Aurora takes advantage of my distraction. She comes at me in a concentrated effort, alternating kicks and punches until I’m scrambling to keep any of the hits from landing. The little asshole feints with her leg, aiming for the same spot now aching from that first kick, and when I move to block, she punches me in the face.
I’m on her before I make the conscious decision to move, bearing her to the ground. She tries to roll us, but I’m stronger, and I have as much experience grappling as I do with the rest of it. I straddle her hips and hook her thighs with my feet, pinning her lower body to the mat. She tries to hit me again, but I easily catch her wrists and shove them down, holding her in place.
My leg hurts, but it has nothing on the throbbing in my face. I move my jaw carefully, but everything seems to be functioning as it should. “You didn’t pull your punch.”
“Oops.” She doesn’t sound the least bit sorry.
It should piss me off, but the feeling surging through me isn’t anger. It’s admiration. Admiration and a heavy dose of lust. This delicate flower has more thorns than I could have imagined. Instead of turning me off, it makes her that much more interesting. I stare down at her. “I should have expected this.” I’m the one who pointed out how dangerous she is, how ready to do violence when incited.
“Sounds like a you problem.”
I sit back a little, careful to keep her wrists in place. “Can you shoot? Use weapons beyond fire?”
Aurora’s gorgeous face takes on a stubborn set. “Want to grab some guns and find out?”
That surprises a laugh out of me. “So you can shoot me? I don’t think so.” But it also answers my question in a roundabout way. “What was Allecto preparing you for?”
Aurora narrows her eyes. “Who says she was preparing me for anything? Maybe it has nothing to do with her at all.”
I’m making assumptions again, something she’s proven time and time again that I can’t afford to do. I trace her inner wrists with my thumbs and am gratified to see her breath catch. “I have you pinned. To the victor goes the spoils.”
“Am I the spoils of war now?” The way she says it is all wrong. She might like the way I touch her, but she is furious. Far angrier than this loss warrants, especially since she landed such well-placed blows.
I contemplate her for several long moments, but she offers me nothing. I don’t know the source of her rage, which means I can’t work with it. Surely it’s not… I take a breath. “Are you angry because it took eight years for me to circle back to you?”
“Yes. Next question.”
No, she answered too easily. It’s the truth, yes, but not the full truth. Gods, this woman is a puzzle I only have half the pieces to. If I have one vice, curiosity claims the honor. Aurora’s layers are what draw me to her, and realizing they go deeper than I expect is like a gift just for me.
I settle myself more firmly on top of her. “We’ll add sparring to our schedule.”
“Pass.”
I ignore that and nod to myself. “A bet, if you will. Winner gets a favor.”
She opens her mouth but seems to reconsider whatever she was about to say. Aurora frowns up at me. “What kind of favor?”
Got you.
“Whatever you like, within reason.” I allow myself a satisfied smile. “Today, I win.”
“Give me a rematch now that the terms are set.”
I chuckle. “I don’t think so.”
She licks her lips. “What do you want?”
I should demand answers, information to sate my curiosity. This woman has secrets upon secrets, and I want to hack my way through her barriers to get to them. “A kiss.”
She blinks. “A kiss?”
“Yes.” I lean down, pressing myself to her. Gods, she’s something else. Soft and strong and straining to kick my ass. But the anger has faded from her eyes, and she’s watching my mouth as if craving a taste. I’m only too happy to close the distance and touch my lips to hers. She tenses, as if she expected me to plunder her mouth. Another time, I might—I will. Right now, I intend to enjoy my prize to the fullest extent.
I nip her bottom lip and trace the spot with my tongue, deepening the kiss when she gasps a little. Pretty Aurora. She’s a revelation. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times she’s experienced something, how many people she’s kissed. She reacts like this is the first time, like it’s a shock. Or maybe I’m projecting. There’s something about this woman that brings a fierceness to the fore. I want to conquer her, to brand our shared experience all over her hot little body. The desire is inconvenient, but if I could get rid of it, I would have done it by now. That’s what these two weeks are about: purging her from my system.