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almost ready.”
    “I like her.”
    That was a good thing. “So why are you here instead of with us?” He knew Brin, though. Larek bet he was concocting some kind of plan and needed time to think. “What do you need me to do?”
    His grin told him everything. “Nothing much. Tell her I’m still too weak to eat. After you finish chowing, bring Madra in here and I’ll be on the floor. Knowing her, she’ll want to spend the night and keep watch over me. You and she can take turns. Maybe you can say I have a fever or some internal injury that needs time to heal.”
    “Not going to work.”
    “Why?”
    “I won’t be involved in deception.”
    Brin placed the papers off to the side. “So what do you propose?”
    “How about coming out to dinner and being nonthreatening for a change? After we eat, we let her know how much we want her. If we can’t charm her into bed, then it’s not meant to be.”
    Brin got off the bed and tossed the heap of papers back on his desk. “You sound so fucking serious when you’re noble.”
    His friend had been watching too much Earth television. “I am serious, because there’s something about her that makes me vibrate inside. I think she may be the one.” Please say you agree. It won’t work without you.
    When Brin lasered him with a stare, he could tell his friend was weighing all the options. The grin was slow to develop, but when it did, his eyes shone. “I say let’s go capture us a mate.”

Chapter Four
     
    When both of the men came out of the room, Madra’s relief was palpable. She rushed up to Brin. “Are you okay?”
    He picked her up, spun her around, and then set her back down. Her laughter escaped.
    “Yes, thanks to your healing touch.”
    “I didn’t do anything.”
    When he leaned over and kissed her, both her body and mind exploded. Surprise at the overture came first. Here she thought he’d either be angry that he’d had to defend her or still be disappointed that she hadn’t stood up for what he thought was right. Regardless, the kiss melted her body, and when she molded her chest against his, her pussy went into overdrive. He moved his hands down her back, causing his muscles to flex. The pressure on her nipples sent spears of delight straight between her legs. Oh, my .
    Wanting more, she opened her mouth to invite him in. From the hungry way his tongue darted in and explored her, it was as if he hadn’t kissed a woman in months. From the fresh taste, he’d brushed his teeth, and she licked the flavor off his tongue. They teased each other until Larek’s throat clearing finally reached her brain.
    She pulled back and faced him. “I’m sorry, Larek. It’s just that—”
    “Don’t worry about it. I’m thrilled you find my friend attractive. I just wanted to say dinner’s on the table.”
    Heat raced up her face. She debated telling Larek that she found him equally attractive, but what would be the point? Men as powerful and successful as Brin and Larek wouldn’t want anything to do with her. She was sure Brin’s kiss was meant simply as a thank-you.
    Larek tapped the seat next to him, and she sat while Brin went over to the wine rack and pulled out a bottle of red. Half of her glass was full, but Larek topped it off with the white. After Larek passed around the food, the silence unnerved her a little. Possibly because her mother always initiated the conversations at the table, she wasn’t great at keeping a man’s interest, despite spending her days talking to her students.
    Since Brin was a lawyer, she figured he must have a lot of cases on his plate and probably loved to talk about what he did. “Tell me about your job.”
    He finished chewing before he spoke. “I’m a public defender.”
    “I know that much.” When Larek had introduced them, he’d told her. “Are you working on any interesting cases?”
    “I think all of my cases are interesting, mostly because all my clients swear they are innocent even when the evidence against