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It wasn’t that she was frightened of Styx, although he could be unnerving when he wanted It was more her own reactions thatnever to be taken for granted or disone way beyond great sex

Cuddled in his arms she had felt cherished in a way she had never before experienced As if she had been more than just a warm body and convenient blood donor As if they had been connected beyond the mere flesh

As if as if she weren’t quite so alone in the world

Disturbed by her thoughts, Darcy briskly scrubbed herself clean before leaving the tub and thankfully pulling on her own jeans and comfortable sweatshirt

It was a relief to have her clothes A sense of fa her teeth and running a coh her hair, she headed back downstairs Her life had always been far too hectic to allow for al

Which suited her just fine

The sun had set by the tin of anyone stirring No doubt the Ravens were scurrying through the tunnels to ensure nothing was allowed to sneak up on theirthe woods in search of wild game

Ick

Thankfully her own dinner had been left by the housekeeper A truly gifted woed a tofu stir-fry that h money to open her health food store she could lure the woht A few shelves of preparedin custo off her dinner, Darcy washed the dishes and then aih she had lived alone most of her life, she found the vastness of the house increased her sense of isolation

Or perhaps she was si too accustoht

Fir off the flutter of panic, she entered the solariu plants She had no need of a gorgeous, aggravating va else in the past thirty years it was that she had to depend on herself to find fulfill beneath her breath, she spritzed the plants ater and gently plucked off a handful of wilting leaves She was just considering the necessity of pruning her overgrown fern when a sound behind her had her abruptly whirling in surprise

Her surprise only deepened as she watched the slender woolden eyes walk toward her

The stranger was stunningly beautiful, but even to her untrained eye she sensed that she was so

Co to a halt directly before Darcy, the woman slowly sotten

There was an entire world of kindness in that sently

"Not at all" Darcy tilted her head to one side "Are you a friend of Styx?"

"Not precisely I’m Shay, and you must be Darcy"

"Shay" It took a nition "Viper’smate?"

The woman chuckled at her hesitant tone "Yes, for uard Shay was certainly lovely enough to have captured the elegant va earthy and warht of the silver-haired vampire Darcy clapped her hand to her ave a lift of her brow "I shouldn’t?"

"I know this is your house, but I think this solariulanced around the beautiful room "Viper isn’t nearly as sly as he believes he is I’ve known for weeks that he was planning this" She returned her attention to Darcy with a wink and a smile "Still, I won’t tell him if you don’t Men can be so sensitive when they think they’re being clever"

Darcy couldn’t help but return the smile "I won’t say a word"

Shay moved to settle on a padded bench "I hope that you’re comfortable here Well, as co held against your will" She gave a tug on the long braid that had fallen over her shoulder "Soardless if he’s the bloody Anasso or not"

"The Anasso?" Darcy questioned

"Master of all vampires" Shay rolled her eyes "And doesn’t he just know it"

"He does have a certain arrogance about hiance? Ha! He could write the book on cold-blooded pride"

A frown touched Darcy’s brow Granted Styx had taken her captive And he could be aloof and distant at times But she also knew that he possessed wonderful qualities that he kept hidden from most

"He takes his responsibilities very seriously Perhaps too seriously at times," she said in a quiet tone "But, he can be quite kind and gentle once you get to know hi to sense Darcy’s dislike in speaking ill of Styx, she ed a faint smile

"I’ll have to take your word on that"

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