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him. She lifted his arm and bit down with all her might. It
    took a few seconds for her to taste the salty tang of his blood.
    "It would help if you possessed real teeth," he said nipping along
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    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

    her neck. ‚I am Barrick.‛
    She elbowed him in the stomach. "And you bit me. Hard. I'll have
    marks." She elbowed him again.
    "That's the idea. It's a mark of possession. All mated females will
    have the same marks. Say my name."
    She shook her head. "I am not an animal. I'm human. We don't mark
    our mates—I mean our husbands. This is barbaric." She refused to say his
    name. Somehow that would make all of this more real.
    "You are no longer human. You are my mate. That makes you
    mine." He nipped at her tender skin again. "If I hadn’t marked you, another
    might have challenged me for you. Would you have me kill for you?"
    She was a staunch supporter of life. She couldn't knowingly
    sentence another to death. Not even him. She turned away from him rather
    than answer his question.
    "I hope you don't think this means that I'm staying here. You tricked
    me. So that makes our agreement null and void." She crossed her arms
    over her breasts and his arm.
    "And if you are breeding? What then? Will you take my cubs with
    you when you leave? Or will you leave your own blood behind?" He
    whispered above her ear. ‚Say my name.‛
    "Just shut up." She reached up and covered her ears. She knew the
    pain of being left behind. Her parents had done it to her more times than
    she could count. The final time she'd been seven years old. She told them
    how alone it made her feel but they hadn't cared. They left her at her aunt’s
    with smiles, kisses and a weekend’s worth of clothes. But they hadn’t come
    back that time. She swiped a tear that slipped down the side of her face as
    her heart bled with pain that never seemed to completely go away.
    "What is wrong?" He turned her face up to him. "Am I that
    distasteful to you?"
    She sucked in a breath. If she told him about her childhood, he
    would use it to try to hold her here. Why wouldn’t he believe a lie? She
    looked down the bed to where her legs were cradled by his.
    "Fine." The anger in his voice rocked through her.
    He moved her to the side so that she lay on the bed instead of him.
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    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

    The only point where there bodies connected was their sex. Another few
    moments and even that separated.
    "Where's the bathroom?" she asked. She didn't want to stand and let
    his juices run down her legs.
    "Just stand up. We have robots that will clean the mess."
    "Ewww. Can I get a towel or something?" The wall between them
    was still there and she was clinging to her dignity by a thread. No way
    would she be able to face him with his semen streaking her legs and
    pooling at her feet.
    "Stand up," he commanded. When she didn't immediately do as he
    asked, he rolled off the bed and stomped around to her side. He grabbed
    her beneath the arms and lifted her up on her feet.
    As soon as she opened her legs, a gush of liquid poured out of her.
    Warm and sticky.
    "Why the hell did you do that?"
    "It'll help mark you as mine," he said as he stalked to the wall.
    "Open." The wall slid open revealing another room. He stepped through.
    "Wait—‚
    "Close," he said, effectively slamming the door in her face.
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    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

Chapter Seven
    "So did you find a prime catch while you were away?" his brother
    asked him as he stepped into the communal dining quarters. "Don't bother
    denying it. I can smell her all over you."
    Barrick just refrained from lifting his arm to smell. He'd spent the
    last fifteen minutes in the bathing quarters washing. Even after that he still
    found himself in a state of semi-arousal.
    He should have been depleted. But no. He closed his eyes and could
    see her. Smell her. Feel her squeezing his—
    "Barrick." His brother hit him in the arm. "Damn, she must be a
    great piece