Page 45 of Act of Passion

Because I’m not eight months pregnant,jerkoff.

He came at her again, with skill and precision, making a move to strike her in the face. She leaned back out of his reach and came up, punching him in thejaw.

The men in the roomgasped.

Elm smiled more, wiping blood from his lip. “You have more fire than I thought. That means fucking you will be that much more fun. I was holding back, worried I’d harm you too much, but Brooke…I will hold back nomore.”

“Do you like to hear the sound of your own voice? Because I gotta tell you, it grates on my last nerve,” shesaid.

His gaze darkened. When he lunged for her, he did it at an incrediblespeed.

She spun and extended her leg, kicking him in the chest, knocking him back from her. She ran at him and leapt in the air, spinning in motion, kicking him again, knocking him back more. She didn’t stop. Rage for what he’d put her through led heractions.

He caught her with a backhand, hitting her jaw, knocking her off herfeet.

He lifted his hands and balls of blue flames appeared in them. She rolled as he threw one at her. Brooke kept rolling, just missing thestrikes.

“You cannot stand against me and win, Brooke. I am thousands of years old. You are not. And no one has ever taught you how to wield the gifts you were born with,” hesaid.

She let her power build and grabbed a knife from the back of her pants, throwing it at him. It embedded in hisarm.

He hissed and then laughed. “Youdohave a lot of fight inyou.”

He formed a bigger blue ball of fire and threw it ather.

Brooke tossed her hands up and white light came out of her palms, going to the blue ball of fire, making itdissipate.

He gasped. “How?”

She sprang to her feet and they began to circle oneanother.

He threw a hand up and wind hit her, but she held her ground, refusing to budge. She, in turn, hit him with a blast of wind as well, and he slid back on thefloor.

He ripped up and off the floor as if pulled by strings, his skin shimmering, his hair lifting slightly as though he were standing in a breeze. His eyes began to glow. “Brooke, continue and I will be your end. I am not your average Fae. I am so very muchmore.”

Lowering her head, she let her powers rise fully. Her eyes tingled and she knew they were now a vibrant green. And she knew the second her skin began to shimmer as his did, from the round of gasps that went through theroom.

When she lifted her head, she found Elm staring wide-eyed at her. “Neither amI.”

“Brooke?” he asked, his voice a whisper. “How?”

Her jaw set as her powers moved out and over the room, lifting chairs and tables. She thrust them at Elm and the others with him. Johnson and the other men were all struck hard, falling to thefloor.

Elm lifted a hand and parted the objects flying at him, as if parting the Red Sea. He then sent a table flying at her. He stared at her and sniffed the air. His eyes lit with excitement. “I recognize the smell of thatpower.”

She dropped the items she was making fly. He was right, she’d not been taught from birth to use her powers and was burning through them too fast. Her skin stopped shimmering and her eyes returned tonormal.

“This changes everything,” he said. “A female royal has not been in our line since your mother died. And even before that, she had been the only one for centuries.” He stiffened. “Had she not run off with that dirty shifter she called a mate, she would have beenmine. I’m willing to accept the fact you have animal blood in you because you are of royallineage.”

He came at her again and she leapt up and onto a chair, balancing on it before leaping and throwing it into the air. She caught it and then struck him in the side of the head. He went to one knee. He then grabbed her leg and yanked it out from under her. She landed on her back and he was on her in a heartbeat, pinning her to the floor with his body. He inhaled deeply. “Princess, you have no idea how good yousmell.”

“Do not pet-name me, jerkoff.” She glared athim.

He laughed. “Brooke, have you any idea who your motherwas?”

She didn’treply.

“She was aqueen.”

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