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Rubbing her palms over her midriff, she tried to quell the sudden shiver She turned back toward David, as filroup ofhimself directly into her line of vision

Lauren stilled, her heartbeat deafening to her ears

Zafir

The red-and-white headdress covered his hair, rendering his features starker than usual His words resonated with authority, power, his mouth set into a hard line

He was not dead

Relief was like a stor over her She wanted to throw her arles of his face She wanted to

A cold chill seeped into her very bones even though she earing a long-sleeved T-shirt and loose trousers to respect the cultural norms of Behraat

Zafir was unharmed

In fact, he’d never looked more in his element Yet she hadn’t heard a word from him in six weeks

Shein her head driving away every sane thought Adrenaline laced with fury pu closest to her turned around, alerting her presence to the group One by one, they all turned

Her breath suspended in her throat, her hands shook The few seconds stretched interminably A hysteric bubble launched into her throat

Zafir’s gold-flecked gazeinto her

Everything else around her dulled as the explosive chemistry that had punctuated everyher closer

There wasn’t a trace of pleasure in his gaze

No shock in it

But there was no guilt either

The fact that he felt no remorse whatsoever fueled her fury She’d shed tears over him, she’d reduced herself to a shadoorry over hiuilt

The uards flanked him at a little distance