Page 34 (1/1)

The first sweep of her tongue against his skin an to s, fixing her lipsblood His blood, which would floithin her and give her prolonged strength and life His blood, which would bind her to him as hisher dark-fringed gaze up to hiht I’d lost you" "Never," he replied "Never again" Herat his wrist "Take all that you need of ed with emotion He didn’t care that his voice and hands shook as he brought her closer He was thoroughly unasha for this woman His woman

His mate His beloved, finally, and for all the rest of their lives When he glanced over to where his friends had been gathered, he was surprised to see that they were gone The door to the roo Claire and him to the intimacy of their reunion alone Reichen didn’t rush her sotime, content siht a glow to her cheeks and renewed life to her body And so, he settled back on the bed with her and wrapped her in his protective e her a hundred sole her with all the reverence and worship of a blood-bonded male who had stared hell in the face and now understood that he was holding heaven in his arms

Chapter Thirty-Seven

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND ONE WEEK LATER Reichen stood alone at the ansett Bay, deep in a private htly ritual after he and Claire had left Boston Behind him, the sounds of her soft pianonotes wash over hiht orb of fire that he held suspended in the foot of space between his palht his hands into a closer span The light grew hotter, turning frolow of flame to an intense whitish blue And still Reichen squeezed it tighter, co the fire’s power into a smaller and smaller area that was completely under his control The pyrokinesis that had once coursed through his entire body like a savage brush fire was slowly co his co, but each tiht he had held it for ten ht before He was determined to shape his ability into a true talent, and he had Claire to thank for getting hith Her blood kept hi to accept hi this part of hione three decades living a shallow existence, closing himself off from true emotion for fear that it would reaterto embrace all that it meant to truly be alive Distantly, as he honed the orb of fire into a sistered that the music from inside the house had stopped It took all of his focus to keep the ball spinning between his pal until a deep male voice an," Claire said, as Reichen slowly pivoted to face them Her smile was aaze "You’re getting better at this Last tie" Reichen quirked a brow at her as he crushed his hands together and extinguished the flames completely His body was tired froe his talent, but his heart soared to see Claire’s confidence in hian," he said, extending his hand to the warrior in greeting The Gen One gave him a cautious nod as he clasped the hand that had just been lit with preternatural heat "I now

"Sohed "I have so far better than that, my friend" Claire ca into his side He would never tire of feeling her pressed close to hiether in Newport had been the best rehabilitation he could have asked for He was content beyond his wildest i itch to get back into the thick of the action with his friends in the Order "Have there been any further leads on Dragos since we spoke a couple of days ago?" he asked, figuring the warrior hadn’t come all the way down to Rhode Island just on a house call "We’re following up on a few things, but the son of a bitch seems to have cleared out of the area He clearly kneould be closing in on his location in Connecticut, and we’re not discounting the fact that hebefore now Our best bet for the ti is to chase down his network of associates in the Enforce I can do to help," Reichen said "Tell me where I am needed You know I’m available to the Order" "You’ve been invaluable already, ht not have found Dragos’s lab at all Now many of our suspicions about his operation are confiros, but we also need to find the Ancient he’s been iht have moved the creature, but the fact that it’s out there so to happen" Reichen nodded soberly "Sounds like the Order has its hands full, even reed "Actually, Lucan and the rest of us in Boston agree that we could use an envoy to help us gather support aold a the Darkhavens over there, as well as with the Enforce to need soather our own alliances, and at the sa those groups Any chance youto leave your nice little love nest here in Newport to do solanced down to reed to make the house in Newport their ho He was eager for the life they were planning together, but duty and loyalty to the Order tugged at him, as well She understood that fact; he saw the acceptance in her eyes She s, by next week you’ll have grown bored of juggling fire You’ll be looking for new challenges Maybe we both will be Maybe there is work enough for both of us with the Order," she said, turning a questioning look on Tegan The warrior smiled "We would be honored to count on you both" "I didn’t exactly leave Gerency over there an said, "for all intents and purposes, you’re a dead man You died last summer, in the fire that destroyed your Darkhaven Now Roth and everyone in his circle are dead, too To anyone else, you’re a ghost, Reichen

Which will give you even greater opportunity to get close to our targets over there and shore up covert alliances" "A spy for the Order?" Reichen said, liking the idea already "I’ to be daerous, too" Tegan asked, "You think you can handle that?" Reichen looked to Claire again, feeling stronger than ever when he saw the faith and ad back at him in her soft brown eyes "Yes," he said "I think I can handle that" With Claire beside hi at all About the Author

With fa back to the Mayflower, author Lara Adrian lives with her husband in coastal New England, surrounded by centuries-old graveyards, hip urban comforts, and the endless inspiration of the broody Atlantic Ocean To learn n up for her e-mail newsletter, please visit LaraAdriancom [LaraAdriancom]

THE END