02 Blood Roses - Blackthorn (35 page)

The sincerity in his tone, the slight darkening in his eyes, made her stomach jolt and, to her distaste, not just with apprehension. She rolled back her shoulders, preparing herself for battle. ‘You’ve got to get to it first.’

He raised his eyebrows slightly, only this time a smile escaped – a stunning, fleeting smile that ignited those azure eyes and annoyingly only enhanced his handsome face further. He rested his hands back on his hips. ‘Seriously?’

It was one mocking look too much.

She closed the gap just enough to lift her leg with lightning speed, less than an inch from making impact with his chest before he moved his foot just as swiftly, swiping her other leg from under her, causing her to hit the floor.

Leaning back on braced arms, she stared up at him; not so much as a hint of a glitch in his composure.

It was a move she’d developed to perfection, and he’d kicked it from her as if it was nothing. His self-assurance riled her as she looked squarely into his unperturbed eyes.

Feeling an alien flush in her cheeks, she moved back slightly to forge some distance before getting to her feet.

She was going to wipe the smug look off his face.

But as she lifted her leg again, he knocked it aside, as he did her right fist and then her left as she tried twice to strike him.

Zach had taught her everything she needed to know about one-on-one combat – if not to take an opponent down completely, then at least long enough to get away.

She paused for only a split second before increasing the onslaught, hitting out at him with clean and precise moves, only to have him fend them off swiftly and accurately before knocking her leg from under her again.

She fell back down, brushed her hair from her eyes in irritation before glowering up at him.

‘You’ve spent too long fighting vampires, honey,’ he said.

The playful challenge in his eyes incensed her. The mocking in his tone, the derision in his eyes, triggered her indignation more.

She knew better than to fight unless she was in complete control of her temper but this was now just as much about pride as escaping. Instead of taking the moment she needed, she got back to her feet.

She picked up pace, using every move she had been taught in quick succession, catching him several times but never with enough force or at the right angle to make any impact.

‘Are you scared to fight me?’ she demanded, frustrated by his purely defensive moves.

‘You want to exhaust yourself, you go ahead.’

She sped up, increasing the speed of her moves, adrenaline pumping as she went at him harder. He missed a couple of her shots, allowing her to make impact with his chest and knee, but it was nowhere near enough to take him down. She knew she was being less precise, fuelled by her anger rather than tactics.

And this time, when he kicked her legs from under her, he purposefully went down on top of her.

She lifted her knees nimbly against her chest ready to use the remaining strength in her thighs as leverage to force him off her, but he instantly closed the gap. He forced her thighs to part either side of his hips, spreading her legs further with the power of his, locking her ankles down to the ground with his own at the same time as pinning her arms to the ground either side of her head.

Despite the futility, she tried to writhe and buck beneath him, but not one inch of his hard, tensed body was moveable.

Gasping, she let the back of her head hit the ground, panting as she looked up into his eyes, every inch of her resounding in umbrage at her helplessness.

‘Done?’ he asked, the calm in his eyes infuriating her as much as the effortlessness with which he held her to the floor.

She tightened her hands into fists. ‘Get off me,’ she all but growled.

‘Are you
done
?’ he repeated, his tone taking on an impatient edge that escalated her agitation.

She defiantly held his gaze, feeling every inch of the power behind his body, the heat emanating between them. As he watched her a little too intently for comfort, mesmerising her with his quiet confidence, she felt another unfamiliar stirring. ‘If it means you’ll get those feral hands off me, yes, I’m done.’

She grudgingly stilled as she awaited his response; gazed at the masculine lips that hovered inches from hers before looking back into his eyes.

He lowered himself a few inches, his biceps straining distractedly against his shirt. ‘Vampires might bite, honey, but lycans tear. You might want to bear that in mind next time you try and take me on.’

With only another moment’s linger on her gaze, he released her wrists, eased off her, grabbing her arm to pull her to her feet along with him.

‘You don’t know what you’ve got yourself into,’ she declared, unable to suppress her indignation.

‘You can tell me all about it back at the compound,’ he said, only to hoist her up over his shoulder.

Her cheeks flushed from the blood rushing to her head, let alone the humiliation. ‘Put me down!’ she demanded, slamming a fist into his back as she tried to kick at his groin.

Her retaliation only evoked him to hold her tighter though, her clenched fist barely having any impact on his solid back.

She glowered down at the ground that swayed beneath her, forced her elbows into his back to regain some kind of control, but they reached the shed in no time.

He slid her down onto her feet, catching her forearm as she stumbled with the motion.

Rone and Samson were already helmeted up and astride their motorbikes in the far corner.

Corbin stood in front of the two nearer by, his arms folded as he smirked in amusement at Jask. ‘She’s going to be a lot of trouble. Are you sure she’s worth the effort?’

‘You know me – I love a challenge,’ Jask said, tugging her over to the nearest motorbike. He unhooked something from the seat, and turned to clasp one cuff of the handcuffs over her right wrist.

He lifted the helmet off the seat and shoved it on her head, before guiding her astride his motorbike. Sitting in front of her, he pulled her other wrist around his taut waist, cuffing both of hers together at his lap, the position forcing her intimately against his back.

She clenched her hands and fought against leaning against him. But she was given no other option as Jask revved the engine.

Sophia quickly found somewhere to rest her feet and braced herself just as they sped off, kicking up dust behind them.