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I kept my hands near, but not holding hers. Right now, she needed the feel of control in her hands. The last thing I wanted to do was to put her in a position where she would need to pull the trigger. But at least knowing she had two methods of protection, one canine and one hard, cold steel weapon, might keep her calm.

Teaching her to be comfortable wasn’t only about me being gone for one hour. The exercise in patience and agility was for when and if she was ever involved in another attack and I wasn’t around.

“Trust me and take a deep breath,” I reminded her softly.

“What about the recoil? It’s a big gun meant for a huge man like yourself.”

A smirk lifted the haze of frustration I’d had for my ridiculous earlier actions. “So you think I’m huge, huh?”

“God, yes.” She shifted from one foot to the other.

The effect of her movements was the worst. I was hot and horny all over again. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Don’t. You seem to forget I’m a lot smaller than you.”

She fit perfectly, her body molding into mine as if made for me.

Her deep breaths were labored, but I sensed she was concentrating. When she finally pulled the trigger, the click made pushed a nervous laugh from her lips.

“You didn’t load it,” she chastised.

“Do you really think I want you to have a loaded gun until you’re comfortable?”

“How am I going to learn without target practice?”

“We’ll work on that later. Aim and shoot again.”

She shifted her weight and repeated the action.

“Much better. You need to try and breathe. And remember, you might only have one chance.”

Her head tilted. “I’ll keep that in mind. Can we do it one more time?”

“One more time.” I’d had her get used to the weight knowing the Glock wouldn’t be too heavy for her. This time I pulled my hands free, backing away slightly. She held herself with more confidence, taking aim at a tree and without hesitation, firing.

“Wow. Okay,” she said, laughing.

“Not bad. I think you have the gist.”

She lowered her arms, standing still for a few seconds. “They’re coming for me. Aren’t they?”

It was the second time she’d asked the question and the answer hadn’t changed. “Likely.”

Spinning around, her anxious expression tore at me. “Then hurry back. I don’t want to do this without you.”

“What exactly?” I teased, taking the gun from her hand.

“All of this.” Juliette rubbed her arms. “Being here alone. No offense, Tank.”

Woof.

I chuckled and backed away another step. Being this close to her was dangerous.

Yet in true Juliette form, she took a step toward me, tripping on her own feet and tumbling into my arms.

“Shit,” she said, immediately bursting into laughter as I held her close. “I’m clumsy.”

“You’re just tense.”