Page 37 of Cloak of the Vampire
After a couple of minutes, Ragnor’s face hardened. “Attack,” he said, his low voice commanding, his midnight blue eyes blazing.
All right, then.I took a steady breath and walked toward him slowly, checking his body for any spot where I could launch my first attack.Ragnor had the aura of a serial killer, giving off a vibe that shot my survival instincts into a hyperaware mode nudging me to run, run,run.
I stopped a couple of steps away from him, trying not to let his looming, ominous presence overwhelm me. I wished I could forget the memory of his arms around me or his finger on my lip or the dream where his mouth was on my pussy. I wished I could ignore how infuriatingly sexy he was.
Focus, Aileen.
Calculations ran through my head. I needed to aim for the last place he would expect. Catching him off guard was my only hope. But despite his supposedly relaxed pose, I knew he was ready for everything I might think of. He was old, older than all the vampires in his League, and he was Sacred, which was an obvious bonus. How old could he be, though? They said only the oldest vampires were Sacred, but what was old? One hundred years old? Two? Five?
All the plans I came up with had flaws. He would read right through anything I tried. If I used Iovan’sImperium, he might be anticipating that too. He already knew about my near takedown of Logan the other day, after all.
The clock was ticking. I had to do something. Fastening my hold on my haywire emotions, I purposefully flicked my gaze down to his legs and then up to his neck and launched myself at him. My fist went to his gut while I flung my leg to his waist, and for a moment, I thought I was actually going to pull it off, but then I blinked, and he wasn’t there anymore.
Off-balance, I caught my breath and looked around frantically, trying to see where he could’ve possibly gone in the millisecond that had passed, when a big warm hand grabbed the nape of my neck in a tight yet not painful hold. Warmth spread from that point of contact, making my skin sizzle and my thoughts wander to that dream, his office, his embrace.
Until his voice came a moment later, speaking one low word. “Dead.”
He let go of me, and I turned around, my skin burning, watching him with more cautiousness than before. His face went back to impassiveness, and his stance was still relaxed.Bastard.
Giving myself no time to overthink, I started attacking him with a series of punches and kicks aimed at any part of him that might prove to be weak. But he deflected everything as easily as if he was batting a fly, and his motions were so fast they were a blur. He let me take the lead and did nothing to attack me, much like Logan had done during that first evaluation three weeks ago.
After a few minutes of being on the offensive, I stopped and circled him, frustrated. I needed to get a hit or make him use his magic, which would be great since it would be very helpful to know what it was.
Suddenly, he was in my face, his hand grabbing my neck. “Dead,” he growled.
Goose bumps broke out all over my skin. Before I could do anything, he was behind me again, his arms wrapped around my body. “Dead,” he repeated.
My heart kicked, and I felt as if an electric current rushed through my blood. Right after, in a flash, he had me plastered to the floor, pinned by his enormous body, his hands around my neck again. “Dead.”
I half gasped, half moaned, the position straight out of my dream. Then he flipped me onto my front as though I were a pillow and straddled my back. His mouth was right at my neck, brushing against my skin. My heart boomed in my ears, my breath caught, and I stiffened, feeling the heat warming my skin all the way down to my entrance.
His body was heavy on mine, his breath hot on my skin, and I couldn’t fight the shudder that went through my spine, or how my skin was warm all over, or how it felt like a bolt of lightning shot from my neck to my chest and far south.
It’s just the dry spell ... It’s just the dry spell ...
It was almost like a kiss against the skin of my neck when his deep voice rumbled, “Dead.”
I got the message loud and clear. Overriding my arousal and what his body’s proximity made me feel, a new emotion flowed through me. A helplessness greater than I’d ever felt spread through me; I was full of disappointment at my lack of ability to stand my own against him in a fight.
I hadn’t realized in my stupid rage exactly who I promised to get my revenge on. He was as fast as lightning and as dangerous as the air around him insinuated. How was I supposed to get revenge on someone this fast and this strong? How was I supposed to best him when he’d been cultivating his power for who knew how long?
And the worst thing was, his touch set every part of me on fire.
I was completely fucked.
He released me and put a foot’s distance between us. “Try again,” he ordered.
Rising to my feet, I set my eyes on him, ignoring everything and everyone else. I was going to hit him. I had to. It might be futile, but I would accept defeat only after I exhausted all options.
Once I was steady on my feet, I ran toward him and desperately aimed a kick at his crotch. His hand caught my airborne leg by the calf, and with the other hand, he grabbed the fist I was trying to sneak into his midsection. Effortlessly, he pushed me down on the mat and came above me, his hands on my wrists and his knees pressing against my thighs.
Even though I hadn’t made contact with him, he seemed out of breath when he looked down at me with midnight blue eyes full of darkness. “Yield,” he commanded.
I stared up at him, breathless, hot all over again. I couldn’t yield yet. I had to best him somehow. But my concentration went awry when he lowered his body harder onto mine, his abdomen a mere inch from my chest. With his fingers on my wrists and his face right in mine, it all made me want to close that miniscule gap, to feel the lightning strike my—
I cut off that thought before I could finish it and sucked in a deep breath.Focus, Aileen,I admonished myself.Just focus, for God’s sake.
The forced calmness I imposed on my body caused it to unwind underneath Ragnor’s hard, strong one. Moderating my breaths, I schooled my face into the emptiest expression I could produce. He saw the change and felt it, too, I knew, since his eyes narrowed, his lips pursed, and his grip on my wrists tightened. In the distance, someone called out “It’s time for the next round!” but Ragnor shook his head and replied in a voice the sound of gravel, “We’re not finished.”
