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later, when she’d gone back to the house and she’d been alone…Her skin felt cool and he had pushed aside her clothing. His lips had been warm and soft and so very sensuous. She hadn’t thought to push him away, only cradle his head while he drank and then…and then…
    MaryAnn gasped and covered her face with both hands, shaking her head. “It wasn’t real. I wouldn’t have done something like that. It was only a dream.”
    “Do you have his mark on you?” Juliette asked, her voice gentle.
    “No. It’s not that. It’s not his mark. I wouldn’t exchange blood with him. Or lead him to believe I’m something I’m not. I don’t flirt. And I don’t make promises I wouldn’t keep.” That’s why she was there when she should be…somewhere else. Anywhere else.
    “You didn’t do anything wrong, you know. Let me see the mark.”
    MaryAnn swallowed hard, her hands reluctantly going to her blouse. She didn’t want to show Juliette. The mark was private. Right now it pulsed with heat. She moistened her lips and summoned up all of her courage, pushing the material down to reveal the large strawberry, much like a love bite, but more intense and raw. Two telltale punctures were ringed with red.
    Her stomach did a funny flip. “He bit me, didn’t he? It wasn’t a dream at all.” And if he had, why did she feel more excited than betrayed?
    “You are what kept my brother alive,” Riordan said, his black eyes on the mark. “As his lifemate you are under the protection of my family, a sister to be loved and cherished. You did what no other could have done.”
    “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” MaryAnn protested. “I never even spoke to the man.”
    “That marks says you’re his lifemate,” Riordan reiterated.
    She shook her head. “It could mean he took my blood and I was allergic to the anticoagulant. It could be a bug bite.” She almost groaned at the desperate, all too absurd suggestion, but this couldn’t be happening, not for real.
    “Of course it’s frightening,” Juliette said. “It’s unexpected to all of us, but at least you know why you’ve been so upset. Lifemates cannot be away from one another long without touching minds. Reach for him.”
    “I’m nobody’s lifemate, Juliette,” MaryAnn said. “I don’t even like men all that much. The ones I see and hear about on a daily basis aren’t very nice. I’m not lifemate material, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but especially not to one of the De La Cruz brothers. They’re far too difficult.”
    Riordan flashed a brief smile at her. “We make up for it in other ways.”
    MaryAnn couldn’t find it in her to smile back. The entire idea was absurd, but she was beginning to believe it. “In order for us to be feeling the same emotions, wouldn’t the bond have to be incredibly strong? Your brother never even really spoke to me. If I were his lifemate, wouldn’t he at least introduce himself?”
    “Not if he thought you would refuse his claim,” Riordan said, ignoring Juliette’s warning look. “He might hide his intentions.”
    MaryAnn frowned. “I would have refused. I have a life that’s important to me in Seattle. This isn’t my environment, nor would I want to be with a man as demanding as your brother obviously is. Of course I would have refused.”
    “Which explains why he would have said nothing. Manolito would never have accepted your refusal, but you are under the protection of the prince and his second. You also are best friends with Destiny. Not only would Mikhail and Gregori stand for you, but so would Destiny’s lifemate, Nicolae, and his brother Vikirnoff as well as his lifemate, Natalya. Manolito would bide his time, stay close and wait until you were no longer surrounded by your protectors.”
    MaryAnn rubbed her pounding temples. “I feel sick and dizzy. Everything burns. Is that him? Or is it me?”
    “I think he is the one feeling ill. He’s still feeling the effects of the wound and the