Page 319 of Sins of the Heart

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“No,” she said.

He dragged his gaze to hers.

She made a huffing exhale and prodded, “Your

brothers?”

“We weren’t…raised together,” he said. “I never

met them until I was an adult.”

She frowned, clearly perplexed. “How many

brothers do you have?”

“Thr—” Pain knifed him and he stopped, gathered

his thoughts. “Two. Lokan is dead.”

Of course, she knew that already.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I am.” Her lips parted

as though she would say more, but he rested his fingers

against her mouth, stilling the words. She might be

sorry, but she was still of the Asetian Guard. Would she

choose duty over him, or him over duty, if it came

down to a choice? Would she look away as he continued his hunt for Lokan’s remains, or would she try to

stop him, as he’d come to suspect she had been ordered?

Would he allow her the choice?

He didn’t want to know. Not right now, with the

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taste of her still on his lips, and the feel of her imprinted on his skin.

Time enough to face questions of duty later.

Right now, he just wanted to saturate himself with

her. The smell of her skin. The sound of her voice. The

secrets he could coax from her lips. Not the secrets of

Aset. Onlyhersecrets. Roxy’s.

“So you were alone in a crowd,” he prompted.

“And then?”

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