Now in the second long, grueling hour of Kyden using her as a mop to dust the Guardians’ Hall floor, he had delivered a hard push to her back. She twirled around, slamming a fist straight into his chest. He responded with a deep groan, lunged forward to grab her arm, and twisted her away with a push to the hip. “You cannot let me get a hold of you.”
She sprung with a kick of her own, blasting his thigh, sending a loud smack echoing through the hall. Before she could pull back, he latched onto her foot, flipped her over backward, and she dropped with a heavy thud. He stood over her with an arched eyebrow. “As I said, you cannot let me get a hold of you.”
Thinning her lips, she exploded forward, attempting to land another blow. He dodged her hit and instead grabbed her thigh mid-stride. He dragged her forward, wrapping her leg neatly around his hip.
His eyes burned half with naughtiness, the other half in exasperation. “If this was real, you’d be dead.”
“Good thing it’s not real then.” She yanked her leg away, circled him and waited for an opening to attack.
Only a second later she spotted one.
He turned his body slightly, giving her the advantage she needed. Seizing her opportunity, she slammed her fist directly into his gut. He reciprocated by grabbing her arm and sending her face first to the ground.
His voice sounded well-amused in her ear. “Never let the enemy get behind you. This position leaves you vulnerable.”
Smashing her head back, she spun and socked him in the face, sending him flying backward. She jumped to her feet, surprised by the blood trickling down his nose.
He wiped it away, unfazed. “Once you attack, never stop. Not for anything.”
She took his advice.
When Kyden lunged at her, her instincts stepped in and she leaned out of the way. “That’s it.” He pounced to strike and she raised her arm to block his move, jabbing him in the side. “Good. Get me on the ground.” His eyes shone with pride as he attacked with a steady stream of grabs and pushes, but she dodged and blocked each one. “The longer we fight, the more tired you’ll become.”
For the first time ever, Kyden had changed his approach, and she had the real sense he wasn’t holding back. He moved swiftly, fought with the intent to disable her, and as the minutes drew on, his advice sank in.
She weakened.
He didn’t.
She raised her leg, kicked high, sending him tumbling back. Before she could even blink, he jumped to his feet, preparing to land a hard push to her stomach. She couldn’t stop it. No matter how fast she moved away, his hand would end up straight in her gut.
Holding her breath, she tightened her stomach, awaiting the blow.
When his hand finally connected with her abdomen, the impact of it sent her flying back, but she threw her arms around his neck. If she went down, she’d sure as hell planned to take him with her. As they fell, she spun their bodies, so he’d take the brunt of the fall. They landed with a hard thud and with her straddling his waist.
Pride lightened his eyes. “Well done.”
She heard his approval and spotted his delight, but she zeroed in on his kissable mouth. Beneath her, Kyden panted in labored breaths, and she breathed heavy, too. The feel of his masculine, thick body between her thighs made her burn.
Sweat slicked their flesh, sending hot desire sizzling down to the tips of her toes. The lingering adrenaline made her hands tremble against his warm chest. The scent of his natural spice made her downright wild.
Ever since his last near kiss attempt, three damned weeks ago, Kyden hadn’t made another move. Either he wanted to take things incredibly slow, or he simply wanted to punish her for some unknown reason.
She’d spent every night training with him and they’d also spent causal time together with Haven and Finn. Yet none of those nights included a good make out session, or even a bad one, unless she could count her burning-up-the-sheets dreams. Sure, Kyden had flirted and looked at her in overtly sexual ways, but that’s where it stopped.
No kissing.
No touching.
That needed to change.
Like, now.
As she leaned down toward him, Kyden’s smoldering stare held hers, indicating she wasn’t the only one affected by the fight. Feeling his hard body under her scorching flesh, she spotted the happiness and sexy-as-hell arousal in his eyes, telling her this is what he’d waited for. He had wanted her to make the first move.
Her lips drew close enough to feel his warm breath, when in the same moment, Talon’s voice echoed in the cathedral. “So, son, this is your definition of training?”
Kyden cursed.
Nexi froze.
With a frown, Kyden placed his face into her neck, taking a deep sniff. “Sure beats a punch to the face.”
Nibbling on her flesh, he sent hot shivers racing along her spine, and tickles to places that shouldn’t be tickling with anyone’s dad around. She quickly squirmed off Kyden, standing on wobbly legs. Not that the distance helped much, as Kyden lay half-naked, with taut muscles glistening with sweat and one leg bent at the knee, looking more than willing to ignore his father.
Talon cleared his throat, dragging Nexi’s attention to him. “If you two are done, we have an assignment.” Talon’s expression was grim, even if his eyes were twinkling. “Apparently, the werewolf attacks in Carson City were only the beginning. A werewolf murder has been reported out of New York.”
…
The stale air and the wretched stench of decomposed flesh filled Kyden’s nostrils, causing him to bite back a groan. He scanned the small park adjacent to a dingy motel with the playground next to it, which was quiet at this late hour. However, what bothered him, near the slide, was a man lying flat on his back with his throat ripped. The grass around the deceased body was saturated with dark blood.
Kyden clenched his jaw at the gruesome death, but a sudden burst of laughter broke through the tension. Turning to Nexi and Haven, he folded his arms, and watched the scene in front of him with a frown.
A middle-aged mortal strolled down the sidewalk with his yellow Labrador Retriever and Nexi stayed right in next to him, waving her hands in pure dramatic fashion. “Hello? Do you see me?”
Haven bounced next to her, making funny faces.
Kyden sighed. “Are you two done?”
Both turned to him, and while Haven laughed, Nexi shook her head in amazement. “I honestly didn’t believe the magic shielded us from sight. That is beyond weird.” At Kyden’s arched brow, she rolled her eyes and added, “Okay, not any weirder than anything else I’ve seen.”
He nodded at her before he looked away, knowing part of his tension was caused by her. Tonight she had nearly given him what he’d craved for weeks now, to give into this attraction driving him mad. It irritated him beyond anything that Talon had interrupted.
If Nexi had grown up in the Otherworld, he would’ve had her in his bed and claimed as his weeks ago, but she grew up in the Earthworld. He wanted to do this right for her, take things slow, since she was used to that in her world. Besides, she’d already shown her dislike of any man taking control, so now he simply waited for her next move.
His patience hung on by a thin thread.
The last few weeks had been a strain, frustrating the hell out of him. Nexi had no idea how much restraint he used not to take control of the situation, declare her as his woman, and be done with it.
“Well now, what do we have here?”
Glancing over his shoulder, Kyden spotted the burly werewolf and New York City detective, Foley. He approached, the moonbeams shone off his bald head and his yellow eyes were focused on Nexi as he offered his hand. “The long lost guardian/witch combo I’ve heard about?”
Nexi laughed, shaking his hand. “That’d be me.”
Kyden looked to the dead body at his feet, noticing the grass area wasn’t damaged. Odd, he thought, considering the brutal nature of the death. By all appearances, the man hadn’t put up much of a struggle. Lifting his head, he asked Foley, “Got any details for us?”
Foley leaned against the swing set. “A teen called in the murder an hour ago and when we arrived, this is what we found.” The streetlamp overhead beamed down on his tall, thick frame clad in jeans and a navy blue T-shirt. “After the vamps cleansed the scene, my partner tracked a wolf scent from this location.”
Knowing that didn’t explain much about what unfolded tonight, Kyden encouraged Haven with a jerk of his chin. “Do your thing.”
Standing on the other side of the deceased man, Haven nodded grimly, then she raised her hands in the air. Not a second later, Kyden shivered as the magic swept across him, and when the scene erupted, Nexi’s sharp intake of breath twisted his gut.
He suspected, at the sight of the werewolf stalking the man, it brought her mind back to the murder of her parents. He grabbed her hand, knowing he couldn’t do anything else as this no doubt stirred a painful memory, but he needed to focus on the grisly murder happening before his eyes.
The man scrambled back, trembled with fear, as the wolf approached. The mortal never made a sound, never screamed out for help, and Kyden had seen the same reaction many times. Most mortals couldn’t react when in true fear. It paralyzed them.