Page 30 of Master of Storms
A sudden chill breeze danced across her stomach.
“I was trying to be gentlemanly,” he pointed out. “I left you the crucial button.”
Thatson of a wyrm.
Solveig bared her teeth at him as she attacked.
She was fighting in earnest now, desperate to destroy this intruder—or at least to drive him from her home.
Beware the attack made in a storm of emotion,her mother’s voice whispered.Be lightning, Solveig. Fast. Deadly. Controlled. Strike with precision.
But it wasn’t precision that drove her forward right now.
How dared he?
The tip of her rapier scored across his cheek, and his eyes lit with dangerous fire. They were both breathing hard, and his shirt started to cling to him as steel flashed.
He’d lasted longer than she’d have expected.
He might have learned his lessons well, but she was cold discipline. There were years of daily training behind her. All she had to do was wear him out.
His teeth bared in a strained smile as if he knew it. His boot scraped across the tile as he danced back. Maybe a little hint of exhaustion.
Ambition flared.
And then somehow, she made a fatal mistake.
It was a step too far—her lunge slightly extended.
He wasn’t retreating. Instead, he broke to the side, slamming his blade down upon hers in such a jarring blow that it broke from her fingers.
She was disarmed, and he followed it up quickly, placing the tip of his rapier beneath her chin. Solveig straightened. She couldn’t believe it.
He’d beaten her.
Beatenher.
Breathing hard, he slowly lowered his sword. “You’re good—”
His mistake. She swept the sword aside with her forearm guard, rolled into him, and drove her elbow into his ribs. An “oof” of breath burst from him, and she dug her fingers into the nerve of his thumb. Suddenly, she was in possession of his blade.
Flicking her own rapier up into her left hand, she spun and kicked him in the chest, slamming him back against the wall before pressing both crossed blades across his throat in an X.
“Please tell me you weren’t going to say that you’re better,” Solveig mocked, her chest heaving with exertion.
He noticed, and the insolent look in his eyes fired her fury. “Oh, I know I’m not. But technically, I won.”
She leaned into the blades, and his head tipped up frantically as both edges caressed the sides of his throat. “I never surrendered, Marduk.” Raking a scornful glance down his sweat-dampened body, she arched a mocking brow. “Somewhat premature of you to claim victory, don’t you think? Rather like this concept of… foreplay. Disappointing.”
“Oh, I promise you, there’s nothing premature about any of my foreplay. Easy,” the prince mocked, tilting his throat to her as he pushed gently at her hand. “You’ll start a war with just one reckless moment.”
Solveig leaned closer, until she could almost taste his breath on her lips. “Maybe it would be worth it.”
His chest rose and fell, and to her shock, a thumb brushed against her thigh as he gently laid his hand there. “To my utter surprise, you echo my sentiments. Though not their target. A reckless moment with you might indeed be worth the risk of war.”
Solveig froze as his gaze slid to that single button holding her shirt together. The fingertips on his other hand traced another soft, teasing little circle on her hip. It asked a question.
And for the life of her, she wasn’t sure what the answer was.
