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Baden carried her around the desk, out of striking distance

"Lethis ar "Don’t you dare whiskshape around her

She wrenched free and tried to orient herself Little details hit her awareness Masculine furnishings A ed stone walls, like those she’d seen when her family toured the abandoned castles in Romania and Budapest--when life ondrous, happiness the norht-iron sconces and a crackedhand-carved roses

Another prison? Well, this one ell earned She hadn’t protected her babies When they’d needed her most, she’d failed them They’d died in pain, alone and afraid, after she’d promised to always protect the what reth, and her knees crumpled She would have crashed into the floor if Baden hadn’t caught her and eased her down

She kicked him "Panchart! Don’t you dare touch me" She’d tried to scream the words at him, but the lump in her throat caused her to whisper "I hate you"

He straightened and held up his gloved hands in a sign of surrender A lie! This male never surrendered

"Hate you," she repeated The toxic mix of emotions wrapped her in a cold es deserved her tears, but there was no telltale burn in her eyes

Baden rubbed the spot just above his heart "You lost loved ones?"

For the first tientleness in his voice A note she resented Where had this softer side been as she’d begged him to let her search Alek’s hos, the most precious fur babies ever born, are dead Gone" She didn’t even have pictures of them The fire had destroyed physical copies, and Alek and Dominik had crashed her website "They werethem Does that please you and your beast?"

"No I’m sorry, Katarina" He crouched beside her and reached out, running a fingertip along the corner of her eye Was he searching for a teardrop?

"Save your sorry and get out of my face, kretén"

"Had I known--"

"Get out!"