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"Sophie?" Colin said again, his brow creased in concern "Is soed herself back to the present, to this place of perpetual rain and towering trees "I just wanted to talk"

He studied her for a fewher in She felt a blush heating her face and neck

"You need to invite me in"

"What?"

"You need to say the words," she snapped, ery about it "I’m a vampire, Colin"

"That part’s true?" he asked in disbelief "You really can’t come in without an invitation?"

"It’s true And it’s cold out here"

"All right, all right," he said "Come on in, Sophie Or do I have to call you Sophia?"

"Sophie will do," she muttered and stepped into the war Sophie--no, Sophia, he reminded himself--scope out his hohton had been the otherher head into the kitchen and glancing down the hallway She lingered there and he could read in her body language that she was dying to explore further But she didn’t, looking over at hi roo

He didn’t sit Didn’t invite her to sit It was bad enough that she was here in this house with hi pretty o In fact, she looked exactly the saht denih ass of hers that had onceabout what they’d do later He’d dreale, had awakened toothe days until he’d see her again And daain

This was the Sophie he’d fallen in love with He’d stopped kidding hio He’d loved her, had never loved anyone since and figured he never would When she’d died--or when he’d thought she’d died--he’dtime And now he’d discovered it was all a lie He had to re a lie

"So, what is it, Sophie?" he asked impatiently "Why are you here?"

She looked up at hi For what? What did she want from him this time?

"You can’t have her, you know," she said abruptly

He scowled at her in confusion "Who?"

"Raphael’s woman Cynthia She’s in love with his to hi vaht, laughing and talking"

Colin chuckled bitterly "Jealous, Sophie? You’re a little late to that game, aren’t you? You’ve been dead for ten years"

She jerked a little at his words He felt bad about hurting her and then immediately called himself twenty kinds of fool She’d torn his heart open and left it bleeding on the jungle floor and he orried about hurting her?

"We’re working together," he said finally "She’s kind of like my partner We watch each other’s backs It’s aI wouldn’t expect you to understand"

"What does that

"Itme think you’d been burned to death in a fire instead of just telling me to take a hike," he snarled "If you wanted to end it, Sophie, you could have bought lass of chicha and just toldhi eyes "I didn’t have a choice"

"Sure you did Everyone has a choice"

"It wasn’t that si on back then, Colin More than you know"

"And clearlyto tellfor Raphael?"

"I a for Raphael and I never will My master is Lucien Raphael rules the west, but Lucien rules all of Canada He’s the one whosuddenly, giving hi to say?" he asked her intently "This Lucien guyat her, but she’d shifted her gaze away, refusing to htfully, repeating her words in his head The thought hit him and he jolted in surprise