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I stroke his arm. “It’s going to be okay. It won’t take long to find out, and if Raven helps maybe it will be easier than I thought. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought lately. You know how the witches always use the shadow books, for instruction and for documenting history? They’re kept in the academy.”

His eyes flash and he growls his frustration. “You are not going to the academy. You’re not getting close to that witch-infested place.”

My chest heaves with angst. “It’s the only way I have of finding out what I want to know. And you and the other vampires should want to know why too. Think about it, Corvinus. Why in the hell would they allow me on their land, unless they thought I would turn on you? In which case, so much for a truce. And they sure as hell don’t want you around.Look how mad Devora was that you were here. Tell me why, vampire?”

“No matter. You’re not going.”

My eyes widen with surprise. “You are not the boss of me.”

Corvinus rolls me over with one flip, caging me with his body, and looks down at me. “Mine to protect even from yourself,” he growls.

“I’m not,” I whisper into the darkness. The thought of belonging to someone again, to even trying to commit sends my heart racing like a runaway train.I can’t, it’s too soon.

His silence hangs between us as thick as fog. “I’m not letting you go. That’s not our destiny. If you can’t commit to being mine for an eternity, you’ll do it for a year. A year of belonging to me, spending most of our time in Chicago at my estate, taking you to clubs, allowing you to experience things you’ve never been able to feel before.”

“And in exchange,” I whisper.

“I’ll protect you while you find yourself, locate your gramma and whatever it is you believe is in the witches’ shadow books. But you’ll be hooked to my side, and you’ll do as I ask, when I ask it, and be at the mercy of every sexual pleasure I wish to explore. That’s the deal.”

Deep-seated arousal floods through me as I contemplate an entire year of lust-filled rendezvous with the devil. I’ve been warned about the dark-souled lord and his proclivities. The billionaire is used to getting exactly what he wants when he wants it and I should proceed with extreme caution. Yet, my lips begin to speak before my mind can slow the words. “It’s a deal, but first, there’s one thing I must do. Coming with me, vampire?” I ask, watching as his eyes flare red, gazing at me as though connected to my very soul.