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The tip of one fang scraped down the line of her collarbone "You want to discuss it now?"

Of course she didn’t She wanted to close her eyes and drown in theheat But if she allowed herself to be distracted, she knew she’d never discover as troubling hi her with a brooding gaze "Why did you leave last tiood-bye?"

Nefri froze Ohlord That wasn’t what she’d been expecting If she had, she certainly wouldn’t have pressed him

Now she turned to stare blindly at the hand-carved dressing table that had been a gift fro Or at least the illusion of her table Anything to avoid his unwavering gaze

"Because I was afraid if I saw you again I wouldn’t have the courage to leave," she said, her voice so low only a vampire could have picked up her words

"And that would have been a bad thing?"

"My people needed their clan chief"

"And what about what I needed, cara?"

She clenched her hands Okay, she hadn’t told him the full truth

A part of her had fled because it was safer to scurry back behind the Veil and forget about the va

But, she truly had needed to return to her people

They’d been deeply disturbed to realize that Gaius was a traitor who had taken advantage of their secluded clan to acquire the skills to assist the Dark Lord in ripping apart the barriers betorlds

"What do you want fro"

She frowned Did he expect her to turn her back on her people? To walk away froht should have been infuriating, but she found herself actually considering the possibility

Could she leave her people to return to this world? Could she give up her leadership to be with the man who had reminded her that there was more to life than just duty?

"I"

She didn’t knohat she was going to say, and in the end it didn’t matter as the bedroo to his feet, Santiago caught her as the bed disappeared

The air around the hallith a set of double doors at the far end

"It seeo grasped her by the shoulders, turning her to meet his resolute expression "This conversation is postponed, not finished"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes Like she doubted for a second the stubborn vampire would press until he had the answer he wanted?

"I know" She gently pulled out of his grasp "But later We shouldn’t keep Baine waiting"

He grimaced, but he fell into step beside her, his hand auto to unsheathe the sword that he’d strapped to his back

Nefri held her tongue until they reached the end of the paneled hall Then, laying her hand on his arlanced at her with a lifted brow "I thought you didn’t want to keep the dragon waiting?"

She chose her words with care "Baine ht be one of the oldest, most powerful creatures in several universes, but in soht very well refuse to share what he knows"

His lips twitched at her careful diplomacy "I promise to be on my very bestest behavior Is that what you want to hear?"

"I was hoping you would let on" She met his deliberately blank expression "Just" She bit off her words and gave a resigned shake of her head The vampire would do exactly what he wanted to do "Oh, neverto shove the door open "So stubborn"