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nerve ending of my traitorous body. “I wanted you the moment I laid eyes on you.” He placed his cheek against mine so his lips hovered at my ear. His lips brushed my earlobe, and I shivered. “And I take what I want.”

Chapter 4
    I take what I want.
    No one had ever wanted me. Not my parents, not the suitors my father tried to pawn me off on. Not even my own husband. Something blossomed in my chest to replace the crippling fear. Azriel’s tone dared me to challenge him on the matter. And for the life of me, I could detect nothing but honesty in his words. He. Wanted. Me.
    “I’m not special,” I said. He hadn’t pulled away from me, and his warm breath tickled my ear. He laughed softly, and I shuddered.
    “You have no idea how special you are,” Azriel murmured. He traced his nose up the ridge of my ear, and I all but melted against the wall. I couldn’t slow the wild beat of my heart, and my breath came as if I’d run all the way from San Francisco to Seattle. My hands, which had been balled in fists at my side, slowly crept between us and I pressed my palms into the unyielding muscles of his chest. Marble. Azriel was a god cut from stone. “I will never hurt you,” he said. “I will never treat you with cruelty.” He dipped his head and placed a gentle kiss where my pulse pounded in my throat. “But, Darian, do not doubt that you are mine.” His face met mine and his eyes burned with the intensity of his vow. “Forever.”
    Mine. Forever. I couldn’t explain it, but his words felt right. He wanted me when no one else ever had. I couldn’t explain his motives for wanting me. For killing Henry, changing me into this inhuman thing, and taking me away. But I didn’t care. I wanted him too.
    “There are no others like us?” I asked.
    “None.”
    It was all too much to process. My life, my very existence, had changed in the blink of an eye. And I had Azriel to thank for it. “You said your Fae forefather had dubbed your kind as Shaede. What of his people?”
    Azriel shrugged as if he cared not for any other creature, human or otherwise. “Few and far between,” he said. “You needn’t worry your pretty head about it. There is not a creature roaming this earth that would cause us trouble. We. Are. Alone.”
    With each word his mouth neared mine. When our lips were within a hair’s breadth, I left my physical body behind, melting into shadow. I slipped from beneath the prison of Azriel’s arms and regained my solid form at the open French doors. The night breeze stirred the drapes and brought with it the salt tang of the waterfront. Even with my heightened senses, I could see nothing of this new city as I stared out across the balcony. Only the dotted lights of the street lamps told me civilization lay somewhere below.
    “So,” Azriel sighed as he turned to lean against the wall. He folded his arms across his chest and followed my gaze out the open doors. “I take it my fiery maiden has found her modesty once again.”
    I fiddled with the bodice of my torn dress, pulling at the fabric. “I suppose I have.” I wished I didn’t feel so utterly exposed when Azriel looked at me. “After all, I barely know you.”
    Azriel gave a rueful laugh and pushed himself away from the wall. He sauntered to the bed, again looking like an animal on the prowl. In one fluid motion, he became nothing more than a swirl of dark air, and when he reappeared he was sprawled out on the bed. “Alas, I shall be lonely still.” He made a dramatic show of fluffing the pillows behind him. “For another night, at least. If you don’t want to join me, I suppose I’ll leave you to the sofa. I trust it will accommodate you.”
    I stood gaping as Azriel extinguished the lamp. It only took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light and I watched as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. He seemed to revel in the attention, drawing out the act for an inordinate amount of time. My stomach clenched as he shucked the