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I open my mouth to argue but he steps further towards me and just keeps talking, not allowing me the opportunity.

“You wandered off into a dirty unlit alley after an unknown possible threat, then gave that same possible threat a knife to point directly at you. Stuart is a bloody miracle worker because you seem determined to get yourself killed.”

Straightening my spine, I square up to him and sneer in his face, in no mood for his teasing. “I told you, I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself.”

“Prove it.” His eyes catch on my lips and I swallow as the air around us seems to crackle.

“What?”

“Prove it,rainha.” He smiles at me. “Spar with me?”

My whole body reacts to that request, goosebumps erupting on my skin, my heart pounding, and my panties flooding. Luckily, through years of practice, I’m able to keep the reactionoff my face, staying icily calm and raising a wry brow. “You think you could take me, detective?”

His eyes flash. “In so many ways.”

An idea pierces my foggy brain that magnifies my arousal and makes me smile. Harvey’s eyes track the movement, his own lips parting. “Care to make it interesting?”

“A bet?” He swallows, his eyes still focussed firmly on my mouth. God, I want to kiss him, but I won’t allow myself to go down that road.

“You have nothing I want,” I lie.

“Then what do you suggest?”

I step away and head to the hidden cabinet on the far wall where one of the mirrors slides to one side to reveal the small, locked box on the wall. I use the code on the keypad to open it and pull out two talon knives.

“Jesus, you have weapons hidden all over this place?” Harvey asks, incredulous.

“Of course.” I frown. “You never know when you might need them.” I hand him one of the curved blades, handle first and he takes it hesitantly.

“I’m not attacking you with a knife,rainha.”

“Scared?” I ask with a smirk and his responding groan is either highly sexual or highly frustrated. Maybe both. “No real damage, first to draw blood.”

“You really do have no self-preservation,” he mutters as we head over to the mats laid out on the centre of the large room. Taking opposite corners, we each stretch a little and shake ourselves out. There’s a moment of stillness where we just look at each other across the mat, an unnerving quiet in the spacious room. Then we pounce.

Harvey lunges forward but I duck away from his outstretched arms, twisting to drill my fist into his side. I’m met with solid muscle and my punch almost has no impact, bara small grunt. He braces his arms in a defensive posture and sweeps his legs out in an attempt to knock me off my feet, but I’m too quick, dodging his kick and brandishing my knife at his forearm. He sees me coming and grabs my wrist, squeezing until I wince, then squeezes even harder until I drop my knife and he kicks it away.

The knife in Harvey’s hand is braced at my chest, but he tugs at my wrist so I stumble forward and the blade digs into my skin but not hard enough to break it. “I think we can call that a win.”

“Can we?” I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him before glancing down at his bare foot that is currently dripping blood from his little toe where he kicked my knife.

The tick in is jaw is quite amusing as he fails to keep his annoyance hidden. “That doesn’t count,” he grumbles. His chocolate eyes are molten, and I wonder if its anger or lust.

“Are you a sore loser,detective?” I lean forward and the blade slices into my flesh just above my breast. His pupils dilate as he watches my blood swell around his knife, but he doesn’t take it away. I watch his gaze track as blood trails down my chest and into my cleavage, disappearing beneath my designer sports bra. His breaths come out hard and his chest moves up and down with each one. Parting his lips, he sweeps his tongue over the bottom one, causing my pussy to throb.

“You like to see me bleed,detective?” I don’t mean for my voice to sound quite so breathy.

Before I’ve even realised that he’s thrown his own knife to the ground, his hand is sliding into my hair, messing up my already messy bun. “I like to see you bleedfor me, rainha.” His lips ghost over mine, his nose brushing my cheek. The thick stubble on his face tickles against my soft skin and I resist the urge to rub myself on him.

“I bleed for no man,” I grind out through clenched teeth, not through anger, but through restraint.

The hand that was wrapped around my wrist releases me and he swipes his thumb over the cut on my breast. It stings but I don’t react, just watch as he brings his thumb to my lips and smears my blood across my mouth. We’re close enough that our heaving chests brush against each other as he holds my head steady, his fist still in my hair. When he dips his head to flick his tongue over my stained lip, my knees nearly buckle. But Harvey’s strong arm bands around my waist to keep me on my feet.

I’m embarrassingly close to throwing caution to the wind and rubbing myself on him like a cat in heat. Luckily for me the gym door swings open, drawing in a wave of fresh perspective. I jerk in Harvey’s grasp and stand straight.

“Uh, ma’am?” Lee’s voice calls across the room and I look over Harvey’s shoulder to the mirror, seeing his reflection looking at us with confusion. I can’t find my voice, so I just raise my brows at him in the glass expectantly. “Stuart’s here,” he says, narrowing his brows at the scene in front of him.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I dismiss.