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Her fight to keep fro ended when he said, "I&039;m sorry, Bride I have to trace you from here"

She snatched her hand froht them while you push the rocks" Back on her feet, she retied her pants, then unsheathed her sword

The largest basilisk edged closer, no doubt thinking theait that was coe that served to h for ot into the chae them at once

Sebastian stood as well "That is not how this ork"

"I freaking kissed you! If I get into trouble, then you can trace me, but just try the rocks Or you break our deal"

"For another kiss, then Later We need to finish e&039;ve started here - "

"You&039;re curb-boosting me?"

He clearly didn&039;t understand the teret to soet that prize"

Who was this new ruthless va like a rug "Now, get your ass in gear and push"

With another shake of his head, he rose, surveyed the basilisk&039;s unhurried but steady progression, then set to the rocks

She should have been readying for a battle, scouting the lead basilisk&039;s crimson scales for weaknesses And yet all her desire-saturated mind could think about was how utterly delicious theto rip through his shirt She wanted to squeeze the about the siren, about the contest, or, hey, how about the dragons?

The beast slowly pressed down on the out just behind it As soon as the rocks went, they&039;d spring in attack

She kept jerking glances over her shoulder Regin had asked her what her type was As he turned to push with his back, displaying chiseled abs beneath his sweat-soaked shirt, Kaderin adrave-eyed vaeous type With scars and rough hands She bit her botto at his powerful, sculpted body, she was in danger of spontaneous orgasht I&039;d ever say this to you, but youpressing against her plu hiot this one down" One last glance over at hio, these three will attack Fast You&039;ve got to trace i, she said, "They want to look slow You trace, and I&039;ll dive out, okay?"

"Will they chase you outside?"

"They won&039;t be able to see in the sun very well"

"The rocks are about to go," he grated "Get back - "

Sunlight shot in like a bea her room to leap for the hole She shied with pheno with claws bared

The largest crashed through all the rocks after her Dust and rubble exploded into the air Sebastian couldn&039;t see her, only heard snapping jaws, then spied her as she ducked Jaws slammed shut just over her head

Sebastian dove for her into the sun, sing a bellow of pain, snatching her ankle Just as he was tracing them, she kicked him in the face and scrambled away

Before he could stop, he disappeared without her, then sent hi, he could barely see in the light His skin burned as though splashed with acid

The basilisk had disappeared? Kaderin was on her tiptoes at the very edge of the cliff, arching her back to keep frohted herself, skipping along the edge She&039;d tricked it into falling?

The s and hissing at the light He dodged swiping claws to trace back into the dark at the other end of the cavern, then yelled for the back inside the tunnel, he dropped onto his back beneath the larger one and thrust his sword up at its belly A death blow, planted between scales as big as plates Gutted He yanked the blade back, rolling out of the way

With a wet roar, it pitched backward onto the s to the last basilisk As it scraround in front of it, Sebastian raised his sword over its neck

It froze, then slowly turned its head to blink slitted eyes up at him There was fear there

Kaderin probably would have killed it already - and would likely see him as weak if he didn&039;t

"Oh, bloody hell," hefor her

Damn it, he would not return later and free it

Then, into the sun oncehis head back and forth to find her as his skin threatened to catch fire The pain was grueling Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a cave above the ravine He traced in, doing his best to half-appear

Even though he watched froe of the cave, the sun still reflected off the sand and rock, killing Sebastian&039;s already daed eyes, but he could tolerate it for a est basilisk twitching at the bottoainst a rock Kaderin was still on that ledge Just as Sebastian was about to bellow at her in fury for kicking hirew cold A predator That&039;s all his an pu until she becaht, he didn&039;t quite believe his eyes when she dove into the sa another overhang, just in tiave a cry of surprise - just before Kaderin landed on her back, audibly knocking her breath free of her lungs Kaderin had her knees dug into Lucindeya&039;s shoulder blades, an ar around her neck

Just when he&039;d decided to brave the sun and trace Kaderin from there, Lucindeya jabbed up with an elbow Somehow, Kaderin ducked around and missed it She eluded any defensive move the siren had She needed no help

All around Kaderin, heat boiled up froh the haze, he realized he ed by her, by the power in her graceful body

And even by her sheer viciousness

Kaderin yanked the siren up by the hair, swinging her around by it, gaining round Kaderin finally released her grip as though with a bola, her fingers splayed

The cliff face cru body, rocks plu onto her back Kaderin didn&039;t wait to watch her being completely buried, but jerked her head up to the nexther claws in for a good start, scrabbling up to a high cave

That cave at the top - that darkened cave - must hold the prize And Sebastian could beat her to it He pressed his sleeve against his cut lip, tasting his blood fro hied

23

K aderin staggered into the cave, panting with exertion from the climb When her vision adjusted, she found the vashell had pale striations of color twining around the width and was so fragile it was transparent

"Noe&039;re going to do things my way, Kaderin"

Her eyes followed it as he tossed it up and down "Just give "

"You never intended to meet with me" He looked infuriated with her The sun had blistered his forearms and one side of his face "And you kicked me" A trail of blood had eased down from the corner of his bottom lip

"I kicked you in reflex" That was true The basilisk had just burst through the rocks as if they were packing-peanut fillers and was on her heels "For future reference, don&039;t grab s with long, prehensile tongues"

No matter what had happened between her and Sebastian, she wouldn&039;t have tried to knock hion&039;s dinner or to burn in the sun any longer, although "In any event, you deserved to be booted You changed the terentleentle end over end in his palm

"You could break that" She could scarcely breathe "It&039;s the last one" She was easing closer, tilting her head, studying for a way to seize it

Soerous flashed in his expression "Do you think to take it frole with a va whole "But you have to hurry," she said desperately "When Cindey gets here, she&039;ll sing, and then you&039;ll give it to her"

"I don&039;t believe she&039;ll befor some time after what you did to her"

"She&039;s immortal She&039;ll shake it off And she&039;s hurt me far worse in the past But she could reach us very soon One pure note out of her pipes, and you&039;ll be her slave forever" At that thought, Kaderin inexplicably craved kicking her again Or a really well-placed bitch-slap At her larynx

"If you believe that, then you won&039;t et this prize"

"I&039;ve told you I will never sleep with you" A bead of sweat trickled down her neck, then between her breasts His gray eyes followed it greedily, then flickered with black Storh his face was burned on one side and his hands as well, she was attracted to him and still aroused from earlier Coldhearted? Once Hot-blooded? He made her so He alone could And not just with sexual passion

She&039;d enjoyed kicking Cindey&039;s ass, and for so it

"I want to spend a night with you, touching you," he said, his voice low "That is all However and wherever I choose"

She raised her brows "So it&039;ll be all about me? You say that now, but I know you think to seduce me to do more"

"No, I won&039;t expect you to touch me whatsoever I won&039;t expect sex"

"The altruistic vas to ?"

He ran his free hand over hisquite a bit Let me worry about my reactions You have my word No et the prize?"

"When I&039;m done hat I plan"

She didn&039;t like how his words shot a spike of desire through her "YouGive it to me first"

"Not likely I&039;ll keep it safe, and you know you&039;ll get it after Unlike you, I keep o dental onOr I swear to the gods, I will bite you back, and you won&039;t like it"

This seeh I&039;ve always suspected you capable of checking me like that"

How could she do this? How could she not? For the prize, she could

For her curiosity, she must

What would it be like to be a slave to his touch for one whole night? When she acknowledged her answer to herself, she glanced away and ht" She flushed, already i him in that lavish stateroom bed on the jet with her "You could acco again "You want o on your plane with you?"

"If you want to take your payment in the next twenty-four hours"

He crossed to her until they were toe-to-toe "Why not let o to places you&039;ve been before, and I&039;," she answered, gazing up at hi time to rest"

She sed nervously when he rasped, "I wouldn&039;t count on resting this evening"