Page 26 of Beast

"That it is."

The tension between us buzzed like a live wire.With all the energy we had piled up, if we couldn’t burn it off one way, we’d burn it off another.I braced myself, expecting Marinah to make a move.Sure enough, she launched from her back to her feet with startling speed.I pushed off the floor with my legs, creating space to track her next move.

She grabbed a hefty beam beside her and swung.I barely ducked in time.“Close, baby,” I rebuked.

“You’re getting slow, old man,” she laughed.

I launched an entire desk at her.She saw it coming, dropped the beam, and came in low as the desk sailed over her head.She went for my legs, but I was already moving.Using the wall beside me, I ran toward her and leapt over her head.

“Maybe you’re not that old after all,” she said, her breathing a little heavier.She has no clue why I was actually doing this.I loved watching her Warrior in action.She had a grace of movement missing from male Shadow Warriors.She’s worked hard on muscle memory, and her body reacted before her brain told her to.She was symmetry in motion, a beautiful, monstrous creature who was discovering herself.Her roundhouse kick connected with my side, and I tried grabbing her leg, but she was already moving away.I pivoted and jabbed with a front kick to keep her back.“Are you giving up?”she panted.

“You wish.”I exploded in her direction, dodging away from another kick aimed at my head and took her beneath her armpits, jerking my head back to avoid her snapping jaws.We landed in a pile of arms and legs when she tried to twist from the fall.She was nearly as strong as me, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she surpassed all of us at some point.It amazed me that Marinah didn’t see it.

She drove her elbow into my neck, and a loud grunt exploded from my chest.She lifted her ass and scissored my legs between hers, bending her knees and pretzeling my lower body.I twisted and brought one leg up high and pushed it into her crotch while pushing on her shoulder.At the same time, I grabbed her opposite arm and she was trapped.

“Good move, you need to teach me,” she said with appreciation.

I had seen her in action far too many times to fall for her fake acceptance.“Tap out or prepare for the next move.”

“You’ve been working on these without me,” she said, her voice taking on an exaggeratedly whiny tone, another one of her tactics.

“Beck is a good guinea pig.”Keeping her pinned, I realized it was me breathing heavily now.

“I’m not giving up,” she promised defiantly.

“I know.”

Her eyes turned speculative.“Can we make love in our Beast forms?”

The question hit me like a ton of bricks, and my grip loosened slightly.“Now isn’t the time to explore that option.”

“I know.”Her gaze was wide, disarmingly innocent.“I just wondered.”

“Seeing as you’re the only female Warrior, I’d think that’s a question you’d need to answer.”

Her body tensed, just the slightest bit.“So, it can be done?”

She was killing me.“It’s not like there’s a sexual guide in the history texts,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.“I think it’s something we could explore if you wanted.”

She moved her arm the tiniest bit, but I kept talking, pretending not to notice.“We should make our own rules.”

“Do you find this form attractive?”she asked, while shifting ever so slightly again.

I looked at her, the hair covering her body similar to mine, her muscular frame a powerful symphony of strength.“I find your Warrior form stunning.”

“Sexy?”she pushed.

My voice dropped, gruff with honesty.“Quite sexy.”

“You’re weird.”She twisted sharply, her core strength driving the movement.One of her legs shoved between mine, breaking my hold.Before I could counter, she flipped us, pinning me beneath her.She had the advantage, but I still controlled her upper body.I wasn’t letting go.

Then her teeth found my arm.

I tapped before the bite hit bone, and she released me immediately.“You let me win,” she said softly.

“Maybe.”I rolled toward her, and just like that, we were back where we started.

“I hate you,” she muttered, though there was no heat in the words.

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