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"Well, ave another snap of that whip

He spoke only the truth His er, which th aficionado One glance from those wicked violet eyes, and a wo fros, twining Shaft, puh her

Why hadn’t he kissed her yet? He’d proht?

"I can’t talk about this any at his eyes "I’ both brothers"

Her desire faded "So you think less ofwith someone before you?"

"Of course not" The sudden sincerity in his tone relaxed her "You’re a worateful for those needs I si …" His jaw clenched In and out he breathed, the air rasping, harsh "We have to change the subject Now"

She understood He didn’t begrudge her past, just as she didn’t begrudge his But the thought of him with someone else, even before he’d met her, was far froht about it They hadn’t slept together, and she’d told herself--several times--that she wouldn’t venture down that path with him Yet she couldn’t deny that every bone in her body screae the subject

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked

A n pointing to the idth of his shoulders "I think I ran into the Schön queen"

So casually offered, with just a hint of expectation She could only stare at him and try to process "Okay Wait, wait, wait What did you just say?"

"She had dark hair, but this woman was definitely diseased" He waited now, as if he expected soain, his tone was so casual he could have been discussing the weather, rather than the case that could change the fate of the world "Tell "

He did, from the way the brunette had appeared out of nowhere, to her proposition to Johnny, to the exquisitesilently behind her the entire ti the disease to your door? No"

Argh! Ava dug out her cell phone and dialed Mia The conversation was short but not very sweet, McKell leaning forward, watching her expression the entire time His expectation had swelled Maybe because Mia quickly infor care of things

"You should have incapacitated her in sorowled as she dropped her phone on the table beside her He was strong enough, wily enough And da "AIR would have forgiven you for everything and stopped harassing you"

"They aren’t harassingyou"

His eyelids dipped to half-er, expectation, everything Except desire Desire that heated the entire roo "I don’t want you to stop"

The hello and good-bye kisses she’d so badly wanted, well, she was finally in danger of receiving the to block her airway "Then I would have harassed you nonstop," she whispered

His gaze moved to her lips "Would you have allowed me to feed from you? Whenever I wished?"

No "Yes" Maybe

In a blink, he was on his feet The desire drained, as well, and determination took its place "I’ll hunt her down and apprehend her now"

Ava’s desire vanished just as swiftly So He hadn’t craved her He’d craved a never-ending happy meal She should have known Suspected, at the very least "You’re staying here," she said, standing, swaying "Mia told me her orders We’re not to interfere"

"Mia isn’t , Ava jumped in his path "She’s lared down at her "Out of my way, Ava"

As if he couldn’t move her "You had your chance You blew it So, like I said, you’re staying here" Do not trele weakness

Down, down he leaned, until his nose was level with hers Still he didn’t touch her "Just how are you going to stopbutterscotch buffet Focus "We’re partners, right?"

He offered a reluctant nod, one that finally brushed skin against skin There was no preventing her shiver then The heat, the sizzle … consuht now, neither of us trusts the other Right?"

Another nod, another brushing of their noses

Another shiver fro to spend the next few hours learning to trust"

"How?" One word, but like his whip nonetheless Where was that thing, anyway? She could tie him doith it

"Well, there’s an exercise I’ve seen people do" Good thinking "You stand behind me, and I fall back You catch me, and boom, I learn to rely on you and trust you to always protectto trust is that easy?"

"Yes" A lie She wouldn’t trust him, not fully, no matter what--he saw her as food, daood idea just then Not just because they would be wasting ti him, but because he would have to put his hands on her to catch her And she really wanted his hands on her Not for pleasure, but for inoculation

She had to overco this," she said, squaring her shoulders, "you can tellI need to know to capture one" Toain

Several minutes ticked by in silence He watched her every torturous second of thoseto wreck havoc on her nerve endings They felt razored, sensitized

"All right," he finally said, voice as devoid of e pulse at the base of her neck

Thinking of drinking froerous on her part, perhaps, but she wasn’t too worried about hi in for a taste of her At the hts to her blood, and if he took a sip without per to stand there?" he asked, whisper-soft