Page 4 of Compass Points
He’d yet to realize that she was both weapons master and fighter. His miscalculation was evident in the confidence of his stance. Seemingly sure of a quick victory, he lunged for her again.
“Guess we’re doing this the hard way,” she quipped as she ducked out of the way and landed another powerful kick to his side. He stumbled, catching himself quickly, and grabbed at her again, trying to overwhelm her petite frame with his mass. She surprised them both and dipped her shoulder into his grasp, rolling his weight over her back and flipping him onto his.
Enough of this. She had things to do. He was barely on his feet when she lunged, grappling him from behind. Wrapping her legs around him, she pulled him back to the ground on top of her, arm wrapped around his neck, poised to choke off his air.
He struggled. She only pulled tighter on the whole-body bind in which she held him.
“I’ll try again. So what can I do for you?” she asked sweetly.
“Who are you?” was his choked-out, incredulous response.
“Shouldn’t you have known that before you attacked me in the woods?” She couldn’t see his face from this position, but she enjoyed the idea that multiple flashes of red were cascading across his eyes.
“I wasn’t going to hurt you. I just needed to scare you into taking me to the weapons master.”
She believed him. He hadn’t once reached for his magic during their brief spar. He easily could have created a hole in the ground to throw her into and demand his answers. Instead, he’d opted for a brief physical confrontation. She was happy to disappoint him, but that didn’t make it okay.
“Yes, that worked out quite well for you, didn’t it.” This was getting her nowhere, but she didn’t hate it. It’d been a long time since she’d been able to really show off her skills. Though brief, their confrontation reminded her how much she enjoyed it. He stopped struggling and held up his hands in surrender.
“I just want to talk,” he said.
“What happens when I don’t like what you have to say again?” she asked. “You don’t seem great at taking no for an answer.” The bitterness of her comment seemed to ruffle him. Like he realized that she’d had to deal with too many idiots that thought what they wanted from her was more important than what she was willing to give. And that he was now one of them.
He sighed. “Hear me out. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot,” he said in a smooth and seductive voice that she was more than sure was his go-to tenor for convincing others to do what he wanted. She couldn’t tell if he was wielding it as a weapon or if it was as natural to him as breathing.
His voice was sin and decadence wrapped up in a cool timbre. She couldn’t stop her body’s automatic response to pull him tighter into her hold. She’d met plenty of fae, but she’d never heard a voice like his.
Driven by a force she did not quite understand, she dragged her tongue up the side of his face and bit his ear. He tasted of earth and wilderness, and she was unwilling to admit that she liked it. Confused by her own actions, she snorted loudly in his ear as she laughed at herself. The sound, so at odds with his mesmerizing lilt, snapped her back to reality.
“Fine,” she said, releasing him. They both stood, and that stone face cracked in bewilderment. The expression was worth it.
“Luc.” He shook his head and held his hand out to her.
“Rose,” she offered.
“So are you going to tell me anything else about yourself?” he asked.
“I’m not the one that wants something,” she pointed out. This Suden was too used to getting his way. She’d need to change that. “The one who needs something is in the weaker position. Don’t they teach you that in the Suden military academy?”
That stopped him again. He must have been unaware that his Suden fae temper had shown through in their initial encounter.
Members of all four fae courts had the natural predatory ability to blend in with humans. On the surface, they could look human. In reality, they were anything but.
His glare was unamused. “It seems I’m again at a disadvantage.”
He looked at her, this time really looked at her. His gaze raked over her from head to toe. It wasn’t seductive. It was an assessing gaze, a general reevaluating his opponent after one too many missteps. He lingered on her strong shoulders, biceps, and the ash she could never entirely scrub from under her fingernails. His mouth turned to the faintest hint of a smile as his eyes met hers.
“Took you long enough,” she jabbed, knowing he’d finally seen what he needed to make the connection.
“I’ll admit, you’re not quite what I expected.”
“Clearly.”
“So, weapons master,” he purred, his eyes never leaving hers. “Is there anything I can offer you to change your mind?”
“No.” She sighed. “No hard feelings, I hope, but I’m not interested in custom work.”
“Even if I were to tell you this was for the Suden Point?”
