He grinned finally, which elicited a gasp from the lone woman in the judo class, and from one of the men, too. Christian simply returned his attention to Marc. They exchanged a couple of words, then bowed briefly to Alon, as the dojo master, and more deeply to each other. Natalie held her breath when they started to move, circling slowly, hands and feet in constant motion. She didn’t know what to expect from this encounter. She’d seen Christian fight Noriega, had seen him kill with impunity. But this was completely different. It was a purely physical match, no vampire magic involved. And Marc wasn’t his enemy. Still, vampires were so much stronger than humans. Could they pull their punches to avoid damaging each other? And would they bother to appear human since they had an audience?
Christian said something in French, too low for her to pick up. And in the blink of an eye, the fight was on. Everyone in the dojo was leaning forward, focusing hard, trying to follow the blur of hands and feet that was the two vampires fighting. They were using Krav Maga; she knew that much. But she’d never seen anything like this. The flow from one attack to the next was seamless, their every move graceful and deadly. And, no, they weren’t bothering to pull their punches. The sound of fists and feet hitting flesh was so loud that Natalie could almost feel the impact, so loud that it reverberated over the floor and off the walls. The two vampires shook off blows that would have snapped human bones, bounced up from throws that would have left a human writhing and crippled on the floor.
They were beautiful in their brutality. Two wild and powerful creatures engaged in a fight for survival. And having the time of their lives. Both were grinning like crazy people, moving back and forth across the mat, deftly shifting direction whenever they came too close to the observers, demonstrating a situational awareness that was amazingly acute, given the speed and violence of their encounter.
“Whoa,” Alon whispered, next to her. “That is kick ass.”
“Gorgeous,” she murmured.
“Which one?” he asked, his amusement obvious.
“Both of them,” she said quickly.
“Yeah, but you’ve got your eye on Blondie. You in love at last, Nat?”
Natalie shot him an annoyed glance. “Of course not. I barely know him.”
“That’s how it starts, babe,” he said, tossing a friendly arm around her shoulders. “And it’s overdue. You’ve been hiding behind that computer for too long.”
“Ssshh,” she hissed. “Pay attention.”
He chuckled softly, but she could feel his arm tightening around her as he strained to follow the action. He was barely blinking for fear of missing something.
With no warning that Natalie could discern, the action abruptly stopped. The two vampires each took a step back and bowed formally, but then grins split their faces and they embraced, pounding each other on the back. Alon jumped to his feet, and raced over to join them. The men and woman from the night class shuffled closer, but didn’t intrude, though whether it was out of respect for, or fear of, the combatants, Natalie didn’t know. Maybe a little of both, because she sure as hell was intimidated by the demonstration she’d just witnessed.
Intimidated, yeah, and maybe just a little turned on. Maybe even more than a little.
“Natalie,” Alon called. She jumped to her feet, and crossed the dojo floor, joining the three of them just off the mat. Alon put an arm around her, tugging her into their group, and she saw Christian’s jaw tighten as he focused on that touch.
Only his eyes moved as he met her gaze in a silent question. She was either his, or she wasn’t. But if she was, she didn’t belong in Alon’s embrace.
Natalie wanted to protest. Alon was her friend, and the embrace meant nothing else. But this was one of those fragile turning points in a relationship, where it could go either way. An unexpected bolt of desire shivered over her skin, and she knew which way she wanted it to go. Christian couldn’t have missed her reaction, but his expression never changed. The next move was hers.
Patting Alon’s hand where it rested on her shoulder, she ducked out from under his arm and crossed to Christian’s side. He stretched out a hand and pulled her in tightly, his arm circling her waist, his hand resting possessively on her hip. Natalie looked up and blushed at the amusement in Alon’s eyes. But then Christian touched his lips to her temple, and everything inside her relaxed, as if her body had known all along where she belonged. It was only her brain that had needed to catch up.
“I was telling Christian that he and Marc are welcome anytime,” Alon was saying. “Maybe he can convince you to take up the discipline.”
Christian glanced down at her. “You’re not in the class?”
She shook her head. “It’s a little beyond me.”
“We’re starting a beginner’s class in two weeks,” Alon informed her with a wicked smile. He’d been after her to take up the Israeli discipline ever since they’d met.
“I’ll think about it,” she said, although she didn’t mean it. Especially not after seeing what it looked like when practiced by vampires.
Alon’s grin turned knowing a moment before his assistant called to him from across the room, holding up the phone. “I’ll be right back.”
Meanwhile, Marc, who had slipped away to the locker room while Christian spoke with Alon, emerged wearing a T-shirt with his giGI pants, and carrying two duffel bags. He stopped long enough to exchange a few words with the lone female in the advanced judo class, then walked over, dug out a T-shirt from one of the duffels, and held it out to Christian. The two of them exchanged an intent look that made Natalie suspect they were communicating silently. Christian’s next words confirmed it.
“We’re going home,” he informed Marc. He slipped out of his giGI jacket and quickly pulled the offered T-shirt over his head, but not before giving Natalie, and everyone else, a view of his deliciously muscled shoulders and perfect abs. She smiled smugly, knowing she’d be up close and personal with that body before the night was over.
Christian was bent over, shoving his jacket into the duffel, but he caught her smile when he straightened, and grinned back, as if he was thinking the same thing. He draped a heavy arm over her shoulders. “Are you ready?” he asked, his tone making it clear that he was talking about a lot more than just driving home.
She tried to ignore the way her entire body had tightened in response to his innuendo. “I have to change first,” she said, indicating the giGI she was still wearing. She ducked out from under his arm, and started for the locker room, but he pulled her back for a quick kiss.
“Make it fast,” he told her. “I’m not happy having you out in the open like this.”
She patted his cheek. “You worry too much. I’ll be twenty feet away in a closed room.”