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Grace riffled through the box of Kevlar vests she&039;d picked up downstairs Darius knelt on the other side and pinched one of the heavy black vests between his fingers His lips curled with distaste

She watched hi with contentht and hadn&039;t changed Hadn&039;t even flickered with blue The fine lines around his eyes and mouth had relaxed, as well, and there was an ease about hierous aura Danger would always be a part of hione

How she loved this ed the material over his shoulders She leaned over and worked the Velcro for hiht," he said

"If a bullet shter"

He snorted "How can these do any good?"

"Maybe you&039;ll understand better after I show you how to use a gun" She raced to her kitchen and dug out the gun she&039;d stuffed into one of the drawers She doubled-checked to make sure no bullets rested in the cylinder

"This is a revolver," she explained when she stood behind Darius Wrapping her arms around hiers in the correct places "Hold it just like this"

His shaking fingers squeezed

"Gently," she said, noticing how unsteady he suddenly seeht you these skills?"

"Alex He said a wo a wave of sadness, Grace steadied Darius&039;s wrists by locking her palht be more relaxed and at ease than ever before, but he battled that damn weakness and she didn&039;t like it The only tith hen he was sexually excited

Grace wet her lips and purposefully es of his back "You want to keep your finger on the trigger and pick a target Any target Do you have one?"

"Oh, yes" His voice grew stronger and deeper If she allowed her hands to slide inside his pants, she knew she would find hiht on the barrel"

Pause Then, "What?"

She blew on his neck "Aiht on the barrel," she repeated

Another pause "How can I concentrate when your body is pressed to ers tickled up his ar, she&039;d use everything in her power to arouse him "Do you want to learn how to shoot or not?" she whispered huskily

"I do," he ground out

"Is your target in sight?"

He felt the heat of her, Darius thought, the sizzle of her, throughout his entire body Yes, he had his target in sight The couch Exactly where he wanted her, naked and open

He flicked a glance to theThe sun arrived hours ago, vanquishing the binding spell He should have left for his ho he needed fro past time he destroyed her invaders

But he wasn&039;t ready to say goodbye to Grace

He couldn&039;t take her with him She would be safest here, and her safetyelse

When this whole onauts ended, he would come back for her He would whisk this woods, he liked the sound of that-to Atlantis They were going to stay in bed for days, weeks, perhapsto make love every way possible, then invent soger," she said

He easily recalled how she had squeezed hiers had slipped beneath the hem of his shirt and skiround his teeth together

"Darius?"

"Her" She blew in his ear

He squeezed He heard a click

"If the couch were huun, a bullet would have shot out and punctured skin, causing grave injury," Grace the temptress said The woman who had sneaked past his defenses and infiltrated his senses The wo inside these vests stops bullets and keeps the her arun fell froers around her wrists and directed her aiet in et" busy for the next hour

Sated and redressed, Grace tucked her gun in the waist of her jeans, filled her pockets with bullets and helped Darius gather the re each other Neither o," he finally said

"I&039;m ready," she said with false confidence She raised her chin, not re hiarded her silently for an inexorable moment, his expression blank "You will remain here, Grace"

She bit back a scowl She&039;d known he would do this, but knowing didn&039;t stop the anger, the hurt "Wrong," she said "Alex is my brother, and I&039;ll help find him"

"Your safety comes first"

"I&039; hi ire "Besides, I&039;o"

"I&039;ll return for you and bring back your brother"

She gripped his shirt, tugging him close "I can help you, and we both know it"

Pain flashed in his eyes, but was quickly overshadowed by deterons into war, and I will not alloo spell?" Ha! She watched hi expectation "I can&039;t leave your presence"

"The spell broke when the moon disappeared"

Her shoulders dropped She racked her brain, searching for anything, anything at all, that e his mind When the answer arose, she sonauts That they hada brow, he crossed his ar?"

"They could have ain They could try to hurtme"

He stroked his jaw as he considered her words "You are right," he ad she finally convinced him of her point-until he next opened his mouth

"I will simply lock you inside my palace"

Her earlier scowl broke free, and she poked hi on I really do But I won&039;t stand for it"

Without a word he clasped her wrist with one hand and held the handle of the suitcase with the other The air around the lightbulbs, then quickly sped past theed, the wind never kicked up, but suddenly the cave closed around her

Grace didn&039;t have ti his momentum, Darius pulled her inside the mist The moment she realized exactly where she was, she threw herself in his arot you," he said

His voice soothed her racing heartbeat Only a minute or two passed before Darius unhooked her hands froave her a quick kiss and ushered her into another cave

Not even slightly dizzy, she cataloged her newest surroundings A man-Brand, she recalled-stood off to the side He held a sword above his head, and there was a deadly gleam in his eyes as he stared at her Before she could utter a protest, Grace found herself shoved behind Darius

"Brand," Darius barked

At the sound of his voice, Brand&039;s gaze finally flicked away frolanced at Darius and relaxed He even lowered his sword "Why does the woman still live?" he demanded