Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2) (21 page)

Hastily drawing a weapon from the rack separating us, I swung with everything I had. He was just as quick, though, and deflected my attack with ease. Splintered wood chips showered us.

Confused, I glanced down and could have kicked myself. In my rush, I had grabbed a wooden practice sword. The metal of his very real sword shimmered as he turned it on me. Its cold tip bit into the sensitive flesh at my throat.

The menacing smirk he wore darkened his features, signaling the end of his tolerance. “How’s your meditation training going, Lucille?” he asked in a low, dangerous tone.

What? Meditation?

Oh, yeah. That. “It’s fine.”

“Mmmhmm,” he grunted, knowingly.

He edged around the rack, keeping the sword level with my throat so I had no escape. Once he stood in front of me, he cautiously lowered it, never taking his eyes off mine. He edged closer to tower over me. I craned my neck to look him in the eye.

“Helen assured me it was fine, too, but she never could understand how much power the mind has over us. Work on governing your thoughts before anything else. The physical will come later.”

There he went, getting all bossy again. “Is that what you say to all the girls?” my inner smartass said, coming out to play.

The frozen depths of those blue eyes told me he wasn’t in the mood for my bullshit. “You should go get some rest. You’ve had an eventful night and need to stay prepared for anything. Plus, you need to chill out.”

“You’ve been here ten minutes and you’re already telling me what to do. What are you going to do if I don’t chill out, huh?”

He inched closer, invading my space and forcing me back a step. His eyes gleamed with wicked intent, and his careful, no physical contact notion slipped away. “Don’t push me, Lucille. Because you won’t like what happens.”

Most people would wet themselves under that frosty glare and ruthless tone. This man did intimidation like nobody’s business. I, however, responded a little differently to his threats.

Laughing in his face forced his eyes to narrow and his features to tighten. I wanted nothing more than to get under his skin the way he did to me. And I knew exactly how to accomplish that feat.

“Hate to break it to you, but when it comes to me, your threats fall a little short. Remember when most of those threats were meant to make me blush and shut me up? You can’t even use those against me anymore. I couldn’t handle them before, because, well, things were different then.” I tossed the bait and bit back a smile when I saw him take it.

The wolfish smile transformed his features into something a lot less menacing but no less dangerous. Shit. In my effort to affect him, I forgot how much he could affect me. Yeah, I had no regard for consequences when he was around.

He leaned down, and that masculine scent that was all him invaded my brain like a good alcohol buzz. It wasn’t chemical like Nick’s cologne but a natural mixture of spices, woods, and clean scents. Our noses nearly touched.

“And you can handle them, now?” he whispered, his breath warm against my lips.

I was reminded of a similar conversation on the dance floor of Shane’s nightclub when we danced, and I told him I was probably the only woman who could handle him. Still true.

I didn’t back down. Despite what I once felt for him, the idea of anything happening between us didn’t frighten me the way it used to. He lowered his voice more.

“I can still make you blush,” he warned.

“Doubtful.”

His arms caged me in as they landed on the wall right behind me. When did that get there? His cheek brushed against mine and his breath tickled the soft skin behind my ear when he leaned in to whisper words that could never, ever be repeated again.

The naughty promises of all the things he could do to my body stunned me into submission, and I could only stare at the wall of weapons beyond him as my cheeks flamed and I fought to gain control of my ragged breathing.

When he leaned back a hair, he laughed at my expression. My virginal mind rebelled against the information overload. He was obviously no prude and quite experienced, which only made my lack of experience that much more evident.

“So would you rather go somewhere and cool off or test me some more? Still think you can handle the consequences?” he teased.

I didn’t trust my voice, so I shook my head woodenly. He pulled back to occupy my line of sight. When our eyes locked, my heart rattled my ribcage like an earthquake, and I involuntarily licked my lips.

His hooded gazed followed the movement, and he sucked in a sharp breath. Whether he cared for me or not, his physical response was undeniable. At the very least, this hot-blooded male standing before me was attracted to me.

So wrapped up in each other, we barely managed to break apart when voices approached the doorway.

“Dude, I’m totally going to kick your ass this time,” Nick said.

Brody responded, “Please. You can’t even touch my level of badassness.”

“Oh, hey, Lucy,” Nick called when he noticed us.

The guys approached watchfully, obviously sensing some of the tension radiating off us. I watched them take in our rumpled appearances and smeared blood while trying hard to act like everything was cool.

Nick scowled at Gavin as Brody extended a hand. “Hey, man. It’s Gavin, right?”

“Right,” he responded cordially before shaking his hand.

“I’m Brody. I don’t know if you remember. It’s been awhile.”

Gavin smiled reluctantly, unable to shake off some of the lingering stiffness. “I remember,” he said before glancing in Nick’s direction.

Nick’s eyes bounced suspiciously between the two of us before he reluctantly offered his hand. “Nick,” he supplied sharply.

Gavin grasped it firmly and responded with a curt nod and cold smile. The air grew thicker the longer their hands and eyes stayed locked in whatever intractable mental battle was taking place between the two of them.

Brody and I shared a look, confused by what might have spurred this little pissing contest. Nick broke free first, turning to me. His gaze roamed over me appreciatively, and I grew uncomfortable under the blatant scrutiny.

“So, Lucy, since you’re here, do you want to stay and watch me kick this guy’s ass?” he asked, hooking a thumb in Brody’s direction. “And when I’m done with him, I can show you some of my favorite moves.” He winked and I rolled my eyes.

Gavin looked him up and down, and by the smirk on his face, I knew he found him lacking. Still, he had gone rigid beside me. Creases formed around his eyes when they narrowed slightly.

I stretched my senses in an attempt to ferret out his emotions, but he gave nothing away. He was still in control of himself. Unsure of what I was even searching for, I relented.

“I’ll watch you guys while I work on my swordplay,” I said.

I heard a low growl emanate from Gavin, but he turned to the door and left without another word.

The two boys watched him go before turning back to me. “Yeah, maybe you could work on not destroying the sword before you learn how to use it,” Brody said, toeing the splintered remains of my practice sword at his feet.

“Jesus, Lucy, what the hell happened in here?” Nick asked as he moved toward the wall with the Gavin sized dent in it to inspect the damage.

Knowing Gavin was still in earshot, I responded, “That is what happens when someone pisses me off.”

They both turned their wide eyes on me when Nick’s expression grew furious. “Did he do something to you, Lucy? I’ll kill him if he hurts you.”

I could have sworn I heard a derisive snort come from somewhere upstairs.

“Dude, from the looks of things, he’s hurting a lot more than our girl, here,” Brody chimed in before flashing me an appreciative smile.

“True. Damn, Lucy. He’s lucky he can still walk after this kind of impact.” Nick still stood by the wall, rifling through the wreckage. He began picking up fallen tools and straightening things.

Confused by his statement, I turned toward Brody for explanation. He leaned closer conspiratorially. “Not everyone here knows about the guy’s… vampire status,” he whispered, tilting his head in Nick’s direction. “Not many of us were around the last time he stopped by, but my question is, how did you two meet?”

“Oh, you know, small world. We both happen to be the only supernatural beings on the same team.”

“Really?” he asked dubiously. He slung an arm over my shoulders and his voice dropped. “Because from the looks of you two when we walked in, you seemed to know each other on a much more personal scale than just being members of the same team. If you know what I mean,” he added cheekily.

Wondering if Gavin was still listening in, I decided against divulging too much by playing dumb. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He raised a skeptical brow. “Please, girlfriend. I saw the way you two were eye banging each other. Why do you think Lover Boy over there got his panties in a twist?”

“I don’t know what you think you saw, but there’s nothing there. There was no ‘undressing each other with our eyes’ going on.”

“Eye banging,” he corrected. “And there was a whole lot of it. And a whole lot of murderous looks coming from your direction. You either looked like you wanted to grind all up on him and climb him like a pole or rip his heart out with your bare hands.”

Despite my sour mood, I smothered a laugh at his ridiculous and persistent assumptions. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you might have taken a few too many hits to the head there, buddy.”

He ignored the jibe. “Oh, or maybe you’ve already done both. Maybe you grinded on his pole and then ripped his heart out,” he said, breaking out into a full-blown smile. He laughed at his own joke, and it was infectious.

“You’re sick,” I accused around my own growing smile. “And what about you and Carly? What’s going on there?”

“What about me and Carly?” he evaded.

“Wow. Just wow,” I scolded the double standard. He had no problem prying into my personal life but didn’t want to share anything about his. “I guess I’ll have to talk to Carly. See what she has to say about it,” I threatened half-heartedly.

“Oh, I see how it is. Maybe I’ll go ask Gavin what the story is between you two.”

I laughed out loud at that. “Be my guest. Let me know how it goes.” We both knew he wouldn’t approach Gavin, especially about his personal life, because, well, Gavin wasn’t the most approachable guy on the planet. “He doesn’t even let me in. Good luck getting him to open up, though.”

“Maybe he’ll open up when you do,” he added, making sure there was no mistaking the innuendo.

“Nice.” My cheeks heated when Gavin’s dirty whispered words wiggled free from the chokehold I had them in.

The clattering noises of metal sliding against metal heightened before Nick yelled, “Hey, what are you guys laughing about over there?” He bounded over to us and somehow maneuvered Brody’s arm off my shoulders, replacing it with his own. “You two are looking pretty cozy,” he said, glaring at his friend.

I shrugged out of his awkward pseudo-embrace. It felt different with Brody, more brotherly. With Nick, his intentions were less friendly and way too
friendly
. His draw toward me was forced based on his attraction, not based on me as a person. I suspected it had more to do with what I was. Either way, it made me uncomfortable.

“Relax, Dude. It wasn’t like you stood a chance, anyway,” Brody retorted.

Nick folded his arms over his chest, puffing up as he scowled at Brody. He turned to look at me and his smile made a reappearance. “So swordplay, huh?”

“Yeah, I have some work to do before the assassin finds me.”

Two sets of eyes bulged. “What!” they shouted in unison.

Oops. That was probably meant to be classified information. But these people needed to be prepared for what they were facing.

“There’s an assassin here?” Nick asked.

“Maybe. He might be here, or he might be on his way. I thought I sensed someone in the woods on my way home tonight, but I never saw anyone.” Instincts, however, told me I wasn’t alone out there.

“That’s why you flipped the switched?” Brody asked, panic clear in his voice. I nodded. “A freaking assassin,” he exclaimed.

“I say we go out there right now and hunt this bastard down,” Nick suggested. Brody smacked him on the back of his head. “Ouch. What the hell, man?”

“Are you an idiot? Did you not here her say
assassin
?”

“He’s right, Nick. No one should be going out there. These assholes have the strength of ten normal vampires. I don’t want anyone playing hero with this guy around. Promise me you guys won’t do anything stupid.”

Jesus. That sounded all too familiar. I prayed Gavin wasn’t listening. My reputation for being reckless and impulsive would be tarnished forever. For some reason, that didn’t sit well with me. Maybe it was just my requisite to disagree with that man any chance I got, or perhaps I feared that I’ve lost those parts of myself permanently.

I listened for any sign of Gavin, but the only sound came from a shower somewhere above us.

“We promise,” Brody agreed. An argument was brewing on the tip of Nick’s tongue when Brody elbowed him in the ribs. “Dude, seriously. You don’t want to mess with these guys.”