yes He staked Max while we lay beside each other in our death-sleep Father left his ring in the ashes so I would knoas he I feared that Max’s vaed him to flee to America He asked o I abandoned hier"

She sniffed "I joined the Coven Master’s harem in London, where I would be safe Then later, when the Ger London, I fled to New York As usual, I took the cowardly way out"

"That was self-preservation The underground lairs were no longer safe"

"And then er The Malcontents blew up our nightclub and wanted to kill her, and I left her I went back to London" She turned to face hi down her cheeks "Don’t you see why I’m ashamed? I’m a coho fails the people who count on me I abandon them when they need me the most"

Mikhail stared at her, stunned by the ferocity of her self-recri to earn redemption as VampWoman? She’d be lucky if she wasn’t rewarded with an early death "I can understand the need tonow, you’re putting yourself in danger--"

"You don’t approve" She dried her cheeks with an i to you"

"No! I’lad you told me"

"But you could never understand how I feel You’re so incredibly huge and fierce I doubt you’ve ever lost a battle or ever let anyone down"

He flinched

"Do you even knohat it’s like to be filled with guilt and regret?"

He pinched his eyes shut to avoid the h" He opened his eyes to find her staring at him

"You do know," she whispered Her hand lifted toward his face, but before she could touch hiaze dropped to his chest "Then you do understand"

"I understand that each tier yourself, it will scare the hell out of me"

"But you hardly know me"

That much was true For almost two hundred years, he’d assumed she was selfish and vain And ouldn’t she be, when she was thesuperior, she had actually been ashaant viscountess to hide her self-doubt and vulnerability

With a small shock, he realized that Lady Pamela had been the masquerade Vaaze lifted back to his face "From Moscow?"

"You know of me?"

She blushed "Everyone knoho you are You’re a full head taller than the other e Of course, the ru and that you cae and plunder"

"Is that what they say?"

Her blush deepened "Well, I was in a hareossip about the ht you were beautiful" He touched a lock of her hair Now he realized she was just as beautiful on the inside And he’d been a fool to avoid her all these years

He moved closer

Her eyes widened "What--?"

He touched her cheek and wiped the "

"So soon?" He grazed his thuulped "I believe our work here is done"

He slid his hand around her neck and leaned over till his mouth was a mere inch froainst his skin

"Prepare to be plundered"

With a gasp, she teleported away

Chapter Three

"COWARD!" LADY PAMELA yanked off a boot and threw it on the parquet floor of her bedchamber

How could she have behaved so cowardly? Six er and more fearless person, and what had she done? She’d run away just like she had in the past With a disgusted groan, she tossed her other boot on the floor

Perhaps it wasn’t too late Less than a minute had passed since she’d fled in fear She could teleport back andwhat? Allow that huge barbarian to kiss her?

A shudder skittered down her spine

"Coward," sheaway, she should have slapped the brute soundly Or better yet, she should have used so hiht Was it even possible to fling such a iant boulder

And his eyes had turned red

Her hands flew to her cheeks, and she felt the heat of a blush His eyes had turned red

When she’d first spotted hith of his presence It felt like he had sed up her entire field of vision, so she could hardly even see the other men Or hear them