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That makes my eyes darken, the smile falling flat. I don’t like my prince claiming other people. Maksim Vetrov can consider himself a dead man as of tonight.
“Yeah?” I ask softly. “You want to compete?”
The blade stops spinning for half a second, then starts again. Watching him handle the knife with that much confidence is doing something deeply unhelpful to my brain. His fingers move like they already know exactly where the blade will be before it gets there.
He takes one step closer. “Are you saying I can’t take him?”
I let my gaze drag over him, from his face to the blade, and finally to his throat. I stop there, staring at the pulse beneath his skin. My mouth practically waters. I want to kiss it.
“Tell you what.”
He doesn’t blink.
“If you kill Maksim first, I’ll give you anything you want.”
His mouth parts, then he tilts his head. “Anything?”
“Anything.”
He studies me, then says, deadpan, “Will you jump off a cliff?”
I smile. “Sure.”
His eyes narrow harder, like he’s trying to find the trap in it.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
“You’d jump off a cliff for a bet?”
“I’d jump off a cliff for you, prince.”
His jaw tightens, then he scoffs. “Fine. What do you want if you win?”
“I’ll kiss you.”
His eyes widen, but then he recovers fast, his expression turning vicious.
“I’m going to slit your throat if you come anywhere near me with that mouth of yours.” Little does he know, kissing him is barely the beginning of what I want. I keep my expression innocent, even though my thoughts are anything but.
He really has no idea what he’s inviting when he threatens me like that. If he knew exactly how far my thoughts had already gone, he might stop threatening me and start running.
I take another step closer. “Are you scared I’ll win?”
His whole body seems to sharpen at once, his pride rising like a blade. “Fuck no.”
He points the knife at me, eyes blazing. “I’ll win. And then I’ll push you off the cliff myself.”
“Good,” I murmur. “Make it worth the fall.”
Ilya’s mouth curls in that mean little way it does right before he becomes genuinely dangerous.
“Try to keep up.”
Ilya
I come here because Maksim Vetrov has become enough of a fucking problem that I’ve decided tonight is the night I solve it permanently.
