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55
Aubrey Ross
leave the ship. So, Mrs. Smith, shall we order room service? It s complimentary, you
know.
Smiling despite the anxiety churning within her, she turned to face him. I ll have
to stay in the cabin. Too many people know me.
Oh, I ll find ways of keeping you entertained. He lounged against the door
leading back into the cabin. A violent shiver shook her. Sensory overload. His dark gaze
consumed her, his handsome face muddled her thinking and focused her attention
entirely on him. What happened in the cabin? What did Warrick do to you?
She closed her eyes for a split second and he moved, pressed her against the
balcony with his warm body. Why wouldn t he let it go? He couldn t change the past.
Another distinct shiver escaped her, but this time revulsion inspired the tremor.
I ll kill him if
He& used what you were doing to& He took the moment in time when I was
ready to kill you and replayed it over and over.
Cupping her cheek with his palm, he stared deeply into her eyes. I am so sorry.
She laughed. I said that to you and you looked like you wanted to hit me.
I would never hurt you. Surely you know that. Are you still willing to explain?
His thumb brushed her lower lip. I m ready to listen.
She nodded and his hands moved to the railing on either side of her. Did he fear
she d run away? She d waited eight years to tell this tale. There was no way she was
going anywhere until he understood what had really happened.
My family isn t rich and powerful like yours, she began, but my abilities
brought me to the attention of some very influential people. Before my training was
even complete, I was recruited by your uncle, Tilden.
You re not a Death Keeper. What did Tilden recruit you for?
You don t think it would be beneficial for an assassin to work with an illusionist?
Odd, the Death Keepers were more than happy to exploit my abilities.
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Krystle
He absorbed this for a moment. How long did you work for the Death Keepers?
He didn t try to touch her, just remained near, his gaze intent upon her face.
Until I was given to the Shadow Master.
Jax s eyes widened and his lips trembled. My father
For an assignment, Jax. I didn t mean it like that. She laughed and shook her head.
Has it really been so long that you ve forgotten our first night together?
He closed his eyes and scrubbed the lids with his fingertips, shaking away his
momentary panic. He was such an ass! She d been a virgin the first time they made
love. How could he have forgotten? What assignment did my father have for you?
She didn t answer for a long, strained moment. He wanted me to spy on his son.
She paused. I was told he suspected you of conspiring with Alrick to overthrow him.
Jax pushed off from the rail and spun away. It was worse than he ever imagined.
Anger and betrayal tore through him, shredding his calm and ripping open half-healed
wounds. I was an assignment? My father paid you to sleep with me?
Anger sparked within her light-blue eyes. I m not a whore. Your father paid me to
monitor your activities and that s what I did. The rest& just happened.
Memories, bittersweet and intense, assailed him. He couldn t speak, couldn t think,
could only remember.
Why did he mistrust you? Two weeks into my assignment I knew his suspicions
were unfounded, and told him so. Still he insisted I continue.
My mother had an affair around the time she became pregnant with me. Jerreth
has never been completely convinced that I am his son. I knew he resented me, but
this&
You said something while you had me& tied up that started me thinking.
He leaned against the cabin door, too upset to touch her. What did I say?
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Aubrey Ross
You claimed that we are bonded mates. I ve been in denial about that aspect of
what happened. Is it possible your father activated Pim Noctar to make sure we couldn t
resist each other?
Hating the dead was such a waste of time, but every word she uttered only
deepened his resentment of Jerreth Severn. Not only possible, likely. He knew I
wouldn t keep secrets from a lover, so he sent me a woman I couldn t resist. Gods, I
never realized what a bastard he really was.
She turned back to face the ocean. Her pale-blonde hair rippled in the breeze. He
couldn t have known that I would leave you. He must have figured you d keep me as
your mistress and find a suitable wife.
That doesn t excuse his ruthlessness. He wanted to bury his face in the silken
strands as he undressed her slowly. But the story was only half-told. She d explained
what brought them together, not what tore them apart. If I was more than an
assignment, why did you leave without saying goodbye? Why let me wonder what
happened to you for eight long years?
What was the first thought that crossed your mind when I explained that I worked
for your father?
He d accused her of being a whore, paid to seduce him.
She didn t make him admit it. Still facing the ocean, she said, And that was after
eight years. Think how much more passionate your reaction would have been if I d told
you at the time. She finally turned around. The setting sun created a golden nimbus
out of her hair. Matriarch Flame approached me on the beach that morning and
explained the mission. She said it was a cut all ties and disappear assignment. I had to
make up my mind right there and then.
She tracked you down and walked up to you on the beach? What were you even
doing out of bed?
A sad little smile tugged at her lips. I was watching the sunrise and remembering
what you d done while I watched it set. She shook away the memory and forced
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Krystle
herself to go on. I knew no matter how I tried to break it to you gently, you would
never forgive me, so I accepted her terms.
It all made perfect sense and yet it did nothing to eliminate the aching loss they had
suffered during their years apart.
I d never been in love before. Her voice caressed him, but her gaze darted away.
I thought it was that intense for everyone. It was only after I came through the Veil
and the cravings began that I suspected I d made a horrible mistake.
You honestly didn t realize we had bonded? He had experienced casual sex. He
recognized the difference immediately while she d had nothing to compare it to.
I figured the depression and the loneliness would have happened when you ended
our relationship, so I just concentrated on the job and toughed it out.
Why are you so sure I would have ended our relationship?
Your father hired me to spy on you. As soon as you realized I was a spy, you
would have tossed me out on my ass.
So much had happened in the past eight years, Jax was inclined to agree. It wasn t
until after Jerreth s death that Jax had begun to mature and mellow. When his brother
Jarek took over as Shadow Master, Jax had finally been able to put the past behind him
and move on. At least the portions of his past that his father influenced. The thought
brought him up short.
This was all Jerreth s doing. His father s irrational suspicion had set this fiasco in
motion. You never tried to contact me. Not even once.
It was forbidden. My broken heart was nothing compared to Lorran s life.
Was your heart broken? Did you grieve for me?
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Aubrey Ross
Chapter Six
Krystle took his hand and led him back into the cabin. I know we can t actually
change the past. But for tonight I want to pretend. I want to go back to our last night
together and rewrite the ending. Then we can continue on in the direction our lives
were meant to go.
He smiled and her heart lurched within her breast. Gods, how she d missed his
smile!
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