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“Armed?” He nearly smiled “Oh, I see You found my knife”

So he knew he’d dropped his knife She brought her arle Paolo had showed her how to hold a knife, use a knife He’d taught her the rudiments of weaponry “Don’t move,” she warned

He closed the distance between theainst him “Or what?”

Hand shaking, she pressed the tip of the blade to his chest “I’ll kill you,” she choked, fire and ice flooding her limbs “Make one more move and I swear, I’ll kill you”

Tair didn’t even blink He si “Put that away”

“No”

“You’ll hurt someone”

“Yes You”

He grabbed her wrist so suddenly she didn’t even see him move But now he held her hand in his and with a srench on her wrist, forced the knife froers opened in pain and with a whimper she watched the knife bounce to the carpet

He let her go and she irabbed the knife and came back at him

Tair sighed and ripped open his robe “If you insist,” he drawled, now unbuttoning his shirt, “letyou the correct target”

The knife in her hand wobbled as she stared at his chest, the bronze skin scarred over dense honed muscle She looked at the scar tissue that stretched from his sternum toward his left nipple “Someone’s tried this before,” she said faintly

“You’re not the first, no” He waited, looked at her “Give it a shot The skin’s tough but you ht be able to do it”

Tally couldn’t look away fro his beautiful skin Fresh tears filled her eyes and with a groan of despair she gave hio Get out of here”