He and Darian would make for a thrilling match, she noted. Darian was lean as a whip, his body honed to the point where instinct and reaction were one. She'd never battled anyone with Darian's speed.

Xander's elbow smashed into her face. If she hadn't noticed the blow soon enough, she'd have no teeth. As it was, he busted her lip and left her ears ringing. The vamp withdrew.

"That was an easy one. You should've blocked that five times over," he chided.

"Some of us don't move at the speed of light," she snapped and wiped the blood away. "C'mon, I'm ready."

"You're head's not in the game. Someday, you might need these lessons."

"You've got my attention now."

His gaze lingered on her hand, where crimson blood was smeared. He'd never drawn blood before. She wondered how long it'd take before every vamp in the mansion was waiting in the locker room to claim what they could from her. When Xander didn't look away, she began to suspect she'd found a weak point.

"What's wrong, Xander?" she purred. "Whose head isn't in the game now?"

"You'd be wise to clean that up."

"Oh, you mean this?" she asked with faux innocence. "Just a little blood. I'm fine."

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"You're a fool to mess with a creature like me, Guardian."

"What're you gonna do?" Jenn stepped closer to him and held out the bloodied hand. "Nothing? Oh, that's right. You want me alive." She dropped her arm. "You wouldn't let me back out if our roles were reversed."

His response was a strike hard enough to jar her to the bone when she blocked it. She filed her discovery as the only known weakness of the vamp. They settled into a battle that left her drenched in sweat before she left the ring and him looking like a cat that just caught a mouse.

When she retreated to the locker room, her lip was puffy and her body achy already. No vamps awaited her there. She cleaned up the blood first then took a fast enough shower that the water didn't have time to warm from cold to hot. She'd stopped trying to figure out why Xander tormented her every day. It was more than because he was bored, and she knew very well what he could do if he wanted to. She'd seen him trying to train the Black God a couple of times but never in the ring with any of the vamps.




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