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Oh, dear God

Munro had told her that his faured someone they loved had been seduced by one She now suspected that the victim had been MacRieve-and that there'd been no "seduction"

Do you have any idea what it's like to have no control of your mind? he'd asked Your body? And then he'd told her that maybe she wasn't the one as broken

It wasn't a big leap to connect everything together

No wonder he hated Chloe No wonder he'd vo to have reacted so violentlyHer eyes watered with sympathy

He hadn't even been able to speak of it, his breath hitching again and again She sank down on the bed MacRieve had been trying to tell her!

And physically couldn't

Everything about Chloe must have re this, she was surprised he hadn't been even more hateful toward her Oh, and added to that: My dad recently had him tortured

She fell back across the bed, throwing her ar her forehead with her new bracelet

Despite all this, MacRieve had offered her an olive branch So what should she do with this newfound comprehension?

Confront hiain

Start over? He ain

That's my man, her heart seemed to cry And now that damned hope-spark was back

Soccer hadn't been easy, Stanford definitely hadn't, but she'd never given up on either

Maybe she shouldn't with MacRieve

She sat up She still had feelings for him, still experienced that sense of connection to him She liked his clan, actually missed them She needed sex to live; sex with MacRieve had held such promise

What were her other options? If she escaped, where would she go and hoould she live? Would she be driven out every night, looking for sustenance, feeding on randoht made her skin crawl

Compared to that, a life with MacRieve was the chaht for it?

Because he detests my entire species? Oh, yeah

So how to et what she was? Before she'd boarded the plane, Munro had told Chloe that she was like an anti-succubus Her personality was co, deceptive ones he'd known He'd said, "Just be yourself with Will If you feel the need to tell hi a prick, do so If you feel the need to kick his arse, doona hold back He needs you to beyou With all your attitude"

Chloe hadn't understood at the tiiven a da to read between the lines Munro wanted Chloe to continue being an anti-succubus to show MacRieve how different she was

As she dressed in new gear-shorts, a jog bra, running shoes-she decided that she'd play this day by ear, reading MacRieve's cues as if he were a tricksy fullback, while keeping the trophy in sight She pulled her hair up in a ponytail, then hurried downstairs

When he raked his gaze over her, his irises flickered

"What? What's wrong?"

He growled, "Red"

Yes, her shorts and bra were red "So?"

See fits?" But his voice was rougher

"Like a glove It's nice having ain"

He scowled, rubbing his palm over the back of his neck "You'll haveyou want"

She blinked at hi I need"

Deeper scowl

Way to take cues, Chlo So the guy needed to buy her stuff "I could use a watch, though"

"Aye," he said quickly

"And an iPad and a soccer ball"

"Done" Mood obviously improved, he said, "If you vow you will no' weaponize the latter My stones were singing for hours after your last shot"

"Then don't say things that make me want to cleat you in the face" Now she understood why he had; didn't

"A fate to be avoided I've seen you cleat someone in the face-and that was before you'd turned immortal" He pointed at her shoes "You will no' need those"

"The importance of arch support can't be overstated And what if I cut myself?"

"You're no' hu support Hell, you could go without your bra"

She quirked a brow

"So that's a solid 'nay' on the bra reoal "Verra well As for cutting your foot, you'd heal nigh instantaneously" He seized one of her hips, dragging her close "Today, I plan to show you our lands-and what you're capable of"

Cue taken, MacRieve She gazed up at him Then hold on to your ass 'Cause Chloe's about to lower the boom

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Your pace is ied about aa path toward Mount Conall, one of the higher vistas in the area Fro

Important, since Will now felt the need to iot

"I've been holding back" She ran faster along the winding trail, tossing over her shoulder, "To show respect for your advanced age"

He raised his brows, treated to a view of her arse swishing in those tiny red shorts He scrubbed his pallimpse of the hereafter itself

And she was teasing him to boot? He didn't knohat had happened to her between the tie and when she'd returned, but so drastic had

Her entire attitude had shifted from pissed to mischievous Mayhap she was in a cheerier y

Oh, aye, he'd be getting back in that gaht before, it was indeed possible for Will to woo her-because he already had once

The plan? Will was to do whatever he'd done on that day he and Chloe had shared

So he intended to court, flirt, kiss, and touch, all while filling her ears with dirty words And once he'd seduced her slowly over the day, he planned to take her in their bed again tonight

Yet as his wolf gaze followed the back and forth swish of her arse, he feared

I'll never make it back to the keep

When he drew up beside her, he found her running with her face lifted to the sun, her lips curled with pleasure, and a shot of lust hit hi to dampen

In a casual tone, he observed, "Your eyes are bright, your skin glowing Sex with me becomes you"

Her wee bare feet stutter-stepped, but she righted herself "You don't look too shabby yourself For a crypt keeper Beento ask you, how'd you keep warm before fire?"

So that's how she'd play this? "If you get hungry, just letbrsts "We can stop for a bite"

"I don't do fast food Not really into wolfing down my meals"

Ach, he liked her sass "Nay, thisYou can feast until you'regorged"