Excerpt: Past Shadows, Future Memories

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Angel sighed and stepped forward, reaching out to brush hair out of Xander’s face. Despite the unknown touch, Xander stood still, his eyes focused on Angel’s chest. He noticed that Angel wasn’t breathing and like Spike his hand was cold. They had been bought by vampires. Xander had not had the best experiences being the property of vampires. They tended to be a little rough with their toys and only the efforts of several healers had kept him alive on occasion. Still he didn’t move as Angel caressed the side of his face, his hand drifting down over his throat and neck, stopping on his pulse point.

“The marks are gone,” Angel said mournfully, his fingers still resting on Xander’s heart beat.

“I noticed,” Spike said quietly, moving away a bit, giving them room He grabbed Liam and pulled him away, leaving Angel and Xander standing together.
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