Jennifer Rardin 1 Once Bitten Twice Shy.wps by Crystal & Billy

Author:Crystal & Billy [Crystal & Billy]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-03-23T22:31:55.254000+00:00

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alarmed."

He didn't say a word, just dropped his phone, came over and picked me up off the edge of the tub. It's a little disconcerting being dangled effortlessly. Plus, I generally equate bear hugs with lumberjacks and friendly purple dinosaurs, not with suave, sexy vampires who savor a daily dose of necking.

"I thought you were dead," he said.

Ah, that explained the momentous show of affection. "So you knew Liliana was coming after me?"

"I… had a feeling." I let his evasion stand for now. But in my mind I drew the line. One more and I would raise hell. Or, smarter but less satisfying, ask him to come clean. He let me slip through his arms until my feet touched the carpet. But he wasn't quite ready to let go. "I am sorry that I left you. I suspected she would come after you, only not so soon. She has always coveted Cirilai, first because she was my wife and thought she deserved it. Then because our sons were dead and she thought I did not."

"So… you've never… taken it off before?"

"No. Not for Liliana. Not for anyone. Until now."

I started to squirm and he let me pull away slightly. Okay, don't panic. Every time you panic all hell breaks loose so do-not-panic.

"You're right, she came for the ring," I told him. "She demanded it from me."

"What did you do?"

"I shot her. Then I pushed her off the roof."

He smiled. Not the twitchy twitch but a genuine, full-face smile. "You must have really wanted that ring."

I put my hands on his chest, because he still held me by the arms and, frankly, because I suspected there might be hyperventilating in my not too distant future and I needed a strong base to lean on. I looked into his remarkable eyes, just now a warm, honey-gold with flecks of amber, and I nodded.

"To be honest, I did want it. I do. I'm… I can't explain how honored I am to be wearing it. But, also to be honest, the whole deal terrifies me."

"Because…"

I took a long look at the stitching on his collar, the urge to cower my way out of this conversation damn near primal. He and I had been tiptoeing around the subject so long I suspected if I made us face it squarely, one of us would be required to cut and run. A perfectly acceptable reaction if you had a place to retreat to. Neither of us did.

"I've only been your assistant, your avhar, for awhile," I finally said, avoiding his gaze,

"and I can't imagine any other kind of life. When you gave me this ring… when I gave you my blood… it's… we've gone beyond that. We're trusting the safety of our souls to each other."

He raised my chin with a gentle finger and I winced as our eyes met. The look we shared pained me in its naked honesty.

"You are my avhar. I am your sverhamin. The intensity of that relationship has taken us beyond the bonds between co-workers or teammates.

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