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Chapter 63 –Goodbyes– Raine's POV

Once Ivy and Talon left, I headed toward the door. Alaric stopped me, "Wait, we cannot return until I hear from Micage."

I looked at him in surprise.

He explained pointedly, "Your actions riled up Marku to the point of needing release. Since he cannot have you, he demanded two pets be brought to him during the intermission. Cage agreed to stay, so that he could let us know when it was safe to return."

"Oh," I breathed as I understood. From Alaric's words, it was clear that Marku was publicly engaging in sex, rather than taking the pets to a private room. I shuddered in revulsion, thankful that I didn't have to witness his disgusting behavior.

Abruptly, the door open and Cage walked into the room.

My heart beat faster as I stared at him.

He looked at Alaric and said, "The show is over. However, now they are cleaning the table before we resume."

Cleaning the table? Then it made sense. I wrinkled my nose in distaste and let out a sickened, "Ewwww."

Cage chuckled at my expression and assured me, "Don't worry. They didn't get close to where you are seated."

I exhaled in relief.

Cage raised an eyebrow at me and teased, his voice low with approval, "Thesis paper, huh?"

I giggled, "He needed to believe I was totally incompetent in business."

"You have no idea how hard it was for me not to laugh," Cage grinned.

Alaric interrupted wryly, "Well at least you knew the truth. She had me in a full-blown panic."

I smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about that. If I could have told you what I was doing, I would have. If it makes you feel any better, your anger helped convince him. I think my favorite part was when you forbade me to continue," I snickered, unable to stop myself from teasing him.

He laughed and said chagrined, "Fuck, I was seconds away from forcibly removing you from the meeting until your common sense returned. It wasn't until shortly after that asinine 'thesis paper' comment, that I realized he wasn't fighting you on it." Alaric nodded in Cage's direction. "And then I understood what you were doing. I feel honored to have assisted you in swindling Marku out of $500K and his newly acquired pet."

Cage held my gaze and his voice lowered as he purred, "You were fucking brilliant."

I blushed at the pride I could hear in his words.

"Let's go. They should be ready now," Cage murmured.

Alaric and I followed him through the door.

..........

Thankfully there were only two more hours until the meeting was officially over. Alaric stayed by my side as we wrapped up our final goodbyes.

I instructed Echo to continue running the country I now owned, which was still a completely foreign concept to me. At his pleading, I agreed to visit in a few months once everything was settled. And he promised to pay me back the $500K that I had transferred to Marku, within the original six-month deadline.

Hayden found me next. He embraced me and whispered in my ear, "You already own a country. It sounds as though the prophecy has begun..."

I was a little surprised that he wasn't worried I would turn against him. Particularly now that I owned a country of vampires. But as I thought about his words, it did make me wonder if there was some validity to the prophecy after all. I wasn't sure if I liked that idea or whether it scared the shit out of me.

I pushed it out of my mind.

I had a much harder goodbye to face – Cage.

I saw him across the room. He was watching me, his features hard, trying to mask the pain inside. I wondered if my face revealed my heartache as well.

True to his intuitive nature, Alaric murmured in my ear, "Go say goodbye." I was actually a little shocked by how well Alaric was taking my history with Cage. Especially when he 'cocked up' right after learning it was Cage who I had been with before. Alaric had kissed me fiercely, trying to remove Cage's thoughts from my head, and replace them with memories of his own. But he had calmed down and actually worked with Cage during the meeting to protect and help me.

I left his arms and walked a little unsteadily across the room alone to Cage. Cage's silver eyes dilated completely, his intensity growing with each one of my steps. When I reached his side, he placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me toward the exit I had gone out with Marku a few days ago. I walked willingly by his side.

When we reached the exterior, the night was dense with clouds blocking the lights of the stars and moon. We walked to a secluded area of the landscape. Cage pulled me into his chest and said painfully, "Fuck, saying goodbye to you never gets easier. Watching you walk away from me..." his voice trailed off, unable to continue.

I held him tightly, unwilling and unable to let go, electricity sparking up and down my body at his touch.

He inhaled my scent deeply and groaned, "What have you done to me, Dolce Tigru?"

A tear slipped down my cheek. I felt like I was going to break in half. I whimpered, "Cage.."

His head came down to my neck and he whispered, "Shhh...don't cry, love."

I tried unsuccessfully to contain my emotion.

His lips began to move methodically against the sensitive skin of my neck, kissing and caressing as he comforted me, "Shhh...It will be okay...Please don't cry."

His touch was meant to soothe, but the instant his mouth began to move, fire erupted from my core, shimmering along my skin, sending tingles throughout my entire body.

He inhaled sharply, catching up to my arousal in an instant. His hands tightened on my hips, bringing my lower body closer into contact with the now hard bulge in his pants. He moved seductively against me in a rhythm my body knew well and ached for.

I gasped, unable to catch my breath, as adrenaline and fire raced through my veins. His tongue drew a slow, purposeful line along my carotid artery. Shockingly I felt his fangs descend and scrape along my neck. He had never come close to biting me before.

I shivered hard at the sensation.

Even more shockingly, I desperately wanted to feel his fangs sink into my flesh, claiming me, binding me to him. Like a moth drawn to a flame, I burned brightly under his touch.

Abruptly, Cage stiffened, his back ramrod straight.

Panic coursed through me when I heard the voice of the last person I wanted to hear. Marku's lips curled into a wicked, knowing grin as he purred, "Very interesting...Promised to one, but dripping wet for another."

I had had just about enough of him and snapped angrily, "What the fuck do you want?!"

His eyes swirled black with predatory intent as he said huskily, "I must say, you just get more and more tempting. If you wanted to avoid my attention, you have failed miserably with the scent of your arousal in the air."

He inhaled deeply and actually had to adjust himself in his pants, not at all bothered by his obvious erection. He growled low, "You have no idea how fucking hard it is for me not to take you from him, right here and now. But soon...Princess, soon...I am going to bathe myself in your intoxicating scent. I haven't gone down on a woman in years. Why would I bother? But you...You would bring me to my knees for just one taste. Fuck, the scent of your arousal is mouthwatering." He licked his lips as he stared at me hungrily.

"Look, motherfucker..." Cage growled viciously and moved to step around me. I grasped him tighter, using my body to keep him from attacking Marku on the spot. I had no doubt that if I had not been in his arms, he would have already tried to kill Marku.

Marku continued, unbothered by Cage's fierce posturing, "I have already put the elements in motion. It won't take much more to convince Armand of the obvious. Having you by my side would benefit him tremendously."

"I will never willingly stand at your side!" I spat.

He chuckled, "I am not particularly concerned whether or not you are willing. I rather enjoy the fire inside of you. I wonder how long it will take before I break you."

Cage snarled, "I'll kill you before I let you touch her!"

Marku just chuckled and walked away.

I shuddered hard.

Cage wrapped his arms around me tighter. He murmured tightly, "As much as I hate it, Tigru, its time."

I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

Once again, he whispered the words he had sworn so many times in the past, "I will love you forever."

My heart clenched tightly, knowing it was the last time I would hear those words. I rasped, "I love you too."

We reentered the building and my eyes adjusted to the light. Cage guided me by the arm across the room, toward Alaric. When we reached him, Cage growled, "We ran into Marku. I don't know the details, but that bastard has a plan in motion."

Alaric's expression was equally hard as he swore, "Fuck, I anticipated he might. She will be protected here. He won't get anywhere near her."

With that, Cage fixed his gaze on me one last time, nodded shortly and walked away. I held my breath, trying to keep my insides from falling apart, as I watched his retreating back.

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