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If other Lykae were evil enough to beexterminated, then she'd just found the exception in MacRieve And for that matter, Chloe wasn't evil, yet her dad had shown her the book-had shown her handwritten words like foul plague and abomination

Obviously the Order was flawed

"You knew nothing of what your father was doing?"

"God, no! And if I had, I never would have stood for it!"

At her words, he exhaled a pent-up breath "So you will no' hate us just because Webb does?"

"I can htened "Dinna know if you would want my head on a platter just for what I a the fact that I'hter of Webb? Seems like you would want my head on a platter just for what I aer"

"Will you hurt ave her a look as if the very idea was ludicrous "Never hurt you"

"And hiers through his thick hair "Things have changed-I ken that-but I need to think on this for longer than hours For now, letwith you" He rose, then closed in on her "Been waiting a long time for you"

She stood as well She could feel the heat co off his body, could luxuriate in his ure out all of this in the s onwith her? She felt flustered for the first ti!

Before, whenever she'd felt attracted to a guy and thought about acting on it, she'd been filled with dread She'd never told another, had never been able to understand it, but just the idea of talking to a hot boy had terrified her-as if she were about to embark on a trip fron blinking over each guy's head: HERE BE DRAGONS!

She'd never dated, giving in to her fear like a coward But now she felt zero dread, ht cos on youryou for the first time Ah, Chloe, your heart speeds up when you look at my lips"

Her face flushed with eht when she was about to make a smart-ass remark, he said, "My heart has no' slowed since I first saw you"

She found herself wetting her lips But after so many celibate years and such wariness withas the dread "I-I need a shower," she blurted, scra away from him

He raised his brows "I'm in need of one myself And we like to conserve water around here"

Chapter Fourteen

MacRieve dogged her heels as she strode toward the bathroo with hi body

At the doorway, she faced hiet soot the sense that she'd asked for so he considered odd

"Out, MacRieve! Shoo"

He refused to budge "You lost pints today What if you grow dizzy and slip?" Then he flashed a look of realization "That could actually kill you Fuck h she often cussed like it was going out of style-how else was she supposed to trash-talk opponents?-she was unused toit around her

"You must keep the door open, Chloe"

Did she dare risk it? The shower stall was as big as a rooh He wouldn't be able to see her Her wound was itching like crazy, and her hair was dirty, with real particles of dirt "Fine As long as you don't coainst the doorjamb and crossed his ared to stop staring at it, she turned toward the shower In the stall she re to find a hard black shell over her side

When she stepped under the water, she groaned with pleasure

"Lass?" he called

"Nothing"

As steam filled the room, the itchy shell on her side loosened until she was able to peel it off like papier-ainst the wall "Oh, my God"

"What is it?" His voice was panicked-and it was co from inside the bathroom

"Get out!"

He didn't come closer, but he wouldn't leave "No' until you tell me"

"My wound-it's completely healed" With a nice new scar

"Huh Dinna think it would heal that quick What about your other injuries?"

She rolled her shoulders No pain She surveyed for bruises, found none "They're all better"

"Then I saw you well, just as I pro me a little?"

"It's not necessarily that I don't trust you I just don't want you to look"

"My mate's a bashful one then?" His husky words accompanied a spray of water over her breasts

Bashful? Hardly But God, just the way he said ain "Are you one hundred percent sure I'myours? I mean, when you scent me, don't you just smell a run-of-the-mill human?"

"Aye, you're mortal"

It followed that she would reht up until her trigger "Is it normal for a Lykae to have a mortal mate? Or does that mean I have Lykae somewhere in my line?"

"You doona have to be a Lykae to be mated to one My cousin wed a witch Our queen is a vaamut? Maybe she was, in fact, his Didn't mean he'd be hers "Any Pravus mates? Or do you kill every one of thehtly

He didn't match her tone "I endeavor to," he said in all seriousness

"Oh" If she was turning into one of those, would he kill her too? Self-preservation, Chlo Okay, she would not be asking him about her symptoms "So how often do mortals and immortals hook up?"

"No' that often But it's no' unheard of," he quickly added

"I understand that you feel a connection tosoh she didn't feel compelled, this sudden disappearance of her custo you with my own charms"

Of which there were so very ot close to the net, she'd score?

No, bad idea! What was she thinking? She hardly knew this guy "Is that so?"

"Oh, aye, and I will be winning you, my Chloe It's no' every day that a sexy Olyht she'd all but accepted that she had some kind of immortal blood Were the Games beyond her reach forever? The soap slipped from her limp hand when it dawned on her how much she'd lose

Family, a potential medal, friends