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He expelled a breath She tensed, waiting for hi to be one of those," he said

"Those what?"

"One of those fe"

Her s her a reprieve "That’s done then, is it?"

"Hory of fe line of fe" She swatted playfully at his chest She iers sifted through her hair "I confess ue at the azed into his eyes The darker ring of blue circling the iris seemed more prominent, almost black "You don’t have to do that"

"What?"

"Say things likethat I know you’re experiencedthat this is sirew miserably hot

"This is si on a word "Nice"

He grinned, his arainst him "You are remarkably adept at the art of the understatement I think we both know this is more than nice, Annalise"

A shiver chased over her skin At his deep voice pronouncing her name, still so new to her ears At his insinuation that he seemed to think this--what had just transpired between the That it could be more than a simple tryst

When she knew it could not

It could notdeepened, she kneas falling asleep His body relaxed beneath her, lethargic and unsuspecting in her arlance revealed his eyes had closed

She felt the pull of sleep as wellher muscles soft and satiated It would be so very easy to fall asleep in his ar For athe day aith hi the specter of Bloodsworth, lured her

It was an impossible dream She had never been one to run fro even if thatto hereverything Even if itsomeone who, unbelievable as it seemed, appeared to want her in turn

Her eyes burned She blinked the She’d never had that She had fooled herself into thinking she would have such a thing with Bloodsworth, but deep in her bones she’d known it wasn’t real He did not want her

With great care, she lifted Owen’s ar to look down at hi She watched hi herself that he well and truly slept, but alsohim for the stretch of lonely days ahead

She pressed her hand to the bed gently and scooted away, careful not to use so much pressure that he would notice the dip in thefro a cautious eye on hi more innocent and vulnerable than she had ever seen hi

Perhaps it was you Perhaps you gave hiht Even if it were true, she could not let herself stay and risk him What kind of woman would that er to fill his bed She was no better than any of the hiive to hiht and surprisingly clear, free fro accepted as his penance

He held hi lurked there He srateful for the rare rest he’d been granted

He did not have to wonder why Of course it was her doing Annalise The female he had wanted to be rid of The very one he had considered a burden Astonishingly, she had turned out to be the antidote to all that had ailed hi, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes awake A bit fanciful, he knew Perhaps not all, not everything, but there was no doubt she gave hihtened in anticipation of taking her again, sliding himself into her heat That would have to wait, of course, until she gave hi ho that bastard had been today to put such fear in her eyes

The day had turned to dusk Thin gray light filtered in between the part in the drapes His ar her, he frowned and lifted his head She was not in the vast bed

Assu she had left him to his sleep, he rose No doubt she had wanted to bathe and refresh herself A deep sense of satisfaction spread through his chest He had introduced her body into the carnal act His ck hardened at the memory of hoeet she had been

He rose in one swift aze swept over the bedchaone The experience left a strange hollowness inside him A foul taste rose to coat his mouth

He would have to correct the matter of separate rooms He wanted her in his room, in his bed--in his life He couldn’t fathom that he had ever wanted or expected her to leave The man he had been when he first returned hoet was a distant thing He felt alive As though he had woken froain Sensations, emotion, flooded him