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Speaking of stooping to the arsehole’s level… "What do yousexually submissive to Shock?"

Caden slanted hier than I have Certainly you’ve heard of these things"

"Of course But I can’t picture it I know al else" God, he could use that drink now "For fuck’s sake, I don’t understand why she would want that prick to give her pain And hoould you know about this?"

His brother had the good grace to flush and pretend interest in the wall "When I lived in Dallas and worked for the paper, I was called out to photograph a uy ned it was a witness, and we started talking about the cris I went a tiht rinned "There’s so your red handprint on yournever tried such a thing, Lucan had no idea Sex had been for fun and energy before he met Anka After her, every other female on the planet had ceased to exist Lately, it had been a chore necessary to stay alive Surrogates helped, being either as professional or as romantic as the client wished He’d tried both approaches They bothafterward Like a wizard in his pri someone else

He was ready to do whatever it took to change that

"I think I need to hear more"

Caden’s eyes nearly popped with surprise "You’re sure?"

Lucan sighed "I can either lose Anka forever to the prick able to give her what she says she needs or I can try to be that man I love her still I want to love her always Ia handprint on her bum"

His brother nodded as if impressed "That’s how I’d look at it, too I wasn’t sure if you were ready to be that logical"

"I don’t think I have a choice Being near her today…" He sucked in a breath, trying to cal close to Anka made him hard, almost rabid to have her under hiain "I haven’t felt that alive in three ain How do I learn what I need to know?"

Caden retrieved his mobile phone froain A second later, Lucan’s beeped with a text He fished out the device and stared at the phone number, the country code for America first

"His name is Mitchell Thorpe He runs a club named Dominion in Dallas The smartest, most patient bastard in the world when it comes to BDSM education When you talk to hirinned

Lucan saved the nu so fast, and today had been a co, he’d all but dry-hu in heat until he’d smelled Shock all over her and seen the ry bastard Tynan’s funeral had completed the buzzkill And now he needed to talk to this kink master He shook his head tiredly

"What time is it there?"

"Dallas is six hours behind us" Caden glanced at his watch "So…it’s about noon Thorpe should be in"

Indeed "Thank you Now go spend tiot a phone call to make"

~ ~ ~ ~

Anka watched Sabelle pace the floor of Bra at the witch she’d once considered her closest friend They’d barely spoken in threeto Isdernus Rykard Sabelle choosing Ice certainly would have been a surprise to all of arded Sabelle somewhat like their princess because of the prominence of her bloodline Those same people would have considered her mate far beneath her, somewhere between a madman and a punch line But the more Anka watched her friend with Ice, the ht choice for her

"Your brother will be fine," Anka said quietly to the other witch

Ice pressed a cup of tea into Sabelle’s hands "She’s right, love It’s a , not a battle"

Sabelle toyed with one of her long, blond curls and frowned "I get the feeling it’s both But I’o"

Sabelle s look of devotion stabbed Anka like a knife to the heart Lucan had once looked at her like that Now that she’d told hied Shock to take control of their sex and give her pain, he’d never look at her that way again That hy she’d confessed He couldn’t go on pining for ould never be But it hurt so badly to knoould feel so for her for the rest of their centuries

"I was better off not going," Ice said "Apparently, my underdeveloped ability to keep oes off is a liability in politics"

Sabelle grinned absently while staring at Anka Bloody hell, she’d forgotten to hts

"Exactly," Sabelle seemed to say to both of thelanced between the two of thereen eyes narrowed "Girl talk, is it? I’ to talk about Lucan MacTavish Wanker"

Anka blinked, stunned, as Ice turned away and left the office, shoulders barely squeezing through the doorway Despite his huge boots and his even larger frame, he barely made a sound as he trekked across the tile and disappeared up the stairs

"Why does Ice dislike Lucan?" Anka asked

"What do you ive you pain?"

Dahts Anka wanted to tell the other witch that she didn’t have the energy to explain twice in one day, and that it was deeply personal Would ickind’s sweet princess even understand? Under all that, the truth embarrassed her Not that Sabelle hadn’t just read every one of her thoughts "I asked you first"

Anka sighed Yes, that sounded very mature

Sabelle smiled, but the happiness in her expression abruptly died "Lucan almost died after Mathias broke yourI’ve ever seen Even Aunt Millie said it was more severe than she’d ever encountered If you hadn’t healed hier He’d nearly gone feral"

Her heart caught Anka wanted to believe Lucan grieved her loss that enuinely loved her But he hadn’t known her, not really He’d missed the façade, the comfort object The abrupt nature of their torn bond would have added to his distress