Page 14 of Bound Vows
I close my laptop and head to the gym, telling myself this visit is about establishing dominance and testing boundaries. The truth is far more primitive—I want to touch her, taste her, and claim her in the most basic way possible.
Maya doesn’t even acknowledge my entrance, continuing her assault on the heavy bag as if I’m not in the room. The woman fights like she was born for it, which makes sense, given her family’s business.
“Impressive technique.” I lean against the mirrored wall to study her form. “Though your left hook telegraphs a bit.”
“Thanks for the constructive criticism.” Maya doesn’t break rhythm. “I’ll be sure to incorporate your feedback when I’m killing you.”
“Threats on my life before noon. Someone woke up in a mood.”
She finally stops hitting the bag and snatches it as she turns to face me. As she pants, her chest heaves, lifting her cleavage to the top of her sports bra. “Someone drugged me, kidnapped me, and is forcing me into marriage. Forgive me if I’m not feeling particularly grateful.”
“Marriage to me could have significant benefits. You should consider the advantages before deciding to despise the arrangement.”
She snorts and asks, “Such as?”
“Power. Wealth. The opportunity to reshape the criminal landscape of this city.” I push away from the wall and move closer, noting how she adjusts her stance to maintain fighting distance. “Together, we could build something unprecedented.”
“Or I could just kill you and take everything you have for myself.”
“You could try. Though I suspect you’d find me more challenging than my predecessors.”
Maya’s mouth turns up in a smile that’s just as seductive as it is malicious, though I doubt she realizes it. “Is that a challenge?”
“It’s a fact. Care to test it?”
She doesn’t answer with words. Instead, Maya launches herself at me with the speed of a professional killer and her right fist aimed at my solar plexus. If it connected, it would hit with enough force to double me over… but it doesn’t.
I sidestep just before she reaches me and catch her wrist, using her momentum to spin her around and pin her arm behind her back. Maya drops her weight and drives her elbow toward my ribs, giving me no choice but to release her or risk serious injury.
“Good escape,” I acknowledge as I circle her like a predator evaluating its prey. “Your father taught you well.”
“My father taught me to survive. Everything else, I learned from necessity.”
Maya feints left and attacks right, using her leg to sweep at my knees while her hands move to distract my attention. I jump back and counter with a grab for her extended leg, but she’s already moving, spinning away and launching a backfist toward my temple.
This time, I duck under her strike and close the distance, wrapping my arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground. Maya hooks her leg around mine and twists, using leverage to break my grip and send us crashing to the padded floor.
We roll together, fighting for dominant position while we maintain the pretense that this is about combat rather than the sexual tension sizzling between us. Maya ends up straddling my chest with her thighs pressed against my ribs and her hands pinning my wrists above my head.
“Surrender,” she demands. She’s breathing harder, but the blush spreading across the bridge of her nose and the scorching heat coming from between her thighs makes me suspect it’s not because she’s exerted herself.
“Never.”
I buck my hips and roll, which reverses our positions so that Maya is trapped beneath me. When she licks her lips, my cock twitches behind my zipper.
“My turn.” I grind my hips against hers so she can feel how this fight is affecting me. “Surrender.”
“Go to hell.”
Maya tries to knee me in the groin, but I shift my weight and catch her leg, pinning it against the floor while I settle more between her thighs, and her pupils dilate.
“This isn’t sparring anymore,” Maya whispers, though she makes no move to escape.
“No, it isn’t.”
I lower my head until my lips hover just above hers, close enough that her breath ghosts against my mouth. Maya’s hands fist in my shirt, and for a moment, I think she’s going to either deck me or push me away.
I watch her gaze drop to my mouth, then back to my eyes, then to my mouth again. Her breathing becomes shallow, and she bites her lower lip as if trying to stop herself from doing something she knows she'll regret. Her body tenses, every muscle coiling with the effort of resistance. She shakes her head slightly, but her eyes keep drifting back to my lips.
