He raised a brow. "You've prepared a feast for us for the holidays and yet you burn a simple marshmallow? Something is definitely on your mind."

She sighed. "I was thinking of my sister."

"Now, there's a depressing thought."

"Dagon," she snapped.

"Sorry," he apologized and could almost feel the sting of condemnation from Sydney and Beatrice for his thoughtless response.

"She spends much time alone, and when she is with others they always want something from her. Some

bit of wisdom, a piece of advice, the gentleness of her love."

He pulled the stick from the flames, his marshmallow perfectly roasted, and his tongue salivating for a taste. "She must have some friends."

Before the plump treat could reach his mouth, Sarina grabbed the stick and handed him her empty one. He licked his empty lips and proceeded to place another marshmallow on it. This one was his, he a.s.sured himself, and stuck it in the flames.

Sarina blew at the hot confection. "Friends?" She shook her head. "None like Ali and Sebastian."

"How about Sydney?" he asked, his eye on the marshmallow that was browning nicely.

"Sydney was her student and as such respects her as a teacher would, and while I am sure Tempest

regards her as a friend, it is not the type of friendship of which you share close thoughts and secrets." "Do you share that with your sister?" He eyed her marshmallow suspiciously. She had almost finished it, and he feared his treat might just be in danger of disappearing again. "The past few years have been difficult," she admitted reluctantly, but her eyes brightened as he took his marshmallow from the flames. She reached for it enthusiastically, and he couldn't deny her. He surrendered his treat to her yet again.

He was not one to give up, and so he skewered another marshmallow to the stick. "Why the difficulty?" She nibbled at the sweet plump treat, licking her lips and making him envious. "She insisted that it was time I searched for a lifemate. She told me that I spent much too much time alone." That caught his curiosity. "Did you?" "I have friends." "That's not what I asked." "I went out," she said defensively. "To the woods?"

She plopped the last of the marshmallow into her mouth and eyed the one roasting in the flames.

"Don't even think about it," he warned her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"So your sister was right then, you did spend too much time alone."

Sarina intended to argue and suddenly thought better of it. Her sister had been concerned for her for

some time. It had started off with a suggestion that she go here or there, or Tempest would tell her of a male witch that she had met whom Sarina might find interesting, but her response was always the same. She always claimed she was far too busy.

"I suppose I did," she admitted with reluctance.

He yanked the marshmallow from the flames and waved the stick gently to cool it down. "Then perhaps you could present that as your best feat, finding a lifemate." She watched him bring the gooey roasted fluff to his lips, and she turned sad eyes on him. The marshmallow sat barely an inch from his mouth, he could smell its sweetness and almost taste the brown roasted parts, but then there were her eyes, pale blue and longing, and he melted as badly as the marshmallow. "Here," he said and shoved the stick at her. "Oh, thank you," she said with glee and greedily took the treat. He had no intentions of roasting another, she'd only steal it away from him. "So what do you think?"

"I think you roast the best marshmallows in the world."

He smiled and shook his head. d.a.m.n but he loved her, really honest to goodness loved her. It surprised him sometimes just how strong his love was and how much it had enriched his life. Was that what her sister wanted for her?

"Your sister loves you."

"Very much," Sarina agreed.

He grew excited. "Then the spell wasn't cast to hurt you but to help."

She nodded, finishing the last of the marshmallow. "I realize that now. I thought her angry, and while she

probably was to some degree, she would have never taken her anger out on me, it just isn't her way."

"So then this might just work."

"What might work?"

"Your best feat being that you found a lifemate. After all, she knew you would possess no powers, so,

therefore, your feat would have to be more of your own making, and what better feat than finding a lifemate." "Perhaps?" "What do you mean, perhaps?" he asked, perturbed.

"Well, witches find lifemates all the time-there's no great feat to it."

"Really?" he asked curtly. "And how long did it take you to find someone with whom you could share magical moments and who would proclaim a love that is rare?"

She refused to answer, she just stared at him.

He refused to be denied. "How long?"

She relented with a snappish reply. "A year."

"So it wasn't easy, then?"

"No, it wasn't. It was hard. I couldn't find anyone that suited me."

"Or would tolerate your clumsiness," he said with a laugh.

"Well, you didn't exactly find it simple to choose a lifemate," she retaliated. "Actually you set your

standards so high you would have never been satisfied."

"I did not!" he defended with a huff.

"You didn't?" she asked incredulously. "Choosing the Ancient One as a lifemate without meeting her

first or even bothering to determine if she would be interested in you is normal?"

"Why wouldn't she be interested in me?"

"Because my sister would never hurt me that way," she said, before thinking.

Dagon looked shocked. "What do you mean?"

Sarina dropped her chin and stared at her hands in her lap.

"Sarina," he said softly and reached out to lift her face. "Tell me."

His blue eyes embraced her with a love that swelled her heart and made her confession all the more

easier. "I fell in love with you shortly after you rescued me from the chandelier. I knew my feelings for you were foolish and warned myself of the resulting consequences until finally I could no longer deny it, and I realized that if I only shared a short time with you, the memories we made together would be worth it. So I loved you freely with no expectations or demands."

"And you had no intentions of telling your sister of your love for me the night of her arrival?"

"It would have served no purpose. Your love for me was the one in question, and I wanted you to give

of it as freely as I gave of my love to you." He laughed and brushed his lips over hers. "You stole my love." "How?" she asked eagerly and slipped her arms around his neck. "You slipped into my heart when I was too busy looking elsewhere and stole all my love, and when I finally realized that my own foolishness had almost lost me a rare love, I vowed to let no one now or ever stand in the way of our love." She kissed him then, hot and urgent like the need that pulsated through her, and as always in their joining she felt his need and it equaled her own. Their hands grabbed for each other, their mouths fed on each other, and soon their bodies would join with each other to celebrate their love.

Unfortunately the phone rang.

"We won't answer it," Dagon demanded, his mouth working on Sarina's neck.

"It could be important."

"d.a.m.n, why do women always say that?" he asked, his head leaving her neck reluctantly. "What

could be more important than-"

"s.e.x?" she asked with a teasing twinkle.

"Making love," he corrected and cursed the relentless caller. "d.a.m.n, but I'm going to-"

Sarina slipped away from him and rushed for the phone, afraid his phone manner might prove

inappropriate.

"Ali, Sebastian, Merry Christmas," she said with delight.

Dagon muttered beneath his breath all the way to the phone. "Good hour to call," he said after an initial

holiday greeting.

"Disturb you, did we?" Sebastian asked with an obvious laugh.

"I'll be sure to return the favor," Dagon said. "Home for the holidays?"

"Yes and it's snowing here in Virginia," Ali said with excitement.

"We have rain here," Sarina told her. "But Dagon roasted the best marshmallows."

"I taught him," Ali said, which brought a chorus of laughter from the other three. "I did," she insisted

vehemently.

Dagon finally agreed between laughs. "Actually, she did, though I could never figure out how she learned herself." "A secret no one will ever know," Ali said. "But forget the marshmallows, we have wonderful news."

"You're going to have a baby!" Sarina nearly screeched into the phone.

"Yes, yes!" Ali shouted back. "Isn't it wonderful?" "

"Oh, I'm so happy for you," Sarina said, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears.

"Congratulations, dear heart," Dagon said, "and congrats to you daddy."

Before Sebastian could respond, Ali piped in with, "He's nervous the baby will possess more powers