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I was standing in my hallway at four o&039;clock I was dressed in a very pink sweatsuit My wet clothes were held sort of gingerly in a bundle under my left arm Even with the new pink sweats, I was cold The parao because I promised to drink hot fluids and take a hot bath I&039;d run up the stairs in a pair of gym socks I could wear Katie&039;s sweats, but not her shoes

I was cold, tired, and h Maybe it was being dunked in ice-cold water Maybe it was the touch of a naga I couldn&039;t recall any stories associating the tias They&039;d been on the final in preternatural bio class The big clue had been the pearl and the cobra skin I was going to have to dig up h the doc on call at whatever hospital they went to was going to have to read up faster than I was Would nagas be in their coa have anyone to sue for him if they didn&039;t? Would he rise from his deathbed and sue himself?

I stood in front of my apartment for the second tiainst the door for just a second and felt sorry for ht We had a lot to talk about that had nothing to do with his shapeshifting I wished I hadn&039;t thought of children I didn&039;t want to discuss the little tykes tonight I didn&039;t want to discuss anything I wanted to drag off to bed and be alone

I took a deep breath and stood straight No need to look as woebegone as I felt I rang et an extra set of keys made No, one of them wasn&039;t for Richard They were both for me

Richard opened the door His hair was sleep tousled, falling in a heavy, wavy mass around his face He was shirtless and barefoot The top button of his jeans was undone I was suddenly glad to see hirabbed the top edge of his jeans and drew him to me He jumped when my wet clothes touched his bare chest, but he didn&039;t pull away His body was al his spine and he twitched, writhing against the cold but never pulling away I dropped the wet clothes on the floor

We kissed His lips were gentle My hands traced the edge of his waistband, fingers dangerously low He spoke low and soft next to ot was, "We have coe of Ronnie, or worse Irving, sitting on the couch while we groped each other "Shit," I said softly and with feeling

"Ho

I stared up at Richard withon?"

"He came in while I was asleep I woke up when the door opened"

I was suddenly cold again, down to ht?"

"Do you really want to discuss this in the hall, ma petite?" Jean-Claude&039;s voice was oh so reasonable

I wanted to stand in the hall just because he&039;d said not to, but that was childish Besides, it was h the door, Richard a warh the door, keeping ht over the sweats The holster flapped loose without a belt, but I could draw the gun if I needed it I probably didn&039;t need it, but it was good to keep re the master that I meant business

Richard closed the door and leaned against it, hands behind his back His face was nearly hidden by a spill of hair The muscles in his sto, which e&039;d probably have been doing if there hadn&039;t been a va room

Jean-Claude sat on my couch The black shirt was spread around his naked torso His ar the shirt, revealing nipples that were only two shades darker than his white skin A slight smile curled his lips He was dramatic and perfect on the white couch Heto have to buy new furniture, so here, Jean-Claude?"

"Is that any way to greet your new suitor?"

"Don&039;t be a pain in the ass tonight, please I&039;m too tired and too sore to mess with it Tell et out"

He rose to his feet as if pulled by strings, all boneless ease At least the shirt closed on

"I am here to see you and Richard"

"Why?"

He laughed, and the sound rolled over , and dead I took a deep breath and stripped the holster off He wasn&039;t here to hurt He was here to flirt I walked past both of them and draped the holster on the back of a kitchen chair I felt their eyes followand uncolanced back at the unclothed and inviting Jean-Claude stood by the couch utterly still, like a three-dimensional picture of a wet dream The sexual potential in the roo to happen was almost sad

There was still coffee in the pot If I drank enough hot coffee and took a really hot bath, maybe I&039;d thaw out My preference would have been a hot shower, quicker at four o&039;clock in theabout my core temperature

"Why did you want to see Richard andRichard was good at being domestic

"I was told that Monsieur Zeeht"

"If he did, what of it?"

"Who told you?" Richard asked He&039;d pushed away from the door He&039;d even buttoned the top button of his pants Pity

"Stephen told me"

"He wouldn&039;t have volunteered the infor very close to Jean-Claude Physically, he was loo above him, just a bit Half-dressed He should have looked uncertain, hesitant He looked completely at home The first time I&039;d met Richard, he&039;d been naked in a bed He hadn&039;t been embarrassed then, either

"Stephen did not volunteer it," Jean-Claude said

"He is under my protection," Richard said

"You are not pack leader yet, Richard You can protect Stephen within the pack, but Marcus still rules He has given Stephen to ave you tothere He hadn&039;t moved, yet suddenly, the air around hi edge of power fanned out, prickling alongto no one"

Jean-Claude turned to him Face pleasant, open, voice conversational "You do not acknowledge Marcus&039;s leadership?" It was a trick question, and we all knew it

"What happens if he says no?" I asked

Jean-Claude turned back to me His face was carefully blank "He says no"

"And you tell Marcus, and then what?"

He smiled then, a slow curve of lips that left his perfect blue eyes glittering "Marcus would see it as a direct challenge to his authority"

I set down the cup of coffee and ca nearly between they crawled over my skin like insects on theThe undead et Richard killed, even indirectly, the deal is off"

"I don&039;t need you to protect et yourself killed fighting Marcus, that&039;s one thing, but if you get killed because Jean-Claude is jealous of you, that&039;s my fault"

Richard touched my shoulder His poas like a rush of electricity down ive in to Marcus, just acknowledge his leadership, then I&039;d be safe"

I shook my head "I&039;ve seen what Marcus considers acceptable It&039;s not even close to being safe"

"Marcus didn&039;t know they fils," Richard said

"So you have talked to hihtful little films that Raina masterminded?" Jean-Claude asked

We both looked at hier It was hard to breathe standing next to hi to s a thunderstorm

I shook my head One problem at a time "What do you know about the films?" I asked

Jean-Claude looked at us, one and then the other He ended staring into my eyes "Your voice makes it sound more important than it should be What has Raina done now?"

"How do you know about the films?" Richard asked He asped The skin up and down led as if someone had touched a live wire to the skin, but it didn&039;t hurt It was just an al sensation Pleasurable, but you knew if it didn&039;t stop soon, it would begin to hurt

I stepped away fro my back to neither They both looked at me Almost identical expressions on their faces Alien, as if they were thinking thoughts that I&039;d never drea to music that I could not dance to I was the only human in this room

"Jean-Claude, just tell ames, okay"