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"There is no explanation for what you did" He was facing her now, and he grabbed her shoulders so hard she knew his fingertips would leave little black bruises above her collarbones "You had no right to i her, and she raised her ar his hands away

"I was afraid for you--" She grabbed at him once more as he turned, and this ti back His face was black with fury, and his teeth were bared in a nasty smile

"Afraid Fora nu her aroddaht vaive you for that"

She shoved at hi backward "Listen to ed back up at her "You want to fight, do you?"

"You know I can best you, Max Then you’ll have to listen toaway from it--as you always do"

"Try it" His slinted with challenge

She kicked out suddenly, and he blocked her thrust with an angle of his powerful thigh, then responded with a shove that knocked her back two steps Furious that he’d taken her by surprise, she twisted around and grabbed his ar it over her as she neatly flipped hi her off balance so that she was forced into a somersault that loosened her knot of hair

Then he was up, breathing easily, as though he’d just stood fro in his eyes He crouched, ready for her, and she matched his stance as they circled in the roo and the unexpected In that, they were evenly matched

"I didn’t want anything to happen to you, you blasted fool," she said, lunging

He sidestepped and kicked around froered backward, pulling hi once again to face her "You bloody castrated me, Victoria You did me no favors"

"Lilith wants you"

"And she wants you, damn you Evenyou And lock you up For two days" He blocked her bloith his ar the momentum to twist her around

Victoria spun back to face him "No, you simply paid Sebastian to kidnap me last fall"

The fact that Max had asked Sebastian to abduct Victoria to keep her fro loyalty to the Tutela, and thus ruining his plans to get close to Nedas and his demonic obelisk, had continued to be a bone of contention between them That had also been the first tie, of course--a fact about which Max never hesitated to remind her

She balled up her hands into fists that, sth "To keepher words with spars that slapped violently against his raised palms as he blocked her, "as you claimed" She whirled around suddenly with a solid kick toward his abdoed out of the way "How dare you claihed coldly, ducking her blows and responding with one of his own that spun the air by her ear "You talk as though it was soain, "that you ended up in a carriage with hi a swipe at her, "it was no hardship for you after all"