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with a wave of cool, undead power that left me quivering.
    I had to take a step away from Shaz in an attempt to clear my mind. My senses were on overdrive as I became more focused on the blood pumping through his veins, hot and sweetly Were. My movement was enough for him to take note of the change in the atmosphere.
    “What’s wrong?” His entire stance changed, and he reached out to touch my shoulder. “You look all sketchy. And, it’s cold in here, like it gets when you’re all vampy.”
    I nodded as I began to feel my vampire counterpart. Close … so close. “Yeah. It’s Arys.” I breathed the words, groping blindly for Shaz in anticipation of the power rush I knew was coming. “I feel him.”
    Shaz’ jade gaze narrowed in annoyance. “He’s here?”
    The front doorbell rang, followed by an aggressive knock on the door. What could have Arys in such a foul mood? His negativity was like the sharp slap of a rubber band. It stung in places that were not physical in nature.
    “I wonder what this is all about.” I turned to the hall and approached the door with Shaz hot on my heels. He hung back near the entrance to the living room, which gave him full view of the door without being obnoxiously close.
    “I can just imagine,” he muttered but said nothing further. Leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest, he waited for me to open the door.
    I swallowed hard as butterflies set to flight within me, their wings beating hard against my ribcage. I don’t like my two lovers being in the same room for any great length of time. In fact, I go out of my way to ensure it rarely happens.
    The moment I turned the door handle, a delicious tingle coursed through me. I felt guilty when my heart raced in anticipation, knowing who was on the other side.
    Arys stood on the front step looking irate and out of place with Kylarai’s decorative flower arrangements. His jet-black hair was a stylish mess, as usual, and the angry look he wore only served to enhance his sex appeal. A black t-shirt and blue jeans may have looked casual on anybody else, but it hugged him like a drool-worthy second skin. He gnawed lightly on the metal ring that glinted off to the side of his lower lip, one of a handful of piercings he had.
    “Alexa.” He strode inside so fast I had to step out of his way to avoid getting run down. “What were you doing at The Wicked Kiss?”
    The vampire didn’t even glance at Shaz. His midnight blue eyes bore into me, making me uncomfortable. With the barest twitch of his fingers, the door swung shut behind him.
    “What do you mean? I was there to see Kale.” As my defenses kicked in I added,
    “What’s it to you, anyway?”
    The look he shot me was incredulous, and he flashed fangs to emphasize it. There was less than two feet of space between us. I resisted the urge to take a step back.
    “What’s it to me? Are you trying to get yourself killed? You should have told me that you wanted to go in there.” It was then that he caught sight and scent of my injury.
    Capturing my arm in his tight grasp, he brought it closer for inspection. “Kale did this.
    Why?”
    For the second time I retold the events of my evening. When I finished, Arys dropped my wrist and swept past me into the living room. He had to pass Shaz in the process, giving him the slightest of nods.
    “Why did you let her go there alone?” Arys suddenly rounded on the fair-haired wolf with a blazing heat in the depths of his hypnotic stare. “Have neither of you the slightest inclination as to how dangerous, not to mention stupid, that was?”
    My skin began to prickle in response to him. Though I was quickly losing my temper, a part of me enjoyed it.
    Shaz merely cast Arys a look of utter disdain. “Oh, please. That’s like asking why the sky is blue. It just is. And, so is Alexa. I’m not her keeper, and neither are you.”
    “No,” Arys retorted. “Just the one that feeds her fire and makes her a desirable target. As the one