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"We should have given you a bigger lunch before taking you grocery shopping"

A wo them with a pair of active toddlers in her cart chuckled "Never take the" She gave Niall an appraising look that said junk food wasn’t causing hirin that irl

"Stop it," Alanna said sternly

Niall cocked a brow at her "Orderin’ me about, lass?"

His lazy lookthat with an answer, she turned back to her shopping By the time they reached the checkout, they had items that suited both their tastes, and Niall had offered soestions for the meals she planned for the two of the and companionship had balanced her once more, as if the episode earlier hadn’t happened She was even looking forward to trying on the silver-gray dress, seeing hoould fit

"I’, hts up the whole world when ye do that" Which just ain

On the way back up the et her to choose dresses to choose ustily in his abysmal baritone until she snatched the controls from him Since she’d never considered herto different selections and deciding what she liked He of course teased her for the romantic ballads she chose However, once she listened to a few of those, the charged emotions in the lyrics, she returned to Niall’s safer the playlist, where theher telass, she closed her eyes That was a mistake, because she instantly recalled that cold terror when she thought it was all going to be overor Hell just beginning She counted down, a hts She could only embrace each moment

"Then catch the ht, an: Believe ht, man"

She’d spoken the words softly, but now turned her gaze to a surprised and touched Niall "Robert Burns," he said

She nodded Forcing herthedarkness, watching over them

"Do ye have a picture of him?" Niall asked after quite a few miles had passed "Your brother"

They were beyond the city lights, so now only the headlights provided any illu path of the road, they were close to the turnoff toward their cabin "Ye draell," he added, "I thought if ye didn’t have a photograph, ye would have sketched hi you own can be taken by your Master, Niall," she said wearily, hoping she wouldn’t have to keep saying it over and over It made her feel oddly bleak "That’s the InhServ oath He’s in my heart, but my Master owns that as well"

"No, muirnín" Niall looked toward her, his brown eyes boring into hers with a sudden intensity that held her still "That’s the one thing they dinnae own outright That one, they have to earn"

14

IT left her with a mix of emotions when they pulled back into the cabin site Evan was on a fairly precarious perch, along the northern rocky slope above the cabin Niallabout how nice it would have been if he waited until he had the ropes to start scaling cliffs "Ier"

To Alanna, it looked like the va the sky, which still held various dark streaks, residue froe their arrival, Niall nodded to Alanna, indicating they would unload the car and leave his away, she couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding When Niall was occupied, she slipped out to figure a way up that slope Before she could set her foot to a likely path, though, Evan’s voice came into her head, clipped and short

I have no need of you right now, Alanna

Yes, Master I apologize Chagrined, she turned back

Of course, if he’d be consistently one thing or another, maybe she could keep up with how she was supposed to act She i her Master responsible for her proper behavior, but confusion was an acceptable reaction He’d given her what couldn’t be called anything but what it was--affection, attention, approval--none of which he was required to do She’d been acclietting even a taste of it was like a drug