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about Rachel, she knew she needed more from life than that.
Sa Rah pushed her thoughts aside. She was supposed to be having fun and relaxing today, not worrying
about her friend, herself or her future. Tomorrow was soon enough to worry about those things. Since
waking up without her memory over a month ago, Sa Rah had decided that she would face whatever
tomorrow would bring with an open heart and an open mind. What other choice did she have?
The last store Rachel and she went to was a jewelry shop. Sa Rah found a beautiful pair of earrings on
sale. They were oval with delicate filigree silver rims. The center stone was turquoise. Sa Rah wasn t sure
why, but whenever she saw turquoise jewelry, she wanted to buy it. Something about its color appealed
to her. This time was no exception.
"More turquoise? That makes one necklace, two bracelets, and two pairs of earrings. All turquoise.
Why do you like it so much, Honey?" Rachel asked, as they walked out of the store.
Sa Rah shrugged.
"I m not sure. All I know is that something inside me keeps telling me to buy it. So I do."
"You think it has to do with your past?"
Sa Rah nodded
"I think so. It s almost as if I m hunting for turquoise, as if I need it somehow. But the strangest part
about it is that every time I buy more of it, it doesn t seem enough. I love wearing it and enjoy the way it
looks, but I feel like there s something else, something better out there."
"Sounds like you re addicted to turquoise," Rachel teased.
"Must be. I can t seem to get enough of it," Sa Rah agreed with a grin, as they strolled out of the shop.
"Sounds like my ongoing love affair with chocolate. One piece is never enough. It always leads to
another and another and another. Hell, who needs a boyfriend when I have a box of chocolate?"
Sa Rah and Rachel shared a knowing smile.
Neither woman saw the man until it was too late. He bumped into Sa Rah, knocking her off balance.
She would have fallen if he hadn t caught her by the arm. So caught up in the man s golden good looks,
she barely noticed the pinch on her forearm as he steadied her. Once she had her balance, he released
her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, gazing intently at Sa Rah.
"Yes," she replied, rubbing her arm where she felt the pinch.
"Sorry," he said with a polite nod, then turned all his attention to Rachel. "My attention was diverted by a
beautiful sight. I got distracted, and didn t watch where I was going."
The man s gaze held Rachel s for several moments, then reluctantly slid back to Sa Rah.
"I apologize, again. And please forgive any more men if they get distracted. The two of you are like a ray
of sunshine on a cloudy day."
He said the words to both of them, but his stare returned to Rachel with unusual intensity. Sa Rah saw
her friend s face blush red, yet Rachel met the man s hungry gaze with her own interested one.
"Have a nice day, ladies," the man said, flashing an amazingly sexy smile, before walking away.
Silence permeated the air between them as they watched him walk away.
Rachel shook her head, and sighed, "Whatever I just said about chocolate and men, forget it. Did you
see that guy? I d rather open a box of him anytime."
Sa Rah gasped, then laughed at her friend s outrageous comment. Rachel looked at her with a
mischievous grin, and the two women continued giggling as they headed home.
* * * *
Zerik grinned. It wasn t a pleasant smile. It was predatory, hungry, and arrogantly amused. It was all
male.
He turned and watched the graceful sway of Rachel s hips as she and the princess walked away from
him. After apologizing for bumping into them, his acute hearing had let him hear their whole conversation.
He wanted to roar his pleasure to the world. Rachel was attracted to him. Her words only confirmed it.
He had sensed it as soon as their gazes met. Interest had flared in her beautiful emerald eyes. Her lips
had parted as she sighed. And her creamy skin had flushed with awareness. Desire crashed into him. It
had been difficult to leave her. He had wanted to pick her up and take her somewhere dark and private.
Somewhere he could kiss every freckle on her body, somewhere he could turn her skin pink with desire,
somewhere he could watch her face as he brought her to her peak again and again.
Growling low in his throat, Zerik shook his head to clear it. He was on a mission. An important mission.
His duty and honor demanded his success. He was here to kill a princess, not woo and claim a beautiful
female.
He had gotten irritated when he lost track of the two women earlier. The shopping area they were in was
large and filled with people. He had been embarrassed that he had lost them for a time. He was a
Diharan assassin. One of the best his people had. His hunting and tracking skills were well known. Zerik
didn t lose his prey. Ever.
Until now.
He had been too focused on the earth woman. Whenever Rachel laughed, he smiled. Whenever she
showed particular interest in something, he wanted to know what it was. Trying on clothes, she had come
out to show the princess. He had devoured each and every curve of her body with his gaze, but still he
was hungry for more. Hungry to touch and be touched.
Then Rachel had stared at the children.
They were playing by a fountain, and her eyes kept straying to them, again and again. When her
expression turned tender and wistful, it hit Zerik like a punch to the stomach. His gut twisted with longing.
Rachel wanted to have children.
His response was immediate. He wanted to give her that. He wanted to plant his seed deep inside her
again and again, and have beautiful little girls with flame colored hair and sparkling jade colored eyes.
These thoughts disturbed him. His kind rarely had offspring. As a shadow man, he had never thought
about children. It didn t fit into his solitary, violent existence. Honor and duty had been everything.
Nothing else mattered.
Until now.
Rachel made him think about things he didn t want to consider. Nevertheless, his eyes kept straying to
the playing children. The boys that would one day grow up to be men. The girls who would one day
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