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“What are you doing here?” She tried to sound like she was angry even though she was feeling incredibly relieved at the sight of him.

Her expressive face gave her away, and he shook his head. “You truly should quit lying, little pet. Your face will always give you away.”

She flushed at his words, but even so, she said stubbornly, “You haven’t answered my question.”

His beautiful green eyes bored into her. “What do you think?”

She couldn’t say the words she was thinking, afraid that it would mean hoping for nothing.

His voice lazy, he continued, “After sayingMasterover and over in your mind, after telling yourself you could swallow your pride and call me Master, what do you think?” He waited for a second,and as expected, he was rewarded with another comical look of surprise as Zari’s cheeks puffed up, reminding him once more of a cartoon character.

Zari wanted to die of embarrassment. She couldn’t believe how she had forgotten that the vampire was able to hear her thoughts.

“You can still change your mind, you know.” He stopped, frustrated at the way he was privately torn between wanting andnotwanting the soul seer to change her mind.

“It will not be an easy life with me. And though I may look and speak in an easy matter, I am unfortunately very traditional. I do not want you taking your role as my pet lightly.” His eyes narrowed. “Among other things, it means having to call me Master.” He lifted a brow. “Can you do that?”

She thought about it hard, and in the end she realized one thing. At the end of the day, Master was just a word, and it was up to her to decide what that word meant. For others, it might mean giving up one’s freedom. For herself, it meant having the vampire in her life.

Slowly, Zari nodded.

“I’m afraid that’s not good enough, pet.”

“Master.” She choked on the word and glared at him as she said it.

Too fucking cute.

Not caring that there was another person inside the jeep, he reached for Zari. In a moment, he had her on his lap, his hand in her hair and his lips on hers. He kissed her hungrily, unable tobelieve how much he loved the taste of her even though they had just met. Even though she was no one to him. Even though his heart already had someone else inside it.

When the vampire’s lips drifted down her throat, Zari arched her neck, unable to stop herself from giving him more access because it just really felt good. “Is this...part of...being...a human pet?” The way she sounded so breathless made her embarrassed, but she couldn’t help it.

The way Zari’s skin turned pink was a turn-on, and Alexandru’s lips moved back up as he took her lips for another kiss. The way she returned his kiss was still inexperienced and clumsy. It should have made the kiss distasteful and boring, but instead he found her innocence all the more arousing. He had never been a possessive lover, but with the soul seer, he realized that he liked – really fucking liked – the fact that he was the first one to kiss her, to touch her, and soon...to take her.

“With others, it’s...optional,” he whispered against her lips. He lifted his head, his gaze intense as it met hers. “But with me, it’s non-negotiable. If I shall be your Master and you my pet, I want the right to touch you as you will and make you cry out in pleasure. It’s a right that I alone shall have.” Slowly, seductively, he traced her lips. “Do you agree with that?”

Even as her cheeks turned redder at his blunt words, she whispered, “Yes.” There was no other answer, not when she couldn’t imagine any other man doing what he did to her.

When his lips curved in a smile, her heart tripped, making Zari realized how much this person had suddenly meant to her. He meant so much, to the point that she hungered for his approval. The thought had her discomfited, and she blurted out, “Alexandru?”

He raised a brow.

After a beat, she realized what it meant and she said, “Master?”

His head bent, and then he was sucking on her lip, as if giving her a reward. When he lifted his head, he asked, “What is it?”

“Is seduction one of your powers?”

He choked.

“Tell me honestly.”

“How would I know?”

She said glumly, “It must be. I’ve never been interested in boys, much less kissing, but with you I’m just...” Her hands flapped in the air.

He suppressed a smile. “Just...what?”

She glared at him.