“You never said I had to fight fairly,” Crow pointed out. “We both know you would have bested me if I relied on skill alone, so I think my ‘dirty trick’ was perfectly called for.” He smirked at her and let his dagger fall away from her neck, wanting to enjoy their closeness without the weapon between them. The position they were in sent his heart racing, and he couldn’t help but think that he was going to enjoy sparring quite a bit if they continued to end up like this.

[color=fff79a][b]“Well, as long as I’m the only one you’re using that move against, I suppose I can let it slide,”[/b][/color] Penelope’s sultry words caught his attention.

“Hmm, that’s a hard bargain,” he said, knitting his brow as if he had to think it over. “If my move worked this well against you, just imagine what it would do to a knight of Younis.” He chuckled, running his free hand sensuously down the length of her side and stopping at her hip. “I think it would leave them too stunned to do anything.” His devilish eyes flicked back up to meet her gaze. “They would be at my mercy.”

Crow leaned in again as if he was going to plant a kiss just below her neck, but instead, he hovered teasingly so that his lips barely brushed against her skin. He kept a firm grasp on her wrists in his left hand, keeping her pinned, while he trailed his right hand a little farther down her body to rest near her inner thigh. Glancing back up at her, he went on in an alluring tone, “But if it means that much to you, I suppose I can save this move just for you, darling.”

Finished teasing her, he finally pressed his lips to the base of her neck, working his way slowly up to her ear. He took the lobe between his teeth, giving it a gentle bite, before he moved on to kiss her lips at last. Bringing his right hand back up to hold her at the waist, he pressed into her deeply, losing himself in the feeling of their bodies moving against each other.

After a while, he drew back to meet her gaze once more, smiling a bit light-headedly, “I really like sparring.”