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My curiosity was aroused. When I met her, the old crone didn’t look capable of teaching combat skills. “What kind of training did she give you?”
He gave a dismissive huff. “Give me? At the time, it didn’t seem like much of a gift. I’m still not certain I’d call it that. It was more like a series of trials to see just how much punishment a body and mind can bear.”
I thought of Drayke, the agony I’d seen him endure when he first shifted into his dragon. “Do you take on another form?”
He shook his head. “No, my lady. The Goddess did not grant me that blessing. I have been trained in the ways of a warrior.”
“I’m not sure I’d call the ability to shift a blessing,” I replied, shaking my head. I remembered the unearthly scream my dragon lord uttered as the fire of transformation burned his flesh the first time. “So – you’re a soldier.”
“Not a soldier. I am the Warrior of the Seven Stars.”
I was growing a bit tired of his arrogant attitude. He showed very little deference to his queen. I decided to put him in his place. “You’ve been trained in combat by an old woman? I have had training as well. By the master of my Royal Guards.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve had training by a master? I envy the man who made you kneel in submission before him.”
“You ass! How dare you speak to me with such disrespect!” I drew the dagger out of my belt, brandishing it in front of me. “Not only am I your sovereign, I could have slit your throat as you knelt before me. I suggest you mind your tone.”
He grinned again. “You’ve drawn a weapon. Are you challenging me?”
I’m not sure what possessed me. Perhaps I was still heady from the powerful rush of my first real battle. Here was another insolent male who thought because he was bigger, he’d be able to best me. I marched down the steps from the altar to the main level of the temple and took up a battle stance. Feet planted firmly, holding the dagger in my fist, tip pointing down the way Pieter taught me. He said only amateurs held a knife straight out.
“Come and take it from me, great warrior Magnus.”
He took the steps in a single leap and landed in front of me. After a mocking bow, he unfastened his cloak and tossed it aside. “As you wish, my lady. But I’m bigger and stronger than you. My honor won’t allow me to take unfair advantage.” He unbuckled the scabbard at his waist and laid his sword on the floor, along with a dagger in its sheath, then kicked them out of the way.
“I’ll fight with my bare hands.”
The drumbeats intensified, echoing off the walls of the temple, vibrating from the stone floor through the soles of my boots into my entire body. And still he seemed oblivious to the sound.
I drew in a breath. The scent of him filled my lungs. Potent, virile, with a hint of clean male sweat. And oh, sweet Goddess, that magnificent warrior’s body! Powerful shoulders, bulging biceps. Broad chest with a patch of dark curly hair, tapering to a narrow waist. The well-defined swells and hollows of his abs gleamed with a faint sheen of perspiration, as though he’d run all the way up the mountain.
A line of dark hair ran down the center of the lower part of his chest, disappearing beneath the garment slung around his lean hips. I followed it to the bulge under his half-tunic. I’d only seen one male cock. Were all men as large as Drayke?
“I trust my…appearance…meets with your approval.”
His deep voice held a note of amusement. My head snapped up, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment. He’d caught me staring at his crotch.
“I was pondering why warriors feel the need to go into battle half-dressed,” I replied frostily.
“Extra clothing restricts our movement – and it’s inconvenient for celebrating our victories afterward with fair maidens,” he finished with a waggle of his eyebrows.
Gorgeous body. Quick wit. Supreme confidence. What other attributes did my new hero possess? I fought back a flood of erotic images and started circling him, looking for any weakness. Magnus grinned at me and moved as well, keeping us face to face with his arms wide open.
I’d never fought someone who was smiling at me. I didn’t find it charming. I’d already embarrassed myself in front of him, and now he was treating my challenge as a joke. This was a man who badly needed to be put in his place.
I smiled back sweetly then darted forward, curled into a ball, and somersaulted under his outstretched arms, delivering a slash to his bare lower thigh as I did. Not enough to do him harm. Only a shallow cut, one that would get his attention.
In one continuous move, I sprang to my feet again and danced away. Magnus looked down at the thin line of blood welling up on his thigh, threw back his head, and laughed.
“Well played, my lady. Perhaps I underestimated you.”
It was my turn to laugh. “That’s the first thing you’ve said that I agree with.”
“Shall we make the contest more interesting?”
“What do you mean?”
“How about a wager? Surely you are familiar with the tradition of sparring partners making wagers on who will win the day’s contest.”
