”“I’ve been calling for you for ten minutes! Where have you been? What’re you up to?”“I just needed to get out and clear my head for a bit... I was just doing some exercise.”Marilyn smiled and looked relieved. “Oh, okay. I thought maybe you had gotten lost or something.”I had to laugh at that. “Marilyn, this island ain’t all that big! It can’t be more than a mile or two wide in most places. All I have to do is walk towards the sun and in less than an hour I’ll find myself someplace wet and. The only problem is that the meeting is first thing tomorrow, and it’ll mean you hunting through files until after you’ve been meant to go home tonight? You haven’t got anything on this evening, have you? I know it’s a big ask, but you wouldn’t mind helping me out, would you?”He would have worked right through the night for her if she asked. He smiled, his nerves making his lips press together more tightly than he would have liked. “No, I don’t mind. I’ll do it, no problem.”She smiled, and at. Depends on my needs.“To do what I did with you was to know in advance what it meant for me ... eternal bondage to you. I took your soul, but I’ve given you my freedom. I am yours. You own me. Now, you need only claim me, bind me to you with the Collar. When a female of our kind wears a male’s collar, she is his ... forever. Unless he is dusted as my previous master was, centuries ago, she belongs to him for eternity. Always his. Always enslaved to him.“You should also know that you can keep. Devlin. I assure you, I can take good care of myself"."Really? Is that why there are dark circles under your eyes? Or why a few hours ago you were suffering again from a migraine? Or why you look so damn miserable?"He was angry now but so was she. She rose and stood still in front of him. "Why don't you just admit that you're here because you want to take me to France with you? You just can't accept the fact that I quit. I'm some kind of lost property that you want back, right?"He didn't answer.