Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

remember?"
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    He raised an eyebrow at her. " Idiot ? In all the centuries of my existence, no one has ever called me an idiot."
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    "Well, that's because everyone's afraid of you. Thomas had good reason to think you were lying.
    Don't act like one of those ridiculous men in whatever century who fought duels of honor."

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    "I have fought more than one duel in my time."
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    "Idiot," she said disrespectfully, but she was laughing. Alexandria buried her face in the flowers, inhaling the sweet fragrance. Then she raised her head and caught Aidan looking at her with that possessive, masculine intensity that caused her heart to turn over. "Do I really have to talk to the police? Can't you just do it?"
    
    There was some satisfaction in her blaming Ivan, Aidan thought, but it didn't help to have her cuddling those accursed flowers.
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    Stefan shook his head. "Actually, Aidan, the police are very interested in those bodies. It seems the way they burned was quite remarkable, as if the flames were burning from the inside out.
    There was nothing left but ashes. They couldn't ID the bodies through dental work either. I think they'll insist on speaking to both of you."
    
    Alexandria slumped against the counter, leaning heavily on Aidan. "I'm not very good at lying, Aidan. Everyone always knows when I'm lying."
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    She sounded so dejected, as if it was a terrible sin that she couldn't lie, that he smiled. "Do not worry, cara . I will handle the police. All you have to do is sit in a chair and look fragile and delicate," Aidan assured her.
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    She frowned at him as if she thought he was making fun of her. "I can't look fragile. Or delicate.
    I'm sturdy, Aidan."
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    He laughed then. He couldn't help it. The sound was deep velvet, a pure note that made Alexandria smile even as she nudged him. "Don't laugh, you ape. I swear, Aidan, you're so completely arrogant, it's scary. Has he always been this way?" She was smiling at Marie—her first genuine smile at the other woman, a sharing of feminine minds.
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    "Always," Marie said solemnly, her heart lightening. She had not realized just how afraid she had been that the house hold would change, that she and Stefan would no longer be welcome. She knew Aidan would never throw them out, but if the tension between Alexandria and herself was not resolved, sooner or later she and Stefan would have to find their own place. And Aidan's home had been her home her entire life. When she married Stefan, he had moved in and accepted the life she led, had accepted and grown to love Aidan Savage, too.
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    "I think the living room is the perfect place to put the flowers," Alexandria agreed. "When Thomas comes over, he'll be able to see them."
    
    Aidan found himself gritting his teeth. Alexandria was already flitting from the kitchen. He caught Marie by the shoulder before she could follow, leaned down, and put his mouth to her ear.
    "Couldn't you have thrown the damn things out?" The words came out somewhere between a hiss and a growl. "And just for the record, you traitor, Ivan is not her man. I am."
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    Marie looked shocked. "Not yet, you're not. I believe you still have to court her. And of course I would never throw roses out, Aidan. When a man goes to the trouble of giving a woman flowers, she should at least have the pleasure of seeing them."
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    "I thought you didn't like this bum."

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    "He can't be all bad. You should have seen his concern for her. I tell you, Aidan, he's really taken with her." Marie was deliberately, innocently enthusiastic. "I don't think you'll have to worry about her when she's with him." She attempted to sound reassuring.
    
    Behind them, Stefan was choking again. Aidan swore eloquently in three languages and followed Alexandria out of the room, shaking his head over the workings of the female mind.
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    Stefan put an arm around Marie. "Wicked, wicked woman."
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    She laughed softly. "This is fun, Stefan. And it's good for him."
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    "Be careful, woman. He is not like other men. He might kill to keep her. His nature is that of a wild predator," Stefan warned gravely. "We've never seen him like this."
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    Marie sniffed. "He will behave himself. He wouldn't dare do otherwise. That girl wants to run.
    She has sense, that one, and plenty of courage."
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    "Spirit," Stefan agreed.