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his gaze narrowed for a second on me. I had the
sensation that he was seeing deep into my soul, baring all my
secrets. I knew then that he’d noticed my handicap, and I turned
slightly to avoid his piercing gaze. I felt like a succulent bit of
prey watched by a dangerous predator—a feeling I did not enjoy, no
matter how many tingles of excitement rippled down my body.
    His voice, which had been deep and forceful,
softened. “You do not know what I am talking about, do you?”
    “ No, I don’t. All I know
is that you mean Damian and me harm—”
    “ Beloved, I could never
hurt you,” he said, his thumb sweeping along my lower lip, teasing
me until I turned back to look into those all-seeing
eyes.
    “ You are a vampire. Hurt
is what you do best, isn’t it?” For some reason, I felt it
necessary to remind my errant body that this man was not for
me.
    “ I am as you see me. And
you are—”
    “ I am quite well aware of
my handicap, thank you,” I interrupted, looking down, trying to
control my breathing. Being pressed up against him was proving to
be an overwhelming experience, one my body wanted to explore more
fully.
    “ Handicap?” His heavy dark
honey brows pulled together. “You consider having a double soul a
handicap?”
    “ We are not here to
discuss me,” I said sternly, trying my best to ignore the bizarre
attraction. It had been too long since I had been married, that’s
all. My hormones were simply kicking in and focusing on the nearest
male body they could find.
    “ On the contrary, at this
moment I can think of nothing more I wish to discuss.” His gaze
flickered over to the clock on the mantel. He sighed. “But I do not
have time to indulge myself. Very well, since you are not aware of
what has transpired in the last hour, I will give you a summary.
You are a tattu ,
bearer of a double soul, and my Beloved, the one woman who can
redeem my soul
and save me from millenia of anguished existence. I knew that the
moment we exchanged blood.”
    “ Exchanged blood?” I
asked, my head whirling. “When did we exchange blood? I kissed you,
that’s all! And, for the record, you started it by licking my
lip!”
    “ Your lip was cut when you
landed on me. I bit my tongue when I was knocked backward. We
exchanged blood when we kissed. And now we must complete the other
seven steps of Joining for you to be safe from the demon that will
be pounding on the door at any moment. Once that is completed, I
will be able to protect you. Until that time, you are
vulnerable.”
    I touched my lip. It was sensitive, still
tingling from Sebastian’s kiss, and in one spot, slightly tender
from our collision. I shook my head again, unable to digest it all.
“Even assuming that I am your soul-saving person, why do you think
that demon will be coming to Adrian’s house?”
    “ He will follow your scent
just as I did,” he answered matter-of-factly.
    I wanted to bristle at the idea that I
smelled so strongly people could track me all over London, but the
heated look in his eyes generated an answering heat that pooled
deep within me, and left no doubt in my mind that whatever it was I
smelled like, he did not find it offensive.
    “ You are tattu , a great prize for
the demon’s master. Do you believe it will not do everything it can
to find you and take you to Abaddon?”
    I shivered, leaning into him for a moment. I
had just met this man, this vampire, but already I felt safe with
him. It was as if an empty part of me was suddenly filled with
life. “I…I don’t know what to believe. This is all going too fast
for me.”
    “ I am sorry,” he said, his
eyes filled with regret. “I would do this differently if I could,
but, Beloved, we have no time. We must Join now so I can protect
you. It is my duty. I do not wish to frighten you, or force you
into something you are not ready for, but you must believe me. We
have no time for wooing.”
    His lips brushed mine, gently teasing the
edges of my mouth until I