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hand
    would fade and she would forget he'd ever existed. The mark on his Arcadian hand
    was eternal, and he would mourn her for the rest of his life. Even if he went back
    for her later, it would be too late. After the mark faded, his chance was over.
    It was now or never.
    Not to mention the small fact that during the three weeks she was marked by his
    sign, Channon would be a magnet to the Katagaria Draki who wanted him dead.
    For centuries, he and the animal Katagaria had played a deadly game of cat and
    mouse. The Katagaria routinely sent out mental feelers for him, just as he did for
    them. Their psychic sonar would easily pick up his mark on Channon's body,
    allowing them to hone in on her.
    And if one of them were to find his mate alone without a protector ...
    He flinched at the image in his mind.
    No, he had to protect her. That was all there was to it.
    Closing his eyes, Sebastian transformed himself into the dragon and went back to
    Channon's hotel, where he shifted forms again and entered her room as a man.
    He was about to break nine kinds of laws.
    He laughed bitterly. So what else was new? And why should he care? His people
    had banished him long ago. He was dead to them. Why should he abide by their
    laws?
    He didn't care about them.
    He cared for nothing. For no one.
    Yet as he stared at Channon lying asleep in the moonlight, something peculiar
    happened to him. A feeling of possessive need tore through him. She was his mate.
    His only salvation.
    For whatever twisted reason, the Fates had joined them. To leave Channon here
    unprotected would be wrong. She had no idea the kind of enemies who would do
    anything to have him, enemies who wouldn't hesitate to hurt her because she was
    his.
    Sebastian lay down by her side and gathered her into his arms. She murmured in
    her sleep, then snuggled into him. His heart pounded at the sensation of her breath
    against his neck.
    He looked down and saw her right palm, which bore the same mark as his left
    hand, laying upright by her cheek. He'd waited an eternity for her.
    After all these centuries of empty loneliness, dare he even dream of having a home
    again? A family?
    Then again, dare he not?
    "Channon?" he whispered softly, trying to wake her. "I need to ask you something."
    "Hmm?" she murmured in her sleep.
    "I can't remove you from your time period unless you agree to it. I need you to
    come with me. Will you?"
    She blinked open her eyes and looked up at him with a sleepy frown. "Where are
    you taking me?"
    "I want to take you home with me."
    She smiled up at him like an angel, then sighed. "Sure."
    Sebastian tightened his arms around her as she fell back to sleep. She'd said yes.
    Joy ripped through him. Maybe he had done his penance after all.
    Maybe, for once, he could have his one moment of respite from the past.
    Holding her close, Sebastian stared out the window and waited for the first rays of
    dawn so that he could pulse them out of her world and into one beyond her wildest
    imagination.
    Channon felt a strange tugging in her stomach that settled into a terrible
    queasiness. What on earth?
    She opened her eyes to see Sebastian staring down at her. He wore an intriguing
    mask of black and red feathers that made the gold of his eyes stand out even more
    prominently. It reminded her of a Phantom of the Opera mask as it only covered his
    forehead and the left side of his face where his tattoo was.
    She'd never considered masks sexy before, but on him, mmm, baby.
    Even more inviting than that, he wore black leather armor over a chain mail
    shirt-black leather armor covered in silver rings and studs that was laced down the
    front. The laces had come untied, leaving an enticing gap where she could see his
    tanned skin peeping through.
    Ummm, hmmm.
    Smiling, she started to speak until she realized she was
    on the back of a horse. A really, really big horse.
    Even more peculiar, she was dressed in a dark green gown with wide sleeves that
    flowed around her like some