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Abruptly, he set her away from him. Dazed by his tumultuous kiss, Casina"s head fell back, her eyes still closed. A sigh escaped her parted lips, her arms falling to her sides as he stepped back. She knew he was watching her, but it took her a moment to quiet her flaming emotions and her accelerated pulse rate.

When she finally opened her eyes and straightened, it was to recover quickly. Then, without warning, she blasted him, shocking him with her vehemence.

"You deliberately lied to me!" she accused, her defenses going up. "Why?"

"I didn"t lie, Casina," he said. "I merely refrained from sharing all the facts. I didn"t want to frighten you away."

"What do you mean? You knew I wanted to escape and go home."

"Yes, but I didn"t want you to leave."

"That man back there said I am married. That I have a mark of selection. Mrovia told me it meant nothing when I asked her about it."

Dammen sighed, obviously anticipating this question.