His heart skipped at the way she said it.

Yvonne began walking toward him, her heels clicking softly against the pale stone. She moved slowly, placing one foot directly in front of the other while her hips swayed with each step. The glossy material shifted across her curves, and her heavy breasts moved inside the narrow suit.

Luke’s breathing became uneven again.

Her blindfolded face remained angled slightly to one side, and one hand hovered cautiously in front of her. Even so, she was somehow walking straight toward him.

Luke glanced behind himself. The platform ended less than fifteen feet away, so if he stepped aside and let her keep going, she might walk directly over the edge.

"Yvonne?"

"Yes?"

She did not stop.

"You’re walking straight at me."

"I was hoping I was walking toward you."

"That’s not what I meant."

Her smile widened as she continued forward.

Luke could now see the slow rise and fall of her chest. Each step shifted her breasts inside the suit and made the narrow strips of fabric look even less reliable.

He forced himself to focus on the actual problem. Within a few seconds, she was going to collide with him. Warning her again would only make him sound nervous, while stepping aside might send her toward the edge.

She has to be doing this on purpose.

Nothing about her posture suggested fear. Although she moved carefully, she seemed far too calm for someone who might walk off a floating arena. Perhaps she could sense his general direction through the system without knowing exactly where he stood.

Luke braced himself.

When Yvonne came within reach, her raised hand brushed against his chest.

"Oh."

Before she could take another step, Luke released the spear with one hand and caught her around the waist.

Her body pressed fully against him, scattering every thought in his head. The suit was incredibly thin, allowing him to feel the softness of her stomach, the heavy pressure of her breasts against his chest, and the firm peaks of her nipples through the glossy material.

One of her thighs slipped between his legs as he steadied her. Luke’s erection pressed against her lower stomach, leaving no chance that she had missed it.

His entire body went rigid.

Yvonne rested one hand on his shoulder while the other remained against his chest. Her face was close enough for her warm breath to touch his lips.

"My," she murmured. "That was quite a catch."

Luke struggled to make his mouth work. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I had to stop you somehow. You were about to walk past me."

"Was I?"

"Yes."

The curve of her lips made him suspect she had known exactly what would happen.

Luke loosened his hold, but Yvonne did not immediately move away. Instead, her palm traveled slowly across his chest.

"You caught me as though I was already falling."

"There’s no railing."

"That’s true."

"If you fell, I might get punished for letting my partner die."

Yvonne tilted her head. "Is that the only reason you caught me?"

Luke froze.

The penalty window was gone, but that did not mean the dungeon had stopped listening. Although her blindfold covered her eyes, he could feel her attention resting entirely on him.

"No," he admitted. "I didn’t want you to fall."

Her smile softened. "That answer is much nicer."

After lingering against him for another moment, Yvonne finally stepped back. Relief came first, followed by a strange disappointment at losing her warmth.

Luke quickly placed both hands on the spear again and used the shaft to hide the bulge in his pants.

Yvonne smoothed one palm over the front of her suit. The motion pushed her breasts together and ruined any chance Luke had of calming down.

"You don’t need to apologize for catching me," she said. "I like honest boys."

Luke looked away.

He had never flirted with a woman before. He had barely spoken to girls his own age, and now he had been trapped in a dungeon with a mature woman wearing a magical thong.

He was completely out of his depth.

Still, the truth mechanic worked both ways. If the dungeon punished lies, she could not hide everything from him either. That thought helped him regain a little control.

"Were you really about to walk over the edge?" he asked.

Yvonne paused. Her lips parted, but no answer came immediately, and the hesitation told him plenty.

"You knew where I was," Luke said.

"I knew the general direction."

"That’s not the same thing."

"No," she admitted. "It isn’t."

"So you were testing me."

Her smile brightened. "I may have been testing you a little."

No penalty appeared, so apparently, that counted as the truth.

Before Luke could question her further, Yvonne’s expression changed. She turned toward the figures waiting along the outer edge of the arena.

"Luke."

The playful warmth disappeared from her voice.

He tightened both hands around the spear. "What is it?"

"They’re going to move."

Luke looked toward the nearest creature. It remained hunched beneath the shadows, its long arms hanging almost to its knees. The other five stood just as still, and only their rough breathing disturbed the wind.

"They’re not moving."

"Just give them another second. I can already see one of them moving."

Purple light spread through the lines running across Yvonne’s blindfold.

A translucent window appeared beside her.

[Oracle’s Glimpse activated.]

[You may observe fragments of the immediate future.]

Yvonne gasped and raised two fingers toward her temple.

Faint images flickered around the arena. Luke saw three versions of the nearest monster occupying different positions at once, but they vanished too quickly for him to understand what they meant. Judging by Yvonne’s expression, she was having trouble making sense of them too.

"One of them is about to attack," she said.