Sneak Peek Sunday - Claire and Andre in The Circle 2

More from The Circle 2!  Wish me luck getting a contract for The Circle (the first book in this series). It's out on submission (again).  I am going to find a home for these vampires and it is going to be an awesome one!

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“Angel, talk to me.” Andre sat close beside me on the mattress on the floor. I’d taken refuge in my room when we’d arrived at our Knightsbridge flat. For months I’d meant to decorate the room – at least get a bed frame, but since I slept with Andre in his room, I hadn't gotten around to it. Since the night the circles had appeared around our Circle marks, we’d been inseparable. Mostly we’d made love. We should have been working on how to control my powers, but we’d had so much lost time to make up.

Regret and shame tasted sour on my tongue and I buried my face in my drawn up knees. I couldn't get the image of Ursula’s petrified expression as she’d been stabbed out of my head. God, if only I could scrub my eyes with a wire brush the way I could the kitchen sink when it got dirty.Both of us stank of old blood. We needed baths and clean clothes.

“Does she have a scar?” Over and over I saw the knife plunge into Ursula’s back. Jesus, that had to have hurt like hell. She wore backless gowns, but I couldn't remember seeing a scar. Why was there no scar? “From the knife when she was stabbed?”

“No. When you Turn, all your scars heal,” Andre reminded me.

“But you knew she was a prostitute before she was Turned?” My voice was muffled by the blood-red sheets that shrouded my knees. They smelled stale. I only used this room as a glorified closet. I hadn't spared a thought for washing the sheets in ages.

“Oliver told me before he let me Turn her. Asked if it made a difference to me. With my past indiscretions, I could hardly have objected. She volunteered that information exactly one time, ten years later. I never said a word to anybody. Of course, she also mentioned it to Parker, who did tell everyone. By the time he told you, it was old news, although I suppose Neal didn't know. But it’s a sore spot with her.” Andre made sure to keep his body in contact with mine, but he made no move to embrace me. If he had, I would have pushed him away because I didn't deserve comfort. But his touch was the only thing that kept me anchored. I was one breath away from howling. I hated myself. Ursula was a bitch, but I’d had no fucking right to expose her the way I had.