Page 9 (1/2)

"Did you seek me out to offer me tedious insults or did you have a purpose?"

The lean, harsh features tightened "Much againstthe Shalott So far you have done nothing more than offer eed "There has been a minor setback, but there is no reason to fear 1 shall soon have her inDa a bruised jaw The blow had come so swiftly he hadn’t had a chance to avoid it

"I have no trust in you, i Your arrival at our door was a dark orief Produce the Shalott or I will have your head"

Without a backward glance Styx eeping through thedarkness and leaving Damocles to wipe the blood from his mouth

Alone Daood day when he could provoke the bloody Prince of Ice to lose his temper

He intended to ensure there wereuntil Viper had left the kitchen Shay gathered the cartons of food and breathed in deeply of the delicious scent

Da

For the past weeks she had barely eaten enough to keep a bird alive Evor enjoyed his tiny tortures and he thought it grand fun to watch her scraather the handful of crue

And asfrom the vampire, she couldn’t resist the te with the boxes of Chinese food she had ed to polish them off, and most of the fried chicken, when her captor strolled back into the rooht of the e on her gluttony

"If you want to leave a list for my housekeeper I’m sure she’ll be able to keep the kitchen stocked with any food you prefer"

Shay glanced over the piles of food "She’s already stocked it with everything but apple pie"

"I’ed"

Shay didn’t doubt it for a o over and above the call of duty

The question hether the woman did it out of a sense of loyalty, or out of fear

"Does she know that you’re a vampire?"

The full, sensual lips twitched in aerator usually give it away"

Smart-ass

Her eyes narrowed "Most humans refuse to believe in demons Or if they do believe they are terrified of them"

"Her family has served me for a number of centuries," he explained "In fact she has four sons ork at ave an elegant shrug "It simplifies matters"

"I bet"

His expression was curious as he studied her tight features "You sound disapproving Does it bother you that I hire humans?"

It did bother her, but not in the ht "In my experience humans and de directly before her He gently tucked a stray curl behind her ear

"That’s not entirely true, pet," he said softly "You’ve experienced thethat created you"

She resisted the shocking urge to rub her cheek against his lingering fingers "That was different"

He tilted her chin up to aze "Hoas it different?"

"Neither of my parents intended to fall in love"

A slow sle raced over her skin and Shay inched away Space see va to leave and join the other Shalotts when he discoveredattacked by a pack of olves," she tried to explain She had heard the story told by herexpression that revealed her mother still mourned the loss of her husband "He saved her life and then took her back to his hoave a jerky nod "Soether?"

His probing was beginning to touch those raw nerves that she didn’t want touched

"Yes They loved each other veryin her voice Of course Instead he allowed his gaze to slowly roam over her barely covered body