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“Better than me. She’s the real thing.”

She smiled. “There, we’ve talked. Now can we fuck?”

Shit, she was so…direct.

“In a little while.”

“Have I worn you out?” She sounded worried. “Are you okay?”

What was he supposed to say? But he’d sworn to himself that he was going to be honest about this relationship. “Truth?”

“Why not?”

“It scares me how much I want you. Tonight was a sort of test. To prove I could control myself, put off the moment, as it were.”

Her lips twitched. “You didreallywell.” She considered him for a moment. “I don’t want to go out for a drink. But there is something I love almost as much as fucking.”

“There is?” He was intrigued.

“Yeah. Why don’t we fight?”

“What?” She’d taken him by surprise. She did that a lot.

“Let’s get physical in a different way. Show me what an SAS guy can do.”

“Ex-SAS,” he replied. He wasn’t sure he could fight her. He’d back off from causing her pain.

“Scared I’ll hurt you?” she asked.

He was terrified. But not physically. “Why not?”

She waved toward a door at the back of the room. “You’ll find some sweats in there. Go get changed.”

He went over and found the door led into a small changing room with a shower cubicle at one end. Shelving lined one wall, and there was a pile of clean sweats on it. He rummaged through and found some that looked like they would fit. He shrugged out of his shirt, leaving his white T-shirt on, then kicked off his shoes and dropped his pants.

“You have a gorgeous ass.”

He glanced over his shoulder and found her leaning against the open door, watching him. “Thank you.”

“Sure you want to do this? There’s still time to back out. We can just go upstairs where there’s a nice, comfortable bed waiting for us.”

“You think I’m a nice, comfortable kind of guy?”

She smirked. “Hell, yeah. You want to prove me different?”

“Hell, yeah.” He pulled on the sweats. She didn’t move as he headed out of the small room, so he brushed against her as he passed, electric shocks shivering across his skin. He walked to the center of the room and turned to face her. She’d followed him and was standing relaxed. His gaze wandered down over her body. Her nipples were hard little peaks pushing against her top.

“Ready?” she asked, and he dragged his gaze upward to find her watching him with a small smile on her face.

“For anything.”

“We’ll see.”

Then she whirled around and kicked him in the chest. The move took him by surprise, and he swayed but managed to keep his feet. Then she swept his legs out from under him, and he crashed to the floor.

“Never underestimate your enemy,” she murmured.

Was she his enemy? He didn’t think so. Not anymore. He just wasn’t sure what she was. He got to his feet. “I was distracted by your nipples.”