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"You knohat I have a theory on, Catrina? That you taste as sweet as you look In fact, I haven't thought about anything else since you walked in"

I didn't resist when Liam closed the distance between us and lifted my chin After all, this would distract hi I came up with

His lips were cool on les He was a very good kisser, sensing when to deepen it and when to really deepen it For a minute, I actually allowedits toll!-and then I got down to business

My arer from my sleeve At the same time, he slid his hands down to my hps and felt the hard outlines under my pants

"What the hell-?" heback

I smiled "Surprise!" And then I struck

It would have been a killing blow, but Liam was faster than I anticipated He swept my feet out from under me just as I jabbed, soto regainaway from the kick he aiain, but then jerked back when three ofknives landed in his chest Daain

"Sweet bleedin' Christ!" Lia to be hus popped out in his upper teeth "You eyman to my home?"

He sounded intrigued, but not afraid He wastooff my jacket to better access my weapons

"The usual," I said "You murdered humans I'm here to settle the score"

Liam actually rolled his eyes "Believebastards stole froood help these days"

"Keep talking, pretty boy I don't care"

I rolled my head around on my shoulders and palmed more knives Neither of us blinked as aited for the other to make a move What Liam didn't knoas that I are he'd suhoul creep quietly closer toward us, barely disturbing the air around hi was just to buy time

He shook his head in apparent self-recrimination

"Your appearance should have warned ray eyes like smoke, and your skinmmm, now there's the real distinction I've never seen such beautiful flesh on a hu to bite you Well, not the way you're thinking"

"I'm flattered you want to fk me as well as murder me Really, Liam, that's sweet"

He grinned "Valentine's Day was just last month, after all"

He was forcing me toward the door and I let hi, the one that was practically a sht hand

Liarinned wider when he saw it "Impressive, but you haven't seen s and I'll show you You can even keep a few knives on, if you'd like Would only "

He lunged forward, but I didn't take the bait Instead I flung the five knives in houl behind h houl's neck with all th

It cahoul's head rotated on its axis for a round There was only one way to kill a ghoul, and that was it

Liam yanked my silver knives out of him as if they were merely toothpicks

"You nasty bitch, now I'nus has been my friend for over forty years!"

That signaled the end to the bantering Liam came at me with incredible speed He had no weapons except his body and his teeth, but those were formidable Lia blows For severalover every table and lamp in our path Finally he threw me across the room, and I crashed near the unusual art piece I'd admired When he came after me, I kicked out and knocked him backward into the display case Then I tore the sculpture off the wall and chucked it at his head

Lia when the intricate artwork broke into pieces behind him

"Don't you have any bleedin' respect for artifacts? That piece was older than I aet eyes like that?"

I didn't need to look to knohat he was talking about My forhting brought out the proof of e that my unknown vampire father had left me

"That bone puzzle was older than you are, huh? So you're what, two hundred? Two fifty? You're strong then I've skewered vamps as old as seven hundred who didn't hit as hard as you do You're going to be fun to kill"

God helpThere was no sport when I just staked a vampire and let my team sweep up the remains

Liarinned at me "Two hundred and twenty, poppet In pulseless years, that is The other ones weren't good for anything but poverty and e back then Looks much better now"

"Too bad you won't be seeing it again"

"I doubt that, poppet You think you'll enjoy killingyou"

"Let's see what you've got," I taunted

He flew across the room-too swiftly for me to avoid hiht explode in rave Me, I'd never been norht nausea, I also reacted quickly

I went li open and round with ly tilted upward Nearknives he'd pulled from his chest Would Liam kick me while I was down, or see how badly I was hurt?

My gamble paid off "That's better," Liam muttered, and knelt next to runted in amusement

"Talk about an ar a whole bloody arsenal"

He unzippedto stripWhen he pulled ers traced over the tattoo on ht after I left my old life in Ohio behind for this new one

Seizing er and drove the knife into his heart Liam's shocked eyes met mine as he froze

"I thought if the Alexander didn't killwould"

I was just about to deliver that final, fatal then the last piece clicked A ship named the Alexander He was from London, and he'd been dead about two hundred and twenty years He had Aborigine artwork, given to him from a friend in Australia

"Which one are you?" I asked, holding the knife still If he moved, it would shred his heart If he stayed motionless, it wouldn't kill him Yet