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risk having someone sic Cleaners on you, sweet. Like I told you before Frisch doesn’t know about me; I’ve managed to keep my name almost completely out of this. As far as he, and that shrew who calls herself Head of House, knows, they’re simply dealing with one hellishly stubborn enforcer.”
    Marcel pauses for a moment as she reaches down and undocks her p.a.t.c.h, a delicate silver model that looks lovely on her wrist. Her fingers fly across the screen without any hesitation for a few seconds before she briskly refolds and docks her unit with a satisfied air about her. Marcel shoots him a sly smile that lights her features up from within and her voice rings with victory.
    “They’ll never see this coming, and by the time they figure out which way’s up, it’ll be too late for them to do anything immediately. I’ll tie them up in so much paperwork and litigation that their descendants’
    descendants will be wading through it. Now I just sent you a file and I need you to read and sign everything in it as soon as possible.”
    Josiah immediately undocks and unfurls his p.a.t.c.h and dives into the information that Marcel had just sent streaming to him. His eyes widen a fraction at what he reads and he’s almost grinning before he’s done.
    Attention never leaving the text before him, he raises his free hand, fingers positioned as if holding a pen, and signs his name across the air in front of the screen with a flourish. A sense of deep satisfaction wells up in his chest when he sees his signature appear in the correct slot and he doesn’t bother to try and tamp it down when it’s authenticated and made official.
    That easily, Rafe belongs to him for the period of no less than one year.
    “I’m not exactly sure how you did that, Marcel, but you are a goddess of law.”
    “You’re finally admitting something I’ve been trying to get you to see for years now so I would definitely count this as a win for me as well. As for the how, well, so few people check those pesky little bylaws that were developed when Sanctuary was first established. Especially not the ones that state that a reputable enforcer has the right to take custody of and house any dominant or submissive that has been rejected from the premises.”
    Josiah chuckles low in his throat at the almost childish tone Marcel’s adopted, the one that does nothing to hide the vicious glee that threads through her voice.
    “A goddess, Marcel; there is no other word to describe you. Still this almost seems too easy somehow.”
    “Oh, sweetness, it’s not easy. We’re both going to have our hands full for some time to come. This just makes things a bit more manageable and keeps you from ripping apart an entire complex to get what belongs to you back. That in turn keeps me from having to use all of my considerable pull in a vain effort to keep the both of you safe afterwards.”
    Josiah docks his p.a.t.c.h and turns his eyes back on Rafe’s sleeping form. His hand reaches out and his fingers brush softly against the skin of the sleeping man’s cheek. He can touch him now, has all rights to lay hands on him, but this is all he’ll take for now, all he’ll take until he knows Rafe wants it as well. He has a year, an entire cycle of seasons to turn the submissive to his way of life, to convince the man that he’ll never find somewhere he belongs better than at Josiah’s side and in his bed.
    “And what will you do with the time your little maneuver has given us, Marcel? What dastardly plan do you have spinning in your parlor?”
    Marcel laughs, a thick, honey-sweet sound, and when he looks up at her briefly her smile is as devious and 2venomous as the spider he’s just likened her to.
    “I’ll show those miscreants at the Sanctuary that going against the vows you’ve made to protect the abused has a steep price to pay. When I’m done with them they’ll be on the streets searching for those in need instead of waiting for them to show up on their