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She surprised hi into a coat, she pulled on an air of dignity “I made a choice that waskind either”

He snorted Innocents like her dreamed of a family If his own family were alive, they’d expect better of hiht now Of course, if they were alive, he’d still be an innocent like her

“You don’t know me,” she said with quiet assertion “You don’t even want to I’e is satisfied and you’ll leave me now?”

The cool, pithy words struck his abdo hi sooner that he was her first, the basesther shoulders and neck again, stroking the warainst hi to do with revenge

He didn’t want to leave her—which stunned hientle as he would have been if he’d known… if he’d known…

His skull threatened to split under the pressure of conflicting imperatives He had to leave her For now

CHAPTER SEVEN

CLAIR WOKE IN an unfa with alarm before her memory rushed back She sat up, still in Aleksy’s bed, still naked and very in Anxiety quickly faded to relief as she saw she was alone She couldn’t have dealt with him and her mental disarray Stunned disbelief bounced off crazy elation and crashed into an inferno of embarrassment

Hugging her knees, she tucked a hot face into them and tried to countenance how she’d let Aleksy do all that to her She hadn’t grown up with a lot of affection; nor did she possess any long-denied, deep-seated needs for physical closeness

Yet she’d reveled in Aleksy’s caresses, giving herself over to him without inhibition

Her heart wrenched as she recalled that the singular experience had cost her his respect What kind of throwback had such archaic views on virginity? His judgment and conteht, but a weak part of her did She wanted to know he’d enjoyed their coether as much as she had