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brAX

Brax held the small, precious body against his own as his new Mistress relaxed into slumber.

What was it about her that drew him so strongly?

He honestly couldn’t say. But he couldn’t remember ever feeling so protective of a woman before.

Well , other that his first Mistress , Leelah , but she had destroyed his trust and broken his love.

It had taken him a long time to get over her and though he finally was, telling the story of how she’d trained him and then discarded him had touched a deeply buried vein of sorrow and pain in him.

But Mistress Leelah had been considerably older than him—he’d been nothing but a stupid boy and she’d been jaded and cold. His new little Mistress was nothing like her.

Serenai was curious and cautious…innocent but courageous. She didn’t fear him even though she’d seen him fight and she trusted him enough to let him hold her as she slept. Also , she was beautiful, with her smooth brown skin and her big, dark eyes, and her full, luscious curves…

There’s just something about her , Brax thought, as he stroked her hair. She’s different from any other female I’ve ever met—she’s special.

Of course, special or not, he knew he had to guard his heart. He’d lived though the consequences of falling in love with his Mistress before, and he didn’t intend to put himself through that pain again.

But he was determined to keep her safe. So he held her close and scanned the darkness to be certain the red-eyed thing wasn’t coming back for seconds.

Nobody was going to touch his Mistress . Not unless they wanted to die.