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Dangerous Quite appealing, really" Her voice dropped to a rhythmic croon "I’m so sorry, Seth

It should have been you and me--"

"Don’t," he bit out "What we had is dead"

And in thatat her ice-like beauty, so perfect she could have been chiseled from stone, he realized with a jolt that the love he once held for her had been grounded in infatuation--in a determination to possess the one person everyone told hi at her, he could not recall what he had loved beyond her face

Acute relief flooded hirown into a man that could see beyond her beauty to the shallow core of her

And with this realization came another There had been more to his relationship with Jane They had rohed, and shared Loved, he supposed Only he had allowed his infatuation for Madeline to put an end to that No wonder his thoughts had turned to Jane so often over the years Their relationship had possessed more substance

Madeline’s smile faltered "I think military life has quite robbed you of your littered with irritation

"What do you want?" he asked baldly, re her hand from his face

"Is that any way to address htened and whirled around in a cloud of perfuain"

"We were never friends, Maddie" She had been his obsession Never his friend Not like Jane

"No?" she challenged, s e?"

Bitter bile rose in his throat "A whiry line "I don’t believe you," she announced with a toss of blond curls "You’ve never stopped loving ht splotches ile perfection of her face "You still wanther brsts forward until they strained against the low-cut bodice

She advanced on him, a cat on the hunt "Do you think of me when you plow ht her hands to his chest, rubbing her palers like talons "I’ve learnedhow to please a ue "Are you too proud to take as once denied?"

"Madeline," Jane’s voice scraped the air like a rusty blade, sudden and startling

Seth swung around

His wife stood frah on her cheeks as she surveyed them Even across the distance her eyes sparkled like sunlit own she wore

"Jane," Madeline tittered, slapping Seth’s arm playfully "You startled us You should have knocked Seth and I were beco reacquainted" Her eyes flicked over Seth mischievously

"So many years So ry heat spiraled through hi what Madeline would have Jane think The little witch

His gaze clashed with Jane’s, willing her to see the situation was not as it appeared That he wanted nothing to do with Madeline That he would much rather have her in his arms, in his bed

A fact, he suddenly realized, he was da her lips, Jane advanced into the room and pressed a cool kiss to her sister’s cheek No simple feat when she would rather have clawed her eyes out

The sight of her sister rubbing against Seth like a hungry cat stirred a host of hot, unco them in the orchard, oblivious to her, to the world Aware of only each other amid a swirl of apple blossohtly "I did not expect you"

"Desmond came to see me" Madeline’s mouth puckered with censure "He is beside himself orry over you Poor man"

Seth snorted

Madeline tossed hilance "He fears you’ve rushed into this rievousbeneath Des as I did," Jane rejoined

"Co around Jane’s ar off the unwelcoaze cut to Seth "You could have lived withhis child," Jane pointed out

Seth growled low in his throat "Nice of you to offer now Where were you when Jane ed and forced into servitude?"

"You exaggerate--"

"Not by much," Jane interjected, her pulse suddenly skittery at her throat "You kne things were for me and you never once made such an offer"

"Jane" Madeline pouted prettily "If I thought you truly suffered I would have insisted you live withpainfully "As I’ now