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“Hah!” I bellowed, twirling, my sword slicing for his unwounded side. Croygen twisted away, noting the slight tear in his shirt, a trickle of blood sliding down. His lids narrowed, a noise working up his throat. He swung for me and I spun, the blade nicking my arm.

The pain of his hit spurred the ire inside my chest. In an instant, everything changed. Our fighting went from serious to severe as we both felt the drive increase to purge our demons, harbor our egos, and prove our dominance.

The loud clanks of our blades rang in the air like chimes against the drums of thunder and the tambourine of rain. We danced across the slick deck, droplets pasting his shirt to his sculpted chest, his pants sticking to his toned thighs, adding a carnal potency to every strike of his sword.

My arms burned with the weight of the weapon, but anger fueled me, driving me forward. Moving around the deck, Croygen spun, coming right in for me. Leaping up on the rail, I used the shrouds, swinging myself down feet away from him.

“Joining the circus, are we?”

“Think Sprig already has a trained monkey.”

Glowering, he lurched for me, the rain pouring down harder, making it more difficult to see. He lunged one way, my body already moving to block him when I realized my mistake. How many times had Yukimura trained us with this fake out move? He reversed, twisting to the other side, his blade nicking the back of my leg.

As the edge sunk in, my nerves screamed in pain, but the adrenaline kept me from truly suffering, bursting more anger through me. I itched to change, my claws digging into my handle, my teeth sharpening. Twice now, my control had wavered, and both times around him. Hissing, I swiped out with my claws, gripping one of his wrists, my nails sinking in. Croygen inhaled sharply, momentarily distracted. Not giving him a moment of hesitation, I pitched forward, my blade pressing up against his neck with force. Blood trickled down his throat, the sharp edge cutting into his skin.

Breathing heavily, I paused, keeping my sword tight against him.

“Go ahead.” His chest pumped in and out, his wet hair hanging around his face, water trailing down his cheeks and over his lips, his dark eyes alight with vigor. Like for one moment, he actually felt alive. “You want your revenge? Take it.”

I stood on a precipice. Everything I had worked for, everything I had planned and trained for, was here. The revenge I sought. The blood I needed. The life I had wanted to take for so long.

“This is the only chance you’ll get, Kitten.”

My nose wrinkled at his challenge, daring me to do it. It was all right at the tip of my blade. One move, and I could accomplish all I ever set out to do. My father could rest in peace.

His elbow came down on my arm, knocking the sword from my grip, pushing me up against the railing, his own sword hovering close to my neck.

“Once again, you hesitated.” He licked the water from his lips, pulling my focus for a moment. “Remember, youneverhesitate. Kill or be killed.”

“So, what are you waiting for?” I spat. “If you’re going to kill me, then do it. What areyouafraid of?”

His lips lifted, his gaze narrowing, and he stepped into me.

“Killing you is not what I’m afraid of,” he growled. “This is.” Dropping his sword, the metal reverberating on the wood deck, he gripped the back of my head, yanking me to him.

His mouth took mine with bruising strength. It was like he lit a match on dry kindling and then doused it in gasoline. Fire exploded through my bones, sparking magic through my nerves. I became ravenous, angry, and wrathful, and his lips were just as greedy to hurt and take all he needed. We battled and attacked. Our kiss was savage, my tongue seeking his, my nails dragging up his chest, needing to mark him like an animal.

With a groan, his fingers curled through my wet strands, tugging my hair tightly, his body pressing harder into mine. I arched into him, needing to rub against him, feel his erection burning through my wet clothes. The smell of blood dripping from his neck boiled in my veins, tasting the aggression we carried.

“That turn you on, Kitty-Kat?” He growled in my ear. “Pain? Blood?” His teeth scraped down my neck. “You liked waking up to my dick hard against you, didn’t you?”

Fuck, yes.

“You wanted me to slip your underwear to the side and thrust into you, fucking you so deeply until you screamed, making you break into pieces. Am I right?”

I swallowed back the yowl in my throat, my cat too close to the surface, my nails clawing deeper into his arms.

“Can’t lie to me. I feel your heat, can already taste it on my tongue, Kitten.”

Normally, I hated those pet names, but my body responded with feral need to the way he rumbled over them. My hips pushed back into his like I had no control. We kissed with the same violence we fought with. Taking what we could.

This was how we battled each other, how we sought our revenge.

His free hand moved under my T-shirt, exploring every curve, reminding me how it felt waking up to his touch this morning. How much more I wanted.

Our mouths devoured—biting, nipping, and sucking, causing each other to bleed, the pain only driving our desire higher. The rain and blood slipped between our hungry mouths, our wet clothes creating friction against our skin, his thick cock rubbing against my pussy.

“Katrina.” He rolled his hips into me, my fingers digging into his ass, pushing him harder into me.