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The snort he let out was probably one of the most unattractive sounds she’d ever heard in her life, part wounded gopher, part grizzly bear, part old car backfiring And then he cursed and slapped a palm over his mouth

"Oh, my God," she blurted, "that is frickin’ adorable"

Across the way, on her girlie bed, with its pretty coral bedspread and the fra frohter in his black clothes and bandaged face and his kill-ya-soon-as-look-at-ya affect turned the color of a stop sign

"I burped That’s all" He stretched his back and rolled his shoulder as if he wanted to remind himself he was packed withbefore, so I don’t knohat to expect with any of it I think the question for you is, are you willing to bet your life on o a hundred nights without anything happening, but it just takes one where so does And then you’re not screwed--either in a sexual or a bad luck sense--you’re fucking dead"

"Do you doubt yourself?"

He frowned "You want the honest truth?"

"Always" She held up her forefinger "I want to go on record right now and say this loud and clear I alant the truth fro else--for reasons that you’ll no doubt coain Rolled his other shoulder

"Personally, I think my attraction works for us--I mean, you It increases my protective nature and will make me more lethal I’m not bonded to you, and I won’t ever be, but I am male, and in fact, I’m sowith So, yeah, anyone tries to so much as brush the ends of your hair with their elbow, and I will kill theht their corpse on fire"

"Well, isn’t that so to put on a Valentine’s Day card" Except he probably had a point "And listen, I firmly believe we aren’t e think, we’re e do You and I will keep things professional on a physical level and all will be well"

Axwelle got to his feet in a rush "Okay, text me when you need me to" He nodded, in a way that made it seem as if they had shaken hands, and then he went for her door "I’ll show myself out--"

"Wait, so my schedule--"

"Just let , hadn’t he

"We can do this, you know," she told his strong back "It’s all going to be okay"

"You say that now" He opened the door wide "Let’s hope at the end of it, however long it lasts, you feel the saits over his shoulder like an afterthought and then he kept on going through the jaht them