Page 381 of Hunters and Prey

And then Vesper’s bellow of rage echoed in my head, joining the roar that erupted from his lethal jaws. They’d just activated his collar.

Bastards.

You need to give them a show,Dante said.

Vesper shook his head and began to advance, his horns gleaming wickedly in the sunlight. If it’s a show they want, then that’s what the fuck they’ll get. You ready to duck and dive, woman?

A grin tugged at my lips and I held out my hands, palms upward, and beckoned him. Let’s dance.

A chuckle erupted in my mind and then he was swiping at me. I leapt out of the way and rolled under him. Jezebel scraped against his underbelly, leaving a gouge.

Hey, some warning would be nice,he chided.

I could say the same to you.

Fine. Watch out for the tail sweep.

I jumped high over his thick tail and landed lightly on my feet. Move. Now. I swung Jezebel at his flank.

Vesper swung his body away from me just in time to avoid another scrape with my axe.

Oh, God. I can’t watch,Dante said.

You can’t look away, you mean,Vesper retorted, his voice a rumble in my mind.

He sounded like he was having fun, and it forced me to acknowledge the bubble of euphoria forming in my chest. The screams of encouragement from the crowd, some for me, some for Vesper, the sting of dirt and sand, the grit in my eyes, it all combined in an exhilarating cocktail that had the blood galloping through my veins. The next few minutes were all about the acrobatics. He attacked, I evaded. He lashed with his tail and I jumped, latched on, and went for a short flight, landing hard in the dirt and rolling to my feet. The crowd was lapping up this shit like it was a chocolate sundae, and man, it felt good.

“Now for a little fun,” the Blood commentator’s voice boomed.

With a clunk and a hiss, spikes appeared beneath Dante’s cage.

“Better hold on, Skin,” the commentator said.

Dante grabbed onto the bars just as the floor of the cage flipped open.

Fuck! There was a rope and hook hanging on the spikes. They expected me to help Dante by hooking and pulling the cage out of danger while Vesper was on my tail.

Vesper thrashed in pain again. He clawed at the ground. If he wasn’t Dante’s brother, there was no doubt he’d have ripped me to shreds by now just to make it stop, but he was holding out. I ran for the rope and hook and scooped them up. Two tries and I managed to get a high enough swing to latch onto the bars.

The crowd had begun to boo again, and behind me, Vesper was a thrashing mess as his body was dealt shock after shock via that damned collar.

Dammit, what time was it? When was the power due to go out? At least it would knock Vesper’s collar out and ... and the force field above us ... Oh, God. We weren’t trapped, because we had the perfect getaway vehicle as long as ... Vesper, can you carry me?

You want to ride me?he drawled.

How could he be so suggestive when under such duress?

It’s an art,Dante said. I can’t hold on much longer.

I pulled with all my might, and the cage swayed away from the spikes.

“Now!”

Dante dropped fifteen feet to the ground and landed in a crouch. Damn, he looked hot.

Really? Is that really appropriate?Vesper drawled.

Had I projected? And how could I sever the link?

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