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"Mine always come back" Not that he welcomed them When he was done, he was done

He should take Rose and finally be done with her

"I just wish I could make one come," Jasha muttered His cheeks reddened when he realized what he’d admitted

Vasili slapped his brother on the shoulder His easier ht hido around the fairer sex, and always had been

At first, when he’d reached maturity, they’d wanted him feverishly and had thrown the to them, had sweated uncontrollably, and hadn’t looked anywhere but at his feet They’d teased him, which had only made his shyness worse Now he avoided them

"You can have any wo frohed

"What’s her na to be baited "The one you ith today?"

He saw no harling laugh of his own "Rose?"

"What? It’s a fine nah him Rose was the enemy Anyone could make fun of her Especially his brother

"Yes, but Rose? Like the tattoo you had inked into your arm last year?"

His jaw clenched so painfully he feared the bone would snap "No Not like that," he ed, the words so raw they sounded as if they’d been pushed through a rinder "Not like that at all"

He didn’t knohy he’d gotten the tattoo He hadn’t wanted to analyze the desire then, and he didn’t want to analyze the desire now He knew only that when he looked at the night rose, he wanted to sori tsked, just as Vasili liked to do to Rose Surely he wasn’t that irritating "And yet you never breathed a word about her"

"He must have feared one of us would steal her away," Jasha said with a mystery-solved nod

Before Vasili could form a reply, not that he knehat to say, they turned to each other, cutting him from the conversation

"No wonder he raced froori said, then cooed ly "The poor baby"

Jasha stroked his stubbled chin with two fingers "She must be hideous if he feels he must hide her away like this Or perhaps she’s too precious for our poor baby to share"

Vasili felt privileged No one else ever saw the To the rest of the world, Grigori was a snarling beast, too savage to handle, and Jasha was quiet and withdrawn

They saved their charlad They were the most important part of his life Therefore, he didn’there?" he asked, inserting himself back into their chatter

They chortled

"We ori continued to Jasha "This one obviously didn’t work hi of that chin "We’ve tried, placing female after female in front of him He sends theh

And still they continued

"Perhaps we should ask around," Jasha said "Find out what others know about this Rose

Where she lives, why she leaves her ed the back of his neck "And we should instruct her on the proper way to treat a king I donaked"

Oh, no, no, no He couldn’t have the others about her And he couldn’t even conte at the mouth "Why Are You Here?"

Finally They focused on hirins

"We heard of the a him on the back now "We came to offer you our aid"

"As if I can’t handle a few ene realm, wanted possession of Vasili’s, and constantly struck at rando with the wind "I sent the men back to their leader Minus their heads"

"Perhaps that’s why he failed to satisfy his Rose," Grigori said to Jasha "She was too frightened of him to enjoy him"