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His eyes swept across my figure, lingering on the way my dress pushed my breasts up. My nipples were straining against the fabric at his longing look. “I’ll make you.”
My raspy voice answered him. “You can try.”
He heaved, his chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths. “I look forward to the challenge of breaking you.”
His words made my heart stall. “Lord Geralt said the same thing,” I croaked.
Leo puffed out his chest, his veins bulging in anger. “I’m nothing like that fucking rapist. I have other ways of torturing you, Christine. I’m going to make sure you see every woman August brings home. I’ll point out the hickeys on his neck and the pills on his tongue. He’s so self-destructive it won’t take much to break your heart and send you fleeing again.”
His words angered me, and I felt the sudden urge to knock him off his axis. “And what if it’s you I want, Leo?” I asked. “How will you hurt me then?”
He bit his lip, his eyes taking on the lazy haze of lust. He took a step closer to me, his chest rising and falling. “Then I’ll bring you to the edge and deny you again, and again, and again.”
My breath hitched and the image of Leo lapping up my clit made an unladylike blush cover my cheeks. I knew there was always tension between us. Always the hint of more lingering between our bodies like an exhale. But he’d never been so brazen. So bold.
“Well, until then, we need a plan of action,” I breezed, determined to keep my voice steady.
He cleared his throat. “Fine. We need a chain of command.”
“I don’t have a chain of command,” I said back before picking up a knife and sending it sailing toward him. Leo turned once he heard the whoosh of the blade cutting the air and rolled his eyes when it stuck in the wall behind him. He seemed more annoyed by my skills than impressed. I liked that he adapted to that quickly. “I work alone.”
He cocked his head to the side. “What about your friend? Did he just send you into the crossfire without backup?”
“Yes.”
Leo took another step closer to me. Wisps of blond hair had escaped his bun and were framing his face. “Yeah, that won’t work for me.” I averted my gaze and looked around, focusing on something else. Anything else.
The suite Isabelle had prepared for me was nice. The color scheme was a sweet shade of pink with gold accents. The white bedding coordinated well with the blood on my hands.
He snapped his fingers. “Are you even listening?”
“I’m listening,” I replied with a sigh before pinching the zipper to my dress at my side. “I’m just choosing to ignore how we’ve been on this assignment for all of four hours and you’re already trying to boss me around.”
“I’m not bossing you around. There are protocols we need to follow so we can keep you both safe.”
“They forced me into this job because I’m competent at what I do, Leo. If I see a threat, I react. End of story.”
Leo clenched his fist as my dress fell to the ground. I felt bold, forcing him to look at me. Really look at me. Something about this coy game with Leo made me feel alive and made me almost forget how terrible of a situation I was in.
His eyes widened as he took in the heavy swell of my breasts and the delicate curve of my neck. He gulped. “I know you’re skilled at what you do,” he whispered. “Fuck, I saw it all today. It’s like you just flipped this switch. You float from one extreme to the next. I’ve seen nothing like it.”
Shame enveloped my psyche.
I spun around to hide my expression. “I’m in complete control,” I whispered before finding one of my sleep shirts on the floor and putting it on.
I heard him shuffle closer to me. “Are you, though? Your reaction time was instantaneous. I need a baseline to work from. This will allow me to have a better understanding of how to keep you safe. Or maybe it’s everyone else that needs protection from you.”
My breath hitched; the audible break in my cool facade felt like a scream. “You couldn’t stop me,” I replied while throwing my hair up into a tight bun. My words were like a challenge, and Leo didn’t like having his ego tested.
I heard him coming for me way before his hard body connected with mine. I allowed him to tackle me to the floor. It would be easier to get the upper hand from a lower center of gravity. I knew all about beating opponents taller than me. I landed on my chest, with his heavy body on top of mine. It briefly knocked the air out of me, but Hudson used to hold me under water until I passed out. I didn’t need air to survive. I didn’t need air to kill Leo.
I flipped us both over and sat on his waist. He grabbed my wrists and pinned them behind my back. Rookie mistake. My knives were close enough for me to reach once I got free. My only objective was to fight for my life. Kill or be killed.
“I know you’re thinking about that pretty collection of knives on your dresser,” Leo grunted. I leaned forward and head-butted him, forcing him to release my wrists. Pain bloomed where our skulls connected, but I ignored it. He let out a curse. I supposed it would take more pain for him to give in. “What else is running through your mind?” Leo asked, sounding out of breath.
I lifted with my legs and slammed down on his lap, crushing his balls in the process. Men were so fucking weak. His cries of pain were like music to my ears. I grunted. “I’m thinking about your carotid artery and how difficult it is to get blood stains out of expensive rugs,” I spat while crawling away. He grabbed my ankle and jerked me toward him. I could tell he was reeling from the pain I’d inflicted on him, but he wasn’t giving up that easily. I supposed he was tougher than I gave him credit for. But not tough enough.
“I’m trying to understand,” he gritted. “How do you process an attack?”
