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"Oh" This was eot hiht it would be cool and romantic to call a horse … uh "Why not?"

"It sounds a little silly now Besides, even within the first week or so, I was already calling him Eb"

"So you knew his name froh so deliciously liquid and soft She could have leaned over to hiht then, and she knew if she did, he would respond

But she didn’t The next ti to have to be the one who h it was hard to remain firm Why did he have to possess so ood of you to coa ho for me"

"Yeah, but--I know it’s tough for you" Balthazar shifted in his saddle, slightly aard in the way he hen he thought he had to do so there Britnee, too"

Skye shrugged The cold hipped past the her tuck her scarf in ether as it used to be Ianyuess I’ve moved on"

"Ah" That was all Balthazar said, but Skye kneas happy to hear it

Because she believed that sorave would be back, Skye also used that time to learn how to defend herself

She learned from the ideal teacher, of course

"Okay, keep a wider stance" Balthazar wore ordinary street clothes; Skye wore yoga pants and a camisole They were in the basement of her house, an unused "family room," which was almost bare of furniture and thickly carpeted and thus ideal for use as a sparring ring "A wider stance is a steadier stance"

Skye planted her feet farther apart "Nohat?"

"You want to protect your throat Technically a vao for the throat--for the jugular or the carotid It’s a powerful instinct" Balthazar’s eyes were locked on her bare neck, which Skye figured she should have found unnerving, but didn’t His black T-shirt fitted his broad chest and taut abdominal muscles like so an lifting his hands, apparently in demonstration, Skye shook her head "Don’t showto learn"