Page 23 of Warrior

The laughter died instantly, and I froze.Was she shifting?

I quickly set her down and backed away, ready for anything.But when I looked at her, there was no sign of a shift.She was smiling.Damn, she was controlling her beast with a level of mastery I hadn’t expected.Amazing.

“How about knives?”I suggested.

Excitement sparked in her eyes, and I knew then that whatever Boot had taught her had stuck.She wasn’t the same clumsy woman who had stumbled onto the island months ago.She was something new.A breed of Shadow Warrior none of us had seen before.

“Alpha,” Beck called, tossing two knives in my direction.I caught them easily, and the men formed a circle around us.

I approached Marinah, holding out one of the blades.She extended her hand, but instead of immediately giving it to her, I pulled her close and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before stepping back and handing her the knife.

“What was that for?”she asked, startled.

“A final kiss before you gut me,” I replied, backing up a few steps to give us space.

She glanced down at the blade, and a gleam flashed in her eyes.With a quick flick of her wrist, she flipped the knife into the air, letting it spin three times before catching it by the handle and dropping into a flawless knife defense stance.

I shook my head, impressed despite myself.Her form was poised and ready.Boot hadn’t been one of my strongest fighters, not by a long shot.But if Marinah had learned this much from him, I couldn’t help but wonder how formidable she would be once I spent more time training her.

“Whatcha waiting for, baby?”she taunted.

I flipped my knife, testing its weight, and began to circle to my left, then feinted right.Her body turned with mine, her eyes tracking each move I made.I was still calculating my next strike when she darted forward, fast as a viper’s strike, her blade slashing in quick, multidirectional arcs.I moved to counter, but by the time she backed off, blood welled from two fresh cuts on my forearm.

“She’s good!”one of the men called.I could hear the surprise in his tone, but I’d be damned if I took my eyes off Marinah.

Her grin turned wicked.“Boot never taught me guns,” she said, tauntingly to those around her.“Knives and a few moves on the mat are all I’ve got.Now you’ve seen my best stuff, what’s a poor girl to do?”

I tossed my knife aside and came at her while she was focused on the men.Teaching her to fight against this kind of distraction could wait for another day.Right now, we needed to get out of here.She cried out when I grabbed her hand and practically dragged her along.This had been a bad idea from start to finish.Watching her fight and embody the Warrior she’d become was turning me on far too much.

“You damn ogre!”she yelled, trying to pull away.

“I need your attention for a moment,” I hissed.

“You couldn’t have said that first?”she ground out.

I turned the corner of one of the buildings and pulled her out of sight.Once there, I stepped into her space, backing her against the cement wall.My hands landed on either side of her head, caging her in.She was breathing hard, her face flushed, her eyes wide.Her hands came up between us, fingers curling around one of my leather chest straps.She pulled me closer.

My gaze locked on her lips.She licked them, and a deep groan escaped my throat.My eyes darted to hers, catching the desire burning in their depths.Beast sniffed the air, and her unique scent filled my lungs.Leaning in, I ran my nose along her jaw, inhaling the faint trail of salty sweat at her hairline.

Mate.

Yes, mate,I told him.

“Why do you do this?”she asked huskily, arching her body against mine.

“This?”I murmured, giving her earlobe a small bite.

“Kiss me, then push me away?”she said in frustration.

I pulled back slightly, my gaze searching hers.“You aren’t ready,” I said firmly.

She sucked in a sharp breath as my thumb made small circles on the exposed skin beneath her leather chest piece.

“How could I be more ready?”she asked, squirming against me.

I kissed along her jawline, lingering for a moment.“Your beast isn’t ready,” I clarified in a low, strained voice.

“Please, King.My beast will do whatever the hell I tell her to.”Her voice was a mix of need and desperation.

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