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I nearly did, in fact I was too weak to struggle when a group of Breed males came into the room and carried me to a truck in the alley outside They chained me and dumped me in a remote farmer’s field to bleed out and then fry to dust with the sunrise" "Oh, my God Andre I saw that field, didn’t I? You showed it to rim confirmation "Sometime between that awful hour and daybreak, I felt an unnatural heat beginning to burn inside , until y And then it exploded out of --that’s one of the least unpleasant aftereffects, as I would learn The fires burned fronite By the time dawn started to rise, the chains had melted away I tried to scramble for some shade, but I eak froirl until she was standing right next to htened behind Claire’s breastbone
"A girl?" He nodded, only the slightest id with regret "She only could have been about ten or twelve years old, out in the field thatin the dirt and asked what she could do to help me Because of the injury to my throat, I had no voice I couldn’t have warned her away, even if I had any idea of ould happen to her if she got too close to me while my body was still deadly with heat" Claire closed her eyes, understanding now She placed her hand against his cheek, having no words to express the pain she knew he must have felt for what he’d done to the child Pain it was clear that he felt even now, all this time later "I crawled away from the field like an animal, which is what I felt I was
Worse than an animal, to have destroyed someone so innocent and pure I found shelter in a cave so I could heal Once I was recovered, I fled I couldn’t stay not after what I’d done And in the tih , I still lived with the fear that I ers were light in her hair, tender as they brushed her brow "Leaving you had never been in my plans After I came back and heard you’d been mated to Roth, I stayed in Berlin and told myself you were better off with him That way I could be sure you would always be safe from the death inside me" "I’ve seen your power, Andre I’ve seen what it can do But it hasn’t hurt me---you haven’t hurt me" "Not yet," he replied, his tone dark "But now it’s stronger than it ever was before
It was reckless of ht my Darkhaven was attacked It’s more deadly than before, and each time the fury comes alive in me, it burns hotter than the last ti her syeance worth all of that? Is anything worth killing yourself in order to have it? That’s what you’re doing, Andre You’re killing yourself with this awful power of yours, and you know it" He scoffed sharply, a wordless denial "I’ what needs to be done I don’t care what happens to me in the end" "I do," she said
"Da at you now and I see ahimself with fury Howyourself to the before the fire consu ht He shook his head "What would you have me do?" "Stop," she said "Stop all of this, before you no longer have the ability to end it" The logic was so clear to her He had an obvious choice here: Let go of his rage and live, or continue his pursuit of vengeance and perish--either by the power that she could see was destroying hi with Wilhel it, Claire I’ve come too far to turn back now and you know it I’ve pushed Roth too far these past few nights and weeks that I’ve been hunting hih and his mouth curved into a humorless smile "Ironic, isn’t it? That what drove ht us back together, such as it is But what you said earlier is right You do deserve peace now and I should leave you to it" He ainst her forehead, then dropped a tender kiss on her mouth He drew back, then turned and started to walk away Claire watched him start up the lawn Her heart broke a little with every step he took She couldn’t let hi was crying out for hi strides carrying him farther and farther away from her She couldn’t have held back frootten behind hiht his hand She turned hi her throat "Don’t go" was all she littered with sparks of aht, his mouth a stern, deters behind his lips "Andre, pleasedon’t go"
Claire lifted up onto her toes and curved her fingers around his strong nape, dragging him down to meet her lips She kissed him with all the passion she’d always held for his that had lived in her heart all these long years He kissed her back with even greater ardor His ar her to hihs against her and the harder, hotter part of hith of thick steel at her hip Claire reveled in his arousal, in the warh moan that vibrated in her bones as he broke their kiss to bury his face in the curve of her neck and shoulder He wanted her, as much or more than she wanted--needed--hiht "God, Claire," he rasped, the tips of his fangs abrading the tender skin of her collarbone
"Why couldn’t you have just let o?" She shook her head, too lost for words or reason All she kneas the desire she had for this man, this incredible, honorable Breed ain, once his search for the justice that consumed him finally did take him away froes of his body, tipping her head back to let hiswith hunger, her legsin her core Andreas drew back to gaze down into her face He looked so beautiful, so wild and powerful, it made her heart ache She saw the naked passion in his crackling amber eyes and knew that he saw the same need in her She couldn’t deny it She wasn’t nearly strong enough to try Too much time had kept them apart Too many obstacles that now seemed impossible to surpass But they had desire Claire treh Andreas as she clung to hiainst her She needed to feel his body ed with hers, not in a dream or memory, but flesh to flesh Naked and carnal
"Oh, God, Andreplease be with h profanity that only race of round and cradling her in the th of his arms He carried her across the lawn, to the open French doors of the house Inside, he slowly set her down ahostly furniture He kissed her tenderly, sweetly, as he grabbed the edge of a white sheet that draped an antique, cushioned chaise and cast it aside Claire let hi back as he loood He kissed her so the buttons of her prim sweater Unlike their encounter in his drea did not si her, hisworshipfully over every inch of her skin as he unveiled her He suckled her breasts and teased the curve of her belly and hip
When he painstakingly peeled away her slacks and panties, he dipped his head into the juncture of her thighs and nippedthe wet petals of her core Claire threw her head back and moaned in pleasure as he loved her with his s Her first orgasm took her by total surprise It rushed up on her and swept her high, pleasure she could not contain anyas her clily, patiently, even though his hands tre and caressing her heated skin "You taste so good," he ainst her wetness "Even sweeter than I remembered Better than any drea him back as she drew herself up She eased his with her bare thighs She ran her hands under his loose shirt, baring him for her mouth to explore
When she had worked her way up to his throat, she stripped the shirt off completely and let her eyes take in the unique beauty of his derht noith desire etched in Andreas’s every taut o, burgundy, and darkest autuertip, then bent her head and followed the intricate swirls and flourishes with her tongue as she’d been dying to do since she saw hi on the lyphs tracked farther down his body, as she vividly recalled Not wanting to neglect any part of him, Claire unfastened the button of his pants and loosened the zipper He sucked in his breath as she nuzzled the soft skin of his groin and nipped at his tender flesh
When she tugged his pants doer, past the s head of his penis, then lower still, he exhaled a pleading oath Claire kissed her way around his thick cock, adth and power of hiht the blunt tip of hi the silky, salty taste of hi this ht that she’d drea When she spoke, her voice was husky fro need "Do you have any idea how ? There were days, soht of all I wanted to do was run away to find you To know this pleasure again with you You were the only one, Andre It’s always been you"
He growled, a sound of total, unabashed possessiveness His hands were rough in her hair, hard against the back of her skull as she bent over him oncea wordless cry as she sucked hiood Claire, if you don’t stop " She didn’t stop She couldn’t get enough of hiave a hard shudder and his release roared out of hireedy for everything he would give her after sohim She couldn’t deny that it was love she felt for hirasp and plundered herkiss It was love that filled her heart as he filled her body with his own Love that ht of another devastating cliain
The bitch was sorely trying his patience Wilhelh the cloudedof the Boston warehouse he’d been forced to relocate to recently Pain ripped through hilass, the flesh over his knuckles shredded and bloodied He knew Claire would feel it, too, if distantly, just as he was feeling the proof of her current infidelity with Andreas Reichen Her pleasure ut That it was pleasure shared with Reichen ely He’d been more than a little surprised to detect Claire’s presence near Boston earlier tonight
The awareness of her had since faded, but he was certain she was in New England so keeping hi the pair doas the fact that his hands were full with the current os in the city His priorities had been os when he’d exiled him to Boston, and Roth wasn’t about to let him down He would have his chance to make Claire and her damnable lover pay He was certain he’d have areat pain on both of the on the fact that Dragos had intimated that Reichen was involved with the Order It wouldn’t be surprising if it were true Despite thebeen an air of self-righteousness about him Roth supposed the male had subscribed to a certain code of honor, even then, in the past, when he had co around Claire’s skirts after Roth had already decided she would belong to him alone
Never mind that he already had a mate; he and Ilsa had been a poor rown bored of not long afterward He should have gotten rid of her sooner than he had, but then Claire caave him all the excuse he needed Or, rather, Andreas Reichen had provided the excuse, just a short time before either man had even met the beautiful Claire Samuels Roth had often wondered if Reichen realized the seething conteesture of kindness at a Darkhaven reception It had been a s, really, a dry jacket to cover her after Roth had sent her weeping to a rain-drenched balcony when she dared to contradict him in front of his peers He’d meant to punish her privately, but Reichen had strolled by and discovered her sitting outside by herself in the cold Incredibly, he’d had the gall to insist she take his coat and then arranged for his driver to send her home without Roth’s permission Roth fule" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">