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I WOKE TO A SPILL OF SILVER HAIR STRETCHED LIKE GLISTENING spiderwebs acrossthe hair to trail across my face Frost lay on his stomach, his face turned away fro his upper body bare His hair trailed to one side like a second body lying between us, and half across me

Of course, there was a second body in the bed, or rather a third Kitto lay onaway fro fro in his dreams Or maybe he was just cold, because he lay naked beside me His body was pale, like some perfect china doll I’d never been this close to a ht to mind words like petite My shoulder ached where he’d left his mark: a perfect set of his teeth marks set in the flesh of my shoulder The skin had bruised wonderfully around it, reddish purple, almost hot to the touch It wasn’t poison, just a really deep bite It would leave a scar, and that was the point

So the third or fourth time with Frost I’d invited Kitto to us I had waited until Frost’s body brought e, and let Kitto choose his bit of flesh It hadn’t hurt when he did it, which told how far gone I’d been last night It had hurt a little as we finally drifted off to sleep; thisthat ached My body hurt, telling ht, or rather that I’d let Frost abuse it

I reveled in the s exactly what hurt It was like the ache after a really good workout eights and running, except the muscle soreness was in different places I couldn’t re

Kitto had been honored that I allowed him to mark me so that all would knoas his lover I don’t know if he realized that he was never going to get intercourse froht In fact he’d been utterly sub only as invited, or asked, never intruding He was the perfect audience because he simply wasn’t there until called, then he followed directions better than any man I’d ever been with

I sat up and Frost’s hair spilled downalive I ran h my ooefully short hair Now that I was outed as Princess Meredith, I could grow it out again My wrists hurt as I touched es at ht, and we should have re-dressed the wounds, but thisthe marks of the thorns were scabbed over, nearly healed, as if they were a week orwounds I had never healed this fast before Kitto must have bitten me after the fourth ti that the sex as healing me We still didn’t know that for certain

I had a small corner of sheet, but the rest rapped around Frost He was a cover hog It was chilly in the roo noise for my troubles I stared down at the set the covers away froue down his back, and he ue up his spine in a sloet line

Frost raised his head from the pillow, slowly, like a htly unfocused, but when he looked at me a slow, pleased smile curled his lips

"Haven’t you had enough?"

I draped h the covers kept us frohed, a low, pleasant chuckle, and rolled onto his side, propped on one elbow to look at me He also freed the covers I pulled them over the bed to cover Kitto, who still seemed to be deeply asleep

Frost’s ar ainst the pillows, and he bent down to place a soft kiss acrosshis, between them, and he’d made that first movement of his hips to slide on top of ed to sohtened

"What is it, Frost?"

"Quiet"

I was quiet He was the bodyguard Was it Cel’s people? This was their last day to killCel his life Frost rolled off the bed, snatching the sword, Winter Kiss, fro the roo

I gotwildly around

Frost jerked the drapes back frolass, when he froze A man with a camera was on the outside of theI had an instant to see hih the , and grabbed the reporter by the neck

"Frost, no, don’t kill hiun still in un pointed, safety off, at the door

Doyle stood in the doorway, sword in hand We had a un in un at the floor and he kicked the door shut behind him and strode into the room He didn’t sheathe his sword, but tossed it on the bed as he moved toward Frost

The reporter’s face had turned that violent red-purple that said he wasn’t able to breathe Frost’s face was unrecognizable, torn with fury, enraged

"Frost, you’re killing him"

Doyle came up beside him "Frost, if you kill this reporter the queen will punish you for it"

Frost didn’t seeone to a distant place and all that was left was his hand on the man’s throat

Doyle stepped behind hih that Frost fell into the , cracking o of the reporter He turned with blood running down his hand, the look in his eyes feral

Doyle had gone into a fighting stance, bare-handed Frost threw his sword on the floor and mirrored him Kitto huddled in the middle of the bed and watched it all ide eyes

I went for the drapes, intending to close the like a pack of hounds toward us So out, "Princess, Princess Meredith!"

I closed the drapes, so there was no gap for theet into the roohted the gun on the wooden headboard of the bed, to one side of the two guards Kitto saw un just once, the report thunderous in the roo and wild-eyed I pointed the gun at the ceiling "There are about a hundred reporters about to descend on us We have to get to the other roorabbed sheets and clothes, and made it into the other rooh the brokenDoyle brought up the rear with the weapons He, Galen, and Rhys went back for the luggage I called the police and reported the reporters for breaking into our roo in the bathroom, not for modesty’s sake, but because there were no s in the bathroom

When I stepped out of the bathroo in the room’s only two chairs No one else was here They were both doing their typical guard face, unreadable, inscrutable But there was so odd

"What’s happened?" I asked I alking norotten my ankle was supposed to be sprained until Galen had remarked on it Neither of thelanced at each other Doyle pushed to his feet He earing black jeans today, spread over the tops of ankle-high black boots You’d almost mistake the at The shirt was a black dress shirt, long-sleeved It was silk and looked it, shiainst the blackness of his skin The black of his shoulder holster blended in perfectly with everything Even the gun was black A Beretta 10very short and cut close to his head It was in his usual tight braid, curling down his back to be lost in the blackness of his jeans His high pointed ears glea display Those and a ss that distracted from the total monochrome of his look He’d added a silver chain on one ear with a s ruby

"We have a probleh theof Frost and ether Yes, I’d say we have a problem"

"It is not just the one reporter," Frost said

"I saw them, like a pack of sharks on the scent of blood" I started to put the small ar on the bed "I’ve been the subject of s of his grey dress slacks, showing pale grey loafers but no socks Frost would never wear dress slacks short enough to flash sock-so declasse The tailored jacket matched the pants and had a small pale blue show hankie in one pocket The shirt hite and held in place with a dove grey tie, complete with a silver tie tack He’d pulled his hair back in a tight ponytail, leaving the strong, clean lines of his face bare to the eye He was dazzlingly handsome without the hair to distract the eye He looked cool, perfect, not at all the saround ht But I knew the other Frost was under there waiting for permission to come out

I shoved the last of the toiletries in the suitcase, closed it, and started to zip it up I looked at the tworeally, really bad has happened So I don’t know about yet Where is everybody else?"

Frost answered, "They are guarding the door and theThey are trying to keep thebattle, Meredith"

Doyle leaned his hands on the dresser, head hanging down The thick braid of his hair slid around his legs like so me Just tell me what’s happened"

Frost touched the paper that was lying on the table next to hiesture, but

"Is that the St Louis Post-Dispatch?" I asked

Doyle darted a look at Frost, who raised his hands showing theht

"I talked to Barry Jenkins yesterday He said he’d out ood as his threat"

Doyle turned, leaning his butt against the dresser, arun It was a nervous gesture for him It looked like a threat when he stood behind the queen stroking his gun, and it could be, but it was also a nervous gesture

I walked over to the table "What is the big deal, guys? Jenkins is an asshole, but he wouldn’t actively lie, not in the Post"

"Read it, then tellto worry over," Doyle said

The picture of Galen and I at the airport was the lead photo, front page But it was the caption that got me PRINCESS MEREDITH RETURNS HOME TO FIND HUSBAND In smaller letters under the photo, it read "Is this the one?"

I turned to Doyle and Frost "Jenkins could be guessing Galen and I knew there were photographers at the airport" I stared from one to the other of the with the two of you? We’ve all been in the papers before"

"Not like this," Frost said

"It gets better," Doyle said, "or worse Read the article"

I started to browse the article, but the first full paragraph stopped ave Jenkins an interview" My voice sounded breathy, and I suddenly had to sit down on the edge of the bed

"Goddess save us"