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laughed…a low, throaty, sexy sound that sent a jolt of happiness through Hannah. Instinctively, she knew it wasn’t something Daric did often.
    Squeezing her hand, he pulled her body into his and the two of them disappeared, leaving the room abandoned in a heartbeat.
    Hannah squealed in alarm.
    And Daric laughed harder.
    Then, the room was silent.

Chapter 4
    Reject her. Do it. Reject her right fucking now, before you aren’t able to do it.
    Daric watched his mate as she consumed one of the chocolate desserts from her own restaurant, nearly groaning as her tongue snaked out of her mouth to catch a drop of chocolate that had landed on her luscious lips instead of inside her mouth. Christ! He could think of a lot of things he could do with that mouth, places he was obsessed with having her tongue lick over, all of them located on his overheated, eager body.
    Reject. Now.
    He watched her eyes close with enjoyment, a look of pleasure on her face that made him envious, wishing it had been he who had put such a look on her beautiful face.
    It’s been hours. Refuse her and get it over with.
    Jerking his eyes away from her, he stared at the wall behind her, trying not to let his gaze stray back to Hannah, who was sitting in front of the fireplace, her face flushed and pink from the warmth of the mammoth fire he had started several hours ago.
    He’d rescued his food order from her truck with a mental command, heating it to the appropriate temperature, trying to stuff food in his face in an effort to stop himself from nibbling on her. They had been talking for hours, and Daric believed she was finally convinced of the truth. He hadn’t held back, knowing time was short, and that she needed to know all of the facts.
    Not if you’re going to reject her, asshole. Just do it.
    He shook his head, his gaze straying back to her face.
    Mine.
    It wasn’t that he didn’t know that he needed to reject her, or even that he didn’t want a mate. Hannah deserved better. He had felt her emotions, relived her life experiences. Hell, he was an asshole, a prince who hadn’t really had any significant communication with a female in over a thousand years. He was a cantankerous, irritable, ancient bastard who didn’t know a thing about tenderness or the gentle nature of a female. What in the hell would he even do with a woman of Hannah’s kind nature?
    Keep her. Brand her as mine. Keep her safe forever.
    Daric’s cock pulsated at the thought of taking Hannah as his, making her moan with pleasure as he took her. Both of them were experiencing the mating compulsion, the need to join as one, his need, his desire, feeding hers. The response of her body was merely a small reaction in comparison to his raging desire, his need so strong that it was all he could do to stop himself from touching her. He had seated himself away from her, on the other side of fireplace, the massive pile of food between them. Not that the paltry distance would stop him from falling on her like a wild animal that needed its mate, but it did give him an instant to think about it. The problem was, his need would only get stronger. As a royal, he was given time to court a woman before the full mating force hit him. A week. Maybe a little more, maybe slightly less. Much depended on how connected he became to Hannah.
    Fuck! If this is the prelude, I sure as hell don’t want the full experience. It sucks!
    “So how does this rejection happen?” Hannah questioned in a hesitant voice, as she stared down at the glass of wine that she held cradled between her delicate hands.
    Daric felt a tiny crack form in the heavy ice that encased his heart. Hannah looked so vulnerable, her hair a curtain now hiding her face as she continued to stare at her wine, swirling it around aimlessly. Goddamnit! He wanted to be the one to protect her, to make sure she was never hurt again. Her grief and loneliness beat at him, demanding he comfort her and make sure she was never alone again.
    Don’t