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"You are, aren’t you?" Josh grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face hiaze drilled into her "Stay away froht They’re dangerous I don’t want you getting hurt Or worse Because there is worse" His expression went as dark and haunted as his voice, sending a shiver up her spine

"I know," she said "And I’m careful"

Out of the blue, he kissed her hard "That is the biggest lie I’ve ever heard," he said against her lips

His kiss gentled, his lips becoy before settling back in the seat And yes, she should be irked by his arrogant insistence that she heed his warning, was still a little annoyed by the fact that he’d basically black her treasure hunt But God, she’d been alone for so long, had been so lonely she sometimes ached

No matter how attentive Val was, how many people she surrounded herself with, she still felt that yearning she couldn’t banish no matter how busy she kept herself Now she understood the shadows in herto knohat ht she was alone, but the closer Serena got to Josh, the more clearly she understood

The only person who had ever made her ainst her rib cage at the sudden suspicion that threaded its way into her mind Her mother… had she been in love with hi only a few miles away Serena didn’t remember any inappropriate contact, but her mom definitely lit up when her Guardian had co her face up to his with a finger beneath her chin "We’re here Where are you?"

The taxi had pulled to a stop halfway up the curb, and she’d barely noticed Seemed her trip down meuess I was spacing"

Josh paid the taxi driver and reached for her knapsack She figured that since he’d bullied his way along, he runt, he heaved it over his shoulder alongside his own

"What do you have in this thing? I think it weighs ot out of the vehicle, glad she’d thrown on a light sweater to counter the cool"Maps, tools, water, snacks"

"You’re one of those always-prepared people, aren’t you?" He ht my flask Never leave home without it"

He cocked an eyebrow "Whiskey?"

"Of course"

"That’sinto the pocket of his backpack and pulled out a pair of sunglasses Squinting into the sun, he popped them on "Guess this proves I’m not a vaer that surrounded him appealed to her basest feminine instincts, because this was a ive to be his…

Well, she’d give anything but her virginity

"It was just a dream," she muttered

"Did I bite you?"

She sed, the yptian sun "Yes"

He gazed out over the tops of the pal at her "Did you like it?"

"Yes," she whispered, her s had penetrated her God help her, she’d loved it

"Then I’ll have to remember that" He turned to her and smiled, a dark, erotic smile that took her breath "Because make no mistake, Serena I do bite"

Serena hurried ahead of Wraith to the cataco back a little, er, but the vieasn’t bad, either Froo pants and fitted T-shirt, she was sin in adventure gear She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail, and all he could think about inding the thick hair around his fist while he kissed her Undressed her Pounded into her as he had in the dreaain, feed from her, and take her once ut clenched He couldn’t spend days with her, because she ht not have days after he took her charm There was an expiration date on her life, and he was the one staht aside, because thinking about the consequences of his actions was a waste of energy and time, and besides, why should this be any different fro else he’d done?

It wasn’t