Page 70 of The Hero Within
Colton's life lay on the line.
Eden felt sick.
Colton hooked his foot behind Lincoln's and using a whip-swift snap of his legs, took Lincoln down. Then they were on the ground, shifting, grabbing, using every inch of their bodies to gain the upper hand.
A fist punched into Colton's ribs, but he'd trapped Lincoln's arm behind him. With a jerk of his hips, Lincoln managed to get free, but not for long. Colton took him down, swinging behind him and locking his forearm around Lincoln's throat, trapping his head there with his other hand.
Yes!She didn't dare breathe.
Lincoln's face went red as he kicked at the sands. He dug his claws into Colton's arm, but Colton merely ground his teeth together and flexed his arm tighter, his legs locked around the other man's waist.
Eden swallowed hard, as Lincoln's bare feet kicked once more. Twice. And then he went still, his body slumping onto Colton's embrace, and his fingers falling open as his hand hit the sands.
Silence fell around the cavern, the drummers drawing to an abrupt halt.
Someone sucked in a sharp hiss of breath.
Colton dumped Lincoln's unconscious body on the sand, then stood, blood gleaming on his heaving chest and his skin slick with sweat and oil. He stared up at Arik, tilting his chin just a little arrogantly. "Call it. Or I'll kill him."
The alpha's lashes fluttered as he surveyed the scene. With a sharp nod, he turned and gestured to the man who'd started the fight.
It was over.
Relief sank through her, like lead through her veins.
For a second....
Eden’s eyes met Colton’s across the arena, her chest rising and falling. Sweat and oil gleamed over his skin, and the heat in his eyes practically incinerated her. She could taste him again on her lips, as though the phantom kiss consumed her.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo," the wargs started chanting, slamming their left fists against the right side of their chests.
Someone held a water skin up to Colton's mouth, forcing him to drink it—or drown.
Eden rubbed her arms, feeling jittery. She didn't know what was wrong with her. It hadn't been her down in that ring, but the sight of it... of the graceful moves, the threat of danger, Colton's oil-slicked body, all of it ratcheted a tension inside her she hadn't known she was holding.
He looked good.
Like some brutal warrior, marred by sweat and blood, and damn her hormones, but she couldn't help feeling something stark flare in response.
It's just the adrenaline, she told herself. Adrenaline and stress made one hell of a potent combination.
Lowering the water skin, Colton met her gaze, and the intense gleam in the liquid dark of his pupils made her swallow.
They could have been alone in the cavern.
And from the look in his eyes, he knew exactly how she was feeling right now.
Arik stepped off the dais and landed in the ring in a squat. He straightened, his smile thin as he surveyed his brother's unconscious form.
"You have won your right to be one of us," he called, slapping a hand on the thick muscle of Colton's shoulder. "Now we celebrate."
The pair of them clasped hands, Colton's white teeth flashing in a smile. Someone bought more kaga forth. Wargs spilled around Colton, swallowing him up as they all sought to touch him.
"You've got to be kidding me," Eden said, rubbing the gooseflesh on her arms. "Now they're all friends."
"Men," Nnedi snorted. "There will be many sore heads come morning."
"I think I need a drink myself," she muttered, pushing past Nnedi as the sounds of celebration began to spiral through the cavern.
