midair and tested its balance. It was double-edged and sharp and fit her hand like it had been made for her. She didn’t think he was threatening her. Not his style. If he decided to kill her, she’d never see it coming.
That was Hunter’s reputation. You never saw the blade that killed you. Maybe it was all hype, but she didn’t think so.
“Let’s find out.” He left the room.
Chasing him was becoming a habit.
Fingers gripping the knife, she followed him to the living room. He’d shoved the sofa out of the way, clearing the large area.
Standing in the center of the room, he curled his fingers in a “come ahead” motion. “Show me what you’ve got.”
She shrugged out of her jacket and gun holster and set them aside. Then she did the same with her sword. If she was going to spar with him, she needed to be fast.
She had a dagger, but his hands were empty. “What about you?” she asked.
A weapon appeared out of thin air. There was also an empty space on his forearm where a tattoo had been. He’d somehow managed to store his weapons on his body in the guise of tattoos. It was brilliant. It was also something she’d never encountered.
Just as fast, it winked out of sight and was back on his arm.
Before she could ask how he did it, because that was something a girl in her business needed to know, he lunged at her, and the fight was on.
Chapter Nine
Holy shit, Maccus was fast. She’d seen demons battling one another during her time in Hell, but she’d never seen anyone move as silently and swiftly. She ducked and rolled, barely keeping from being struck by his hand. If he’d been holding a weapon, she’d be dead.
Popping back to her feet, she swept her blade upward. The back of his hand struck her arm and sent her stumbling back. Once again, he tempered his strength, going easy on her.
Balanced on the balls of her feet to stay ready in case he attacked, she pointed the dagger at him. “What’s the purpose of this? You could squash me like a bug.”
It sucked to admit, but she was no match for Maccus. The guy was stronger, faster, and had magic tattoo weapons he could use at will. And those were the skills she was aware of. Who knew what else he could do? Not to mention he was a freaking assassin.
The way he was toying with her was a blow to her confidence. She was a good hunter, better than good. Fast and efficient, she always got the job done.
Until now.
But she was used to dealing with low-level demons, had never fought anyone of his caliber.
“The purpose is for me to gauge how good you are in a fight, to assess your strengths and weaknesses before we go out together.” He curled his fingers again in a come-ahead motion.
Going low, she dropped to the ground and rolled by him, trying to cut his hamstrings. It was a quick and easy way to incapacitate a demon long enough for her slap the cuffs on.
Maccus simply stepped out of the way as though she was moving in slow motion rather than faster than most humans could even see. She sprang back to her feet.
Time to rethink her strategy.
“Why don’t we forget sparring?” She purposely lowered the blade down by her side. “I can think of better things to do.” His nostrils flared, and his gaze fell to her chest. She put her hands on her hips, pulling the material tighter.
Was it cheating? Absolutely. Did she care? Not one bit.
Her philosophy was simple—whatever it took to win. If that meant using deception to close the distance between her and an opponent, so be it.
Any male could be distracted by a pair of breasts and the possibility of sex. It didn’t matter the species.
“Can you now?”
At the rough sound of his voice, her nipples tightened. She flexed her fingers around the knife handle to ground herself.