The villa echoed with the ring of steel on steel as their duel escalated in intensity but remained just as playful. Daeron had to admit that she was as skilled as she was beautiful, as he pressed an advantage, pushed her back into a column and binding both their rapiers between them. Catching her by surprise, he pressed his lips to hers and, for an instant, felt her kiss back. “You orc,” she swore as she shoved him back, swinging wildly and spinning herself in an off-balance pirouette. “Temper-temper!” he mocked, swatting her shapely butt with the flat of his blade as it spun pass. Realizing that he was just trying to goad her into making worst mistakes, Raven smiled coyly and resumed the duel with more control. She’d originally thought that he was nothing more than a wealthy flop; a smug, self-important young noble who had lured her here for a little sport to relieve his boredom, but his skill had proved her wrong… few men who hadn’t fought for their lives had such skill with a blade. Lunging forward, her foot slipped on the polished marble floor and she ended up over-extended. Seizing the opportunity, he swatted her rapier aside and lunged himself, slipping his blade expertly into the bodice of her vest, and the cleavage with in, without even nicking her lovely breasts. Reacting on reflex, she pulled up and his razor-sharp blade sliced cleanly through her bodice’s fasteners. “What!?!” she cried in surprise as, with nothing to restrain it, her vest popped open under the strain of her ripe breasts, leaving the firm mounds bare before his leering eyes. He quickly circled out of reach as she struggled to hold the damaged garment closed with her free hand, to little avail. Then, eyeing him with a combination of even greater respect for his skill and cleverness, and seething spite for the embarrassment, she moved forward to resume the duel, letting her vest hang open with no further effort to hide the charms it revealed. She knew that if he could do that without spilling a drop of her blood, he could have easily slipped past her defense and dealt her a lethal blow dozens of times by now, but obviously he wanted her alive and unharmed… and she had a good idea why. “Like what you see?” she taunted with a capricious grin, knowing that the distraction would play in her favor as his hungry eyes lingered on her bared chest, determined make him pay for the pleasure. “I do indeed,” he smirked as they resumed their dangerous ballet, finding it harder to concentrate on her blade. In truth he did like what he saw in her, and not just the ripe breasts that danced before him; she had passed every test he had put before her… and by the gods she was a stunning beauty! He surprised her by going on the offensive as she moved to resume her attacks only to find herself on the defensive as he pressed her hard in an effort to bring the duel to an end since he had learned all he need to. As much as he was enjoying their dance of blades, he looked forward to another, more intimate, dance later. But, focused on each other, neither noticed the figure that quietly stalked toward them on the balcony above.