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When Charles gave hilance, he also realized he’d come to his feet on that nick, his hand on his knife hilt “Your servant doesn’t know the difference between play and threat ah, huain, perforraceful sweeps with the blade to loosen her arm up further “Neither do vampires And he’s not my servant” Charles snorted “More seain Clash of steel, turn, the torchlight catching the blades and e, slid off, both vaain

Dev noted that Charles’s o After seeing her dispatch one of his overlords

bloody hell, win or lose this bout, if Charles was still standing, he’d al dear to her, to punish her, put her in her place And Danny knew that

Charles’s men had shifted from observation to watchfulness Quite a few of them had wooden knives in their belts Charles likely wasn’t planning to kill her, but he didn’t trust her, either He wasn’t taking any chances that sheher way down her “to do” list, and he was nuht

My lady, in case you’ve rethought your plans, now is not the time His men are prepared

He tried to ht quiet, unobtrusive, and realized how absurd that was, since he had no idea what difference the volulance shifted to hie of hard-to-follow speed, he thrust inside her guard, knocked it out wide and shoved her back, stu

Dev started forward, and three of Charles’shim in place with a battery of pistols and drawn knives, skirting the circling vampires deftly “Let it play out,the pistol leveled at Dev’s midsection

While she was still stu her to the ground and pinning her there on her back When he pressed forward, a blade shot out of the sole, the tip jaainst the base of her throat He held the saber at ready

“You son of a bitch,” Dev swore He plunged forward, the hell with the weapons trained on hi hiun butt rapped hiainst the stone wall, held by the rough hands of the three stockmen, the other three with their weapons trained on hi number, if he was in the mood to be flattered

Stop, Dev Wait Her voice was sharp and urgent enough to get through She and Charles were still in the sa at each other as Charles apparently waited for his et the situation under control

“Yield,Dev that vaood job of that However, Ruskin’s deadly gaze was still fastened on hers, his grip on the sword sure and steady He could take her head with little effort The stillness of his eyes suggested he wanted her to defy hiive him the chance “You may voice your objections to the Council about my mastery of this territory, but you cannot find fault inthe blood trickling down her throat “You were lucky tonight, but I will say your skills have improved since last we crossed swords”

“So you will swear loyalty to me?” He let the tip drift down, follow the curve of one breast “Give me your blood?” She tilted her head, an indifferent look “Not likely, Lord Charles As a full-blood vampire, I’m not required to do that”

“Even”—he pressed the tip of the blade against her—“if I insist? There is no Council here right now, Lady Daniela Protesting after the fact is just whinging, as we both well know”

“With e, I’m far lanced down at the blade “Stop being a bore, Charles You won the fencing hts and help h he suspected she didn’t know, any more than anyone else, if he’d choose to kill her, she showed no fear

Charles sighed “You’re being stubborn It’s a sher price for your infraction, and you know it”

“It’s not a s at all Which is why you want it so badly”

“Your breeding is aback “So your back alley thief of a ave to you as if it came from the Queen’s blood herself”

“Well,the Queen’s jewels right from her head Why not her blood as well?” The cool frustration in Charles’s eyes died away, replaced by a tight s his boot off her and twitching the saber aside in a harrowing move, he nevertheless offered her a hand up

When she rose, he retained his hold, his fingers pressing down as his expression darkened dangerously again “I doubt your affections are even winnable, Lady D So enough of your coquettishness I know it for a sharip increased, but she shrugged “A woman uses her assets to survive in this world, Lord Charles If it offers no advantage with you, I’m happy to discard it I find it rather tediousto the table and chairs set up nearby with another bottle of brandy, she said, “If you’ll let go of my hand, we can have that drink now and discuss your terms”