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"Again!" Rosa snapped. "Weren't you watching? Are you some kind of a simpleton? You push with your knees, reach up, and grasp the ledge."

Ezio made the attempt, coming up just short of the distance he needed. He dropped to the ground next to Rosa, sitting down on the grass and panting. "I think it is possible I am too big for your method to work."

"Too big," she scoffed. "I have seen larger men than you master it." She was lying, but he didn't need to know that. "Perhaps you are simply less talented than you claim to be."

"I have many talents," he said, his voice pouring over her like rich wine. "Which of them are you maligning?"

Rosa couldn't help the deep stab of desire she felt, or the disappointment as he cleared his throat, looking abashed by his own comment, and got to his feet again.

"I will try once more and we will see."

"Use your muscles this time, if you have any," she taunted, and he grinned at her over his shoulder, beginning the climb back up.

"Do you think I cannot see what you're doing? Do I look like a child to you, to be tricked into succeeding because you say I cannot?" He didn't wait for her response, climbing nimbly from ledge to ledge until he reached the jumping spot.

"No," she muttered to herself, watching his progress up the side of the wall. "Most assuredly you do not look like a child."

He built his momentum, climbing faster as he got farther up, and this time when he bunched his muscles for the leap, he made it, clinging precariously to the upper ledge with one hand for a moment. Rosa watched as he reached for the ledge with his other hand, swinging his body to add momentum, then caught and held with both hands before pulling himself up and climbing the rest of the way to the roof.

"Aha, you see?" he called triumphantly down to her, and only then did Rosa realize she had been clenching her own hands so tightly that her nails had dug into her palms.

"Bah!" she called back, glad that the shouting covered the tremor in her voice. "That is not so much! Wait until my leg is healed; I will show you some things."

"Will you, now?" She could feel the warmth of his gaze even from two stories below. If only he looked at her that way when he was on the ground.

"Come down, and I will show them to you now," she offered, her voice husky.

Ezio looked troubled. He lowered himself over the side of the building and in a few moments was at her side. "You shouldn't say such things."

"Why not? I am not made of glass. Nor am I a delicate flower. Is that the problem? Am I not fancy enough for you?" She hadn't meant for the words to come out, but they leaped from her mouth on her own.

"You know why you should not say them. I respect Antonio, Rosa."

"Antonio? What does he have to do with anything?"

"He is—You are—Aren't you?"

Rosa's eyes widened. So many things suddenly made sense to her. She couldn't help but laugh. "No, not in the least. Antonio's tastes are … I am not his type, let us put it that way."

"Oh!" Warmth lit Ezio's face. "Apparently I have misunderstood."

"Yes. Yes, you have."

"So then I can do this, as I have wanted to." One big, warm hand cupped her chin, holding it, as his lips met hers, soft, gentle, but insistent.

Rosa needed no further invitation. She wrapped her arms around the shoulders she had been longing to touch, her mouth opening for him. Ezio pulled her tightly against him and she could feel the heat of his body warming her all through.

There was movement near the building, and they broke apart reluctantly. Ezio rubbed his thumb over her lower lip.

"I will be alone, later tonight. In my room," Rosa said breathlessly.

"Not for long, you won't." His brown eyes shone with a promise that had her weak in the knees. And then he was gone, climbing the wall with an ease that made her wonder if all that trying had merely been to torture her with images of his fine physique. She could hardly wait for the night to come.