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The translation was clear-I had to act like he and I had done this before Some of my reticence could be rationalized as fear Not all of it

I took a deep breath If soetting to second base with Tate, I would have laughed and called theh second base was as far as I illing to commit to this charade

Tate gaveers play in his short hair as I tried to sih slitted lids and act like I was getting turned on by Tate's attention

But I wasn't Insidewith the ruthlessness that said we had to get closer to our target Right now, guilt inning Desire was pretty far fro I felt

Tate knew it, too He broke the kiss, staring at reen and blue eyes I knew he could tell that this wasn't doing anything for me, and so could the other vampires

Kratas cocked the gun Dammit all to hell I'd have to fake this better

I twinedhis head tothe sensitive skin of my neck reminded me of Bones, and there were shivers to show for that I arched my back and sucked on his throat in return Tate shuddered, his hands wandering up my back to my breasts

Warning shot through me Did Tate remember about the two knives strapped to otten that in his distraction over the extre position we'd been forced into?

I reached for his hands, sliding them to the front of my jeans

"I don't have to get all the way nad in front of theh and vulnerable

Tate's gaze reen now "No, baby This'll do"

He helped ht I met Bones flashed in my mind How Bones had called my seduction bluff after I'd lured hi me with all your clothes on, were you, Kitten? Guess all you'll need off is your knickers, then Coht

I'd been eh for different reasons Not because I was shy over Patra's five gawking va-hell, I wanted thereat distraction-but because it was Tate draggingover ht there, getting closer to Hykso be damned

But then solanced at the vahtened his jaw I al possessive was soh, it had the needed effect of getting hiain, but I could feel there was h it looked like he was being just as enthusiastic as before

Frolances I stole, wither finger didn't ease a fraction Even through my irritation, I appreciated Patra's decision to place hiroup Dedication in the midst of distraction was a valuable trait I just wished it wasn't being used against me at the moment

Of course, if he were hu at e the bullets faster than a human could fire them, but not faster than a vampire I knew that from painful experience

I let Tate shift until he was on kneeling in front of me, since it coo for my knives this way

"Enough stalling"

Kratas tapped his gun for euess, ere al to be close

Mentally I shouted a h to hearto count it down, Bones School's out at zero

Five

Tate stopped kissing reen

Four

I clutched his shoulder while my other, hidden hand coiled around my knives

Three

Tate unzipped his jeans, and he wasn't wearing any underwear It was all I could do not to jerk back and give the charade away Yeah, this ay further than I'd ever anticipated things would go

Two

Three things happened at once I whipped ; Kratas fired, the bullet striking me in the side instead of the heart because of Tate's body in front of ht off the limo

There was a stunned second when I saw Bones before he snatched me out of the car In the next instant, Spade and Ian descended like bats from hell onto the now-convertible lihway

The few cars on the road screechedvehicle All of this I observed froripped in the crook of Bones's arm I didn't have time to wonder about e'd do with all the traffic when he abruptly swooped back down

"Let's get this piece of rot off the road," he barked

Bones, Spade, and Ian each grasped an edge of the limo and then propelled upward The car lifted off the asphalt like it had groings There was still scuffling going on in the interior of the limo, but it had a different sound to it now More like muffled screams cut off before completion

A few ine aircraft, propellers starting up That had to be Hykso, and if we could see him, he could see us

Bones growled and aiht

"Think they'llhis body while handling his part of the limo

"Not a bloody chance," Bones snarled back

"We can take them on ourselves Tend to Cat, she's been shot," Spade called out without turning his head

"Don't even think about it," I snapped "Flesh wound, keep going"

"We are"

I didn't needSuper a plane was not conducive for a chat

The aircraft started to taxi, picking up speed So did ith a burst of nosferatu energy that crackled the air with invisible currents I shut my eyes, not out of fear, but because the wind nearly blinded h slits I saw the plane start to take off We were still about fifty yards away

"Now," Bones commanded, and dropped me

A blur snatched aze took in the sight of bodies ejecting fro it at the sht flash interrupted by the varound

"Stay here," Ian nored hi Why did I feel this cold when the fire was so close?

Fla forms crawled out of the reh the wavering fire, people ere familiar to h the scra varass without noticing I'd fallen That gunshot must have been more serious than I realized

Bones cae haze He had blood and soot on him, and his shirt was patchy in places He knelt by me