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"Are you angry?" she at last delared at her "It’s not often thatto wonder what it is I have to do to earn your trust"

She shrugged, too involved with her own confused e in the air

"What does it ardless of s Why would you even desire arding her with a cold anger He seemed utterly indifferent to the fact he was stark naked

Unfortunately, Shay was not nearly so indifferent Her entire body clenched in exciteaze traveled helplessly over his alabaster perfection

Ohsweet heaven

"Forced to obey?" The edge in his voice brought her gaze back to his cold expression "Is that why you’re in my bed? Because you think you were forced?"

"I no, of course not"

The dark eyes re "There is no, of course not, about it"

Shay shivered beneath the sheet This was a side of Viper she had never seen before

"Why are you so mad?"

"Oh, I don’t know" His mouth twisted in a humorless smile "Perhaps because you have done what no other woman has done in over a thousand years"

"What’s that?"

"Iht in shock "I never ito convince yourself that you could not possibly have desired ible punishment "You would rather believe that I forced myself upon you than to admit that it was your own passions that led to this ht, of course Her body had no complications It wanted Viper Wanted hi

But her mind ah, her mind remembered that it had been a vampire who had ruthlessly murdered her father And vampires who hunted Shalotts like they were animals "What do you want froaze "What truth?" He narrowed his gaze "Ad more, just that"

Shay licked her lips "I’ll admit that you’re handsoh his throat as he grasped his robe and shoved his arh" Shay watched in shock as he turned toward the door "Where are you going?"

He halted, but he refused to turn around "Anywhere but here If you can still think of me as a monster after e just shared, then there is no hope for you"

A flare of guilt clenched at her heart As ht She was being utterly unfair She had wanted him every bit as much as he had wanted her Hell, maybe even more And she still wanted him

Deep inside her she knew that if he walked out that door now his pride would keep hiain

She slipped fro directly in front of hilare "You’ve alreadyelse you wish to destroy?"

Her lips twitched in spite of herself She had never seen a vampire in a huff before And Viper was in a full-blown huff

"I doubt anyone could rasp the lapels of his robe, deliberately arching her naked body against hio"

He stiffened, his gaze regarding her warily "And ainst him "It feels in adequate condition"

There was a moment as he battled between his offended pride, and the desire that she could already feel stirring against her

"Adequate?"

The jut of his erection pressed heavily against her stoave a shake of his head as his ar to cup her bare botto to drive h to purchase you froazed into his beautiful features She could tell him that she would try to be a little less of a pain in the ass But it would be a lie He was still a vampire And she was still his slave And there was still so, out there who intended to have her blood Being a pain was alood at this" she adave a lift of his brow "Good at what?"

"Relationships"

"Is that e have?" he de her hands slipped beneath the heavy robe to stroke over the lines of his chest She loved his skin She had never felt anything so sers

"You’re the expert, you tellyou anything, I’ll be showing you," he rasped, his eyes dark and his fangs extended