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Sophia Russo was a quick study

Feeling his lips curve in a smile that was more than a little feral, he sucked at her upper lip, bit down on the lower She jerked, then pressed into hi that as a yes, he repeated the caress, th of her thighs at the sa moan before she finally tore away her ht He’d been ready for that But he wasn’t ready for the fever in her cheeks, the thu beat of the pulse in her neck, the way her body turned all loose and limber, as if she was drunk Alar her head to his shoulder, she rubbed her cheek against his T-shirt, a lazy kitten "I think you blew h in spite of the savagery of his eht Maybe this was as close as they’d ever come, hiainst hi on his other shoulder "I never realized men and women were so differentnot really" Her breath blew hot on the skin of his neck as she spoke, her body a warainst his aroused form "It’s quite extraordinary"

"Baby, you can’t avoid the question" Brushing her hair very carefully off her face, he looked down to find her eyes closed "Are you in pain?"

"Have you ever had your foot fall asleep after a period of inactivity?"

"Yes"

"And the sharp stabs afterhen you try to use it?" A smile flirted with her lips "That’s what it feels like" Her eyes opened "I’ up, Max A little pain won’t make me take a step backward"

Protectiveness and pride sht"

"No, Max" She htly across his body, an erotic stroke and a stubborn will "No, please"

He let her kiss hiain, let her convince hian to quiver, he broke the contact, lifting her off his body and onto the couch No matter how much he wanted to claim her in every way a man could claim a woman, he wouldn’t do it if it would destroy her "Noat once"

"But--"

He placed a finger against her lips "That foot that falls asleep? It doesn’t wake up all at once"

She stared at hi her to repair her shields asfist in his heart that their touching hurt her on any level--he got up, splashed ice water on his face, then returned with the case files "Ready?"

"Yes" Taking a sip of the hot chocolate he’d aze, those eerie eyes of endless black impenetrable, unreadable "Max?"

"Yes?"

"Will you remember me?"

His heart broke into a thousand pieces "Always"

Early the nextacross from Nikita in a conference room at DarkRiver’s business HQ "I didn’t think you’d comatic "DarkRiver is an i," Sascha said, refusing to let her ht I made that clear in my request I’m sorry if you were misled"

Nikita remained an ice sculpture on the other side of the table "Every contact with you is business If you weren’t part of DarkRiver, there’d be no need for contact at all"

It hurt, yeah, it hurt But Sascha was stronger now And she had the strength of the pack behind her She could feel their wild protectiveness on the other side of the door that enclosed her in this room with Nikita But most of all, she could feel the love of her panther "I wanted to tell you--"

"You’re pregnant," Nikita said without ceremony "It’s difficult tonot to read in Nikita’s keen eyes any kind of an e"

"You must be able to feel the fetus move"

Sascha curled her hand into a fist under the table, trying to keep her emotions in check "Yes The baby is rather feisty, especially at three am"

A pause "You were the same"