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He stood then and walked around the desk Cyn rose auto him, but it was alh to run his fingers down her arm to trail over the skin of her hand

There was an odd feeling as he ers left hers A spider web kind of feeling, as though he’d left soht an instinctive shudder, but he seemed not to notice, his attention already fixed on the silent young woed as the vampire lord wrapped an aresture,Cyn hadn’t noticed before now because the girl’s submissive posture made her seem so much smaller than she really was Cyn watched uncoirl forward

"Mirabelle chose to stay with us, didn’t you, my treasure?" The threat was so thinly veiled Cyn couldn’t iirl gave a jerky nod, her gaze fixed firhton can’t hear you if you don’t speak, darling girl"

"Yes!" she squeaked quickly "I mean, yes, my lord I wanted to stay"

He bea Mirabelle is shy, Ms Leighton She is our youngest and I’ us"

And thank the gods for that "How long have you been living here, Mirabelle?" The girl’s head ca Cyn’s directly for the first ti behind the fear, quickly shuttered to show nothing at all

"I was born here, ma’am," Mirabelle said softly "This was my home before--" She sed hard "After the accident, h to move his household here so Elizabeth and I--"

"Nonsense," Jabril interrupted "How could I do anything less, child? Such a terrible loss for one so young But we do e can--"

"Wait," Cyn interrupted "Are you saying Mirabelle is the sister of the irl?" Which would mean she was notat her in surprise "Yes, of course Didn’t I mention that?" He looked at Asim for clarification "How odd I suppose I think of Mirabelle as part of irl’s covered hair and Cyn fought the urge to slap his hands away

"Did your sister--" She started to ask Mirabelle directly whether she knew her sister’s whereabouts, but stopped irl’s eyes "Did your sister take anything with her?" she said instead "Anything to indicate where she one?" Mirabelle seerow

"I don’t know Elizabeth doesn’t live in this house, and we--"

"Too dangerous," Jabril interjected quickly "My men are well-trained and superbly disciplined, but they are still, after all, only humanin many ways," he amended with a little sirl on the brink of womanhood I felt it better for her to stay in the servants’ quarters with the housekeeper"

"May I speak with the housekeeper?"

Jabril beamed at her "You’ll take the job then? Wonderful Oh" He paused, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him It was such an obvious artifice that Cyn knehat his next words would be before he even spoke the for me, will he? We vampires can be sopossessive I wouldn’t want to tread on any toes"

Cyn regarded hi "The only toes in my life are my own, my lord Lord Raphael employed me for a short time for a specific task which I completed to his satisfaction I’m sure he’ll tell you the saly business out there So to do with Alexandra, wasn’t it? Not that I can ie Raphael, but still"

Cyn laughed "My lord, the key to success in my business is client confidentiality I would no more share the details of Raphael’s business with you, than I would your business with him I’m sure you prefer it that way"