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I'm going to need to get some waste pick-up bags," Valerie muttered and then gave a start when Anders rested his hands on her shoulders from behind. "We'll do that when the stores open," he promised, pulling her back against his chest and bending his head to press butterfly kisses to her ear. Valerie was melting into him when he started to move her hair aside to kiss her neck. She immediately stiffened and pulled away, one hand rising self-..
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Lynsay Sands |
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b2c9dac
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Christ, that had been an experience and a half. After all the panic and hurry, he'd charged downstairs only to find Valerie standing by the French doors in the kitchen looking guilty, mortified, and cute as a button in an overlarge T-shirt. The memory brought a smile to his face that quickly faded as he considered Valerie and how to gain her trust enough that she wouldn't run screaming for the hills when he eventually risked explaining who ..
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Lynsay Sands |
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It's okay. There's no one to contact or worry." "No one?" Leigh asked and she could hear the frown in her voice. Valerie shook her head. "I was an only child. My grandparents died one after another of heart attacks and cancer as I was growing up and my parents died three years ago in a car accident. There's just myself and an aunt who moved to Texas thirty years ago. I've only seen her twice since then. At her parents' funerals." She shrugg..
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Lynsay Sands |
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He'd set her on her side facing him, and her mouth now hung open, a small string of drool slipping from it. For some reason the sight made warmth rattle through his chest and brought a smile to his lips. She was just so damned adorable to him. The thought made him smile wryly. He'd been all set to order his men to the horses and ride out of here rather than marry the lass who was the Withram's second daughter, and then he'd spotted her and ..
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Lynsay Sands |
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996902b
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It was as if, once she was married, the woman had washed her hands of the girl. However, the welts on her back had been the final straw. Aye, they would leave for MacKay first thing tomorrow morning, Ross determined. He would take her home, where they could consummate their marriage in the bed where she would one day give birth to their children. Annabel's life here was done. She was his now.
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What's 'Anders' short for?" He blinked his thoughts away and glanced to Valerie. She was looking more relaxed now that he wasn't approaching, and her head was tipped curiously as she waited for his answer. Apparently he wasn't quick enough answering, because she went on, "Or is it your last name like you call Justin by his last name Bricker?" "It's a short form of my last name," he answered. Her eyebrows rose. "Which is?" "Andronnikov." Tha..
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Lynsay Sands |
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Okay, I guess I can start with what I told you about my family this morning. My father being killed, my mother raising me to twelve and so on." Valerie raised an eyebrow, half suspecting that he was going to tell her those were all lies. "It was all true," he assured her. "But I left out a couple of pertinent details." "What details?" she asked warily. Anders struggled briefly, and then admitted, "That it all took place in the fourteenth ce..
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Lynsay Sands |
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caad399
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So, you aren't dead?" He smiled faintly. "No. Just old." "Oh yeah," she muttered, shaking her head. He was born in 1357? The man was ancient. But he looked damned good for ancient, and he wasn't dead, so he presumably still had a soul. An old one, but a soul just the same. Valerie hadn't been to church since her parents had been taken from her, but was still glad she wasn't pissing off the big guy by getting tangled up with some soulless bl..
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Lynsay Sands |
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c3264e5
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You guys put them all on a boat and sent them over here to North America a couple of hundred years ago." "The English maybe would do such a thing. Is what they did with the criminals, so maybe they would send you the smelly cats. But no the Italians. We would no be so cruel."
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Lynsay Sands |
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What does my being your life mate mean exactly?" Anders stared at her blankly, and then said, "I told you, a life mate is a rare and precious treasure. They are someone an immortal can live with happily and in peace." "Yes, but--" Valerie hesitated, a bit frustrated in her effort to verbalize what she wanted to know. Finally, she just asked, "What do you want from me, Anders?" "You," he said simply, and reached out to take her hands gently ..
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Lynsay Sands |
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Valerie sat back in her seat and sipped at her wine, doing her best to ignore the way Anders's leg was pressing against her own under the table. He had been touching, brushing up against, or sneaking caresses all night. First under cover of their working together in the kitchen and then under cover of the table as they'd eaten. He was driving her wild.
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Lynsay Sands |
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Leigh mentioned that you're a vet in Winnipeg, here to take some courses to update your skills?" "Yes." Valerie grimaced. "That was the idea, but if they don't catch this guy in the next day or two, I'll have to give up the courses until next semester and if that happens, I might as well head home." "What?" Anders turned on her sharply. Valerie bit her lip, not very happy at the thought herself. She would have liked to get to know him bette..
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You really should pull over and eat yours before it completely melts, Anders. It will only take a couple minutes." "I don't have a sundae," Anders said grimly. "That's Leigh's. She said she wanted two, so she has two." "And I told you I lied so you could have one because I knew you were too annoyed to order one for yourself," Leigh said patiently. "Pull over and eat it, Anders. I promise you it's the best thing you've ever tasted." When he ..
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So were you born and raised in Winnipeg, or Ontario?" Anders asked. "Cambridge, Ontario," Valerie answered reluctantly, knowing what question would come next. It was Bricker who asked it. "Then how did you end up opening a clinic in Winnipeg?" Valerie considered how best to answer, but really there was only one answer. "A man." Silence filled the SUV briefly and then Anders said, "You aren't married." It wasn't really phrased as a question,..
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Lynsay Sands |
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No matter how bad the situation gets, or how low you feel, there is still one little grain of hope left in your heart, and that makes you strong. It forces you eventually to wipe away the tears, slap a bandage on your wounds, and reenter the fray.
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Lynsay Sands |
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What the hell," he breathed "There are worse things than being a sex slave"
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She's doing very well though. She hasn't once complained about the pain she's in." "She's in pain?" Anders asked, glancing sharply to the rearview mirror to eye the woman in the backseat. "She has a hole in her back, Anders," Leigh said dryly. "It's healed a lot the last couple days, but it's still sore." "Valerie has a rather impressive ability to block pain," Marguerite commented. "It must be from all those years of martial arts she's tak..
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Lynsay Sands |
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Decker lifted his eyes skyward, expecting something to happen. He didn't know what, perhaps for the stars overhead to explode into shimmery fireworks, or for the sky to crack open and pour down rain and thunder to mark the moment. But nothing happened. The most important moment of his life arrived not with a bang as he'd always expected, but with the quiet rustle of wind through the trees and a serene breeze brushing his cheeks.
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Lynsay Sands |
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It seemed she would marry, be a wife to this unknown Scot, the mother of his children, and lady of his people . . . Lord save them all. R
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Does Roxy sleep with you, or should I take her downstairs?" "Oh, no. She sleeps with me," Valerie said, glancing to Roxy herself. "Lucky dog," he murmured and caught her surprised glance before he stepped out and pulled the door closed."
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Lynsay Sands |
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There was nothing soft or serene about his appearance, nothing small and dainty. Ross was huge and rough-looking, a walking wall of muscle-rippling, spicy-smelling, rumbling-voiced man. He
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She would have slid off the island then, but Anders had come around and was standing in front of her. "Oh. Hi," she said like a brainless twit. "Hi," Anders responded and reached for her waist. She thought he was going to lift her down. She thought wrong. Instead, he clasped her waist, stepped between her legs and kissed her. It was just a gentle brushing of his lips at first, then firmer, and then his tongue slid out to nudge her lips open..
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Amazing." Anders glanced around with a start. He found Lucian leaning against the door frame, eyeing him with amusement. "What?" he asked, sitting up straight. "How everything can change so swiftly," Lucian said dryly, moving into the kitchen. Anders watched him get a glass out of the cupboard before asking mildly, "And what is it you think is changing?" "Three days ago when you first realized you couldn't read her and that she might possib..
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An English lass," Marach muttered, joining the conversation with a sorrowful shake of the head. Ross chuckled, but shrugged mildly as they approached the gates of Waverly. "A lass is a lass." "And an English lass is an English lass," Gilly said grimly as they rode over the bridge across the moat. "I've yet to meet an English lass who did no' look down her nose at us 'heathen Scots.' They're all spoiled rotten." "Hmm," Ross said with a sigh...
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Valerie, do you have a coffee?" Anders asked as he retrieved plates from the cupboard. "No. It only finished dripping just before you came in," she answered, turning the last two pancakes. "I haven't had a chance to grab one." He didn't comment, but a moment later set a fresh cup of coffee down beside her. "Thank you," Valerie murmured and picked it up to take a tentative sip. Her eyes widened as she tasted it. "Cream and one sugar, right?"..
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He then turned back to his bride and paused as he noted the welts on her back. Ross recognized them as whip marks at once and it made him stiffen with rage at the thought of anyone touching her so in violence. He hadn't cared much for her parents; their demeanor was cool and uncaring toward their daughter. He hadn't seen a single sign of affection for her, but this pushed his feelings for them from indifferent to active dislike. Mouth
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Lynsay Sands |
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What I have learned is that people are what is important . . . family and friends. They are the only thing of any real value in life. They see you into this world and they see you out, and they are your only real support in between. Money buys food, clothing, and a roof over your head. Food lasts minutes in your mouth and then you're hungry again hours later. Clothing changes with each season, and a roof over your head is just that, a roof...
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Lynsay Sands |
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fd78196
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What I have learned is that people are what is important . . . family and friends. They are the only thing of any real value in life. They see you into this world and they see you out, and they are your only real support in between. Money buys food, clothing, and a roof over your head. Food lasts minutes in your mouth and then you're hungry again hours later. Clothing changes with each season, and a roof over your head is just that, a roof...
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Lynsay Sands |
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a597f08
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Bastien noticed that the two women hugged and touched and patted a lot. It was nice in one way, warm and affectionate, but he also felt a pinch of jealousy, wishing he was the recipient of some of those hugs, pats and touches. But Terri had been keeping her distance since Kate and Lucern had arrived. She'd even been avoiding eye contact, and that troubled him. He wanted to put his arm around her and claim her as his own. She didn't seem to ..
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Okay. Let's see..." She considered her past, and then smiled wryly and shook her head. "Well, I was a perfume maker, Amaone, concubine, a duchess, a pirate, a madam, and then a hunter." Harper's eyebrows had slid up his forehead as she rattled of her resume."
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No, my eldest brother. He was named after our father. Our parents died when the Romans first invaded, and Stephano then became the "head of the family". " She grimaced. "He and I are like oil and water. Or we were. We get along well enough now, though." She grinned. "But boy did he pitch a fit over the concubine thing. He even called in Uncle Lucian to deal with me." Harper's eyebrows rose. "I'm surprised Lucian bothered to intervene." ..."..
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Lynsay Sands |
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Bastien's gaze dropped to Terri's behind as he followed her out of the office. He was beginning to understand Lucern's fascination with Kate's behind. Not that he found Kate's rear end fascinating, but Terri's? Well, that was another matter.
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By rights, this should have been his spoonful if they were now going to share the sweet, so Terri was surprised when, instead of consuming the mouthful, Bastien started to move it toward her. She was even more surprised when he paused halfway and deliberately tipped it over her chest. Terri gasped and sat up straighter in surprise, merely sending the sticky mixture faster on its travels down the curve of her left breast. "You did that on pu..
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I do not think I wish you smashing my pie with your truncheon." Adrian stilled and blinked. There was that truncheon word again and he had no idea what she was talking about. Smashing her pie with his truncheon? That did not even make sense. "I fear I have no idea what you are talking about, wife." Clarissa gave a little jerk at the last word, then said, "I mean, I do not want you breaking my veil with your key." Rather than helping him und..
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He opened his mouth to ask what she was about, but the question never made it past his lips. She was naked from the top of her head to the tips of her toes . . . and absolutely beautiful. His bride was a fine figure of a woman, all soft and round. Just the way he liked his women, and his mouth watered at the sight. But it was a very brief view he got before she tugged a long shirt on and let it drop to curtain all that loveliness. "What the..
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She'd found it was always best to live in the here and now rather than waste time with past events or what she couldn't have and what could have been. Mind you, living in the here and now wasn't always easy, but she did her best.
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She loves me?" Vincent nodded, then grinned. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get in your car and get to the airport. Follow her," he said. "You have to go explain the truth. Tell her everything. She loves you, Bastien. You need to tell her you aren't dying, and that she will never have to watch you die a long lingering death."
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The unfairness of it all was rather depressing. Not only did men get to enjoy sex, which from all accounts was painful for the woman, but they didn't have to suffer monthly bleeding, or push huge babies out into the world from their own bodies, which was not only painful but often killed the woman. Truly, it did seem to her that women often got the short end of the stick in life. The
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You're a vampire." Her voice was disbelieving, and she was nodding her head up and down in a way that didn't look promising. "Fine. Bite me." Terri held her arm out in challenge, and Bastien frowned. "Terri, I don't want to bite you," he said. Then he paused and said more honestly, "Well, actually, I am a pit peckish right at the moment, but I'd rather not--" "Uh-huh. Bite me!" she snapped. "If you're a vampire, bite me." Bastien peered at ..
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screwed her courage to the sticking place
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Because he is frightfully strong," the man said solemnly. "In character as well as physical strength. He always judges fairly, always does what needs doing, and, if he approves of you or your cause, he will fight to the death for you."
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Are you brothers or something then?" Russell exchanged a glance with Francis and they both smiled faintly, before the fair-haired man took her arm to urge her away from the bed. "Or something," Russell"
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But what popped up was no girl.
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Lynsay Sands |
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She had earned his respect as a boy and should be given at least as much respect now that he knew she was a woman.
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Lynsay Sands |