Page 19 of Power of Five
Not even flinching from the blow, Coal twists around to thrust his sword tip into Shade’s taut abdomen. Shade stumbles back, his arm pressed against his middle as he falls to one knee, watching River and Coal circle each other while his own shoulders heave with exhaustion and pain.
Tye’s hand clamps over my mouth before I can shout Shade’s name. “He’s all right,” Tye promises, his arms encircling my body, keeping me from rushing into the ring. “A bit out of practice fighting in his fae form is all. Watch.”
True to Tye’s prediction, Shade climbs back to his feet after a few moments, adjusts his sword grip, and circles the melee in search of an opening. Noting Shade’s return, Coal gives his quint brother a curt nod before attempting to murder him all over again.
I turn, burying my face in Tye’s shoulder, and feel a rumbling chuckle vibrate his chest. “Stupid masochistic immortalmales.”
“We worry about you just as fiercely, Lilac Girl,” Tye answers, pulling me back enough to peer into my face. “More. We know what damage to a fae body looks like, what our flesh can handle. You are something else entirely. Fragile but resilient and... stars, it’s enough to make us go mad, smelling pain on you and not knowing how to relieve it, how bad the damage might be.”
His grin fades but his gaze remains on me, drinking in every line of my face as I drink in his. Tye’s hair is fiery in the sun and his deep green eyes reflect the rays, which bounce against his shiny black lashes.
My heart pauses then leaps from my chest, beating so hard against my ribs that I feel the vibrations all the way through my core. Tye’s pine-and-citrus scent spreads through me with each breath, lighting each of my nerves. I’m suddenly aware of every bit of his presence, the steady pressure of his powerful arm on the small of my back, the rise and fall of his broad chest, the flop of red hair that sways just over his left eye.
Tye’s breath caresses the top of my head, ruffling my hair.
Behind me, the steadyclank clank clankof practice blades continues to echo from the paddock, punctuated by the occasional grunt of too much maleness clashing. Not violence, I think—though it would be foolish to think of these males as anything but deadly predators—but synergy.
I raise my hand to Tye’s cheek, shaved smooth and sculpted into an angled jaw. His cheekbones are chiseled to perfect symmetry, except for a touch of freckles on the right, so faint that you have to be this close to see them. A hidden mark of mischief that is thoroughly Tye.
Tye shuts his eyes. “Stars, Lera,” he says through clenched teeth. “Have you no notion of what you’re doing to me?”
My fingertip bounces between his freckles before shifting to trace his jaw.
The male beneath my hands goes statue still.
“Do you mind it?” I ask.
Tye barks a strangled laugh, his hands suddenly tightening around me. “I mind that I can’t take you right here,” he rasps into my ear, out bodies fitting together like pieces of a long-lost puzzle. After a heartbeat, Tye’s hand slides up to grip the back of my neck, the other palming my hip and pulling me even closer.
I raise my face to his, rising up on my toes as my lips part.
Tye hisses. The mirth in his eyes disappears, a primal need burning in its place. “Step away from me, lass,” he rasps, his voice half warning, half plea. “I can’t keep myself in check much longer.”
I tighten my hands around Tye’s arms instead, my fingers digging mercilessly into his hard biceps. The need in Tye’s gaze seeps through his skin into mine, lighting a flame inside my core. I can’t think. Can’t move. Iwant.
A growl escapes Tye’s chest and his mouth descends with a predator’s claim. Warm lips lock onto mine, forcing my mouth to yield to his demand, to my own visceral need. The tip of Tye’s tongue skims the top of my teeth, sending a shiver down my body.
I moan against Tye’s mouth and his fingers tighten on the nape of my neck, nails gripping my flesh as mine mark his. I press against him, my heart galloping.
His mouth moves again and—
Cold air hits me suddenly as Tye’s body is ripped away. I blink, the world coming reluctantly into focus to reveal Tye now flat on his back with River’s boot in the middle of his chest and the tip of River’s practice blade pointed at Tye’s jugular.
