Moon-Kissed (Within the Darkness #1) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,5
held. My eyes lowered to the creature, finding ice-blue eyes staring up at my white hair and moonlit eyes. My lips parted, and he lowered his gaze to them, narrowing his eyes while he took in my delicate features.
I should have been using his surprise against him, but I couldn’t look away, held captive by the masculine face that was sharp edges and lines that looked at me hungrily. It probably wasn’t the best time to appease my curiosity.
The warrior’s lips curled into a grin, and he rolled us without warning, using the moon’s sudden appearance to catch me off guard. He lifted his free hand to his head, pushing back his cloak to reveal midnight-colored hair and silver flecks of moonshine dancing within his eyes. He studied my face and then turned toward the fighting still occurring in the house where the moonlight hadn’t reached. His lips parted, but he paused at the sickening snarl of dark creatures exploded all around us.
The warrior turned, whistling loudly at the sound of creatures from the plague of darkness entering the town. I swallowed, taking in his high cheekbones and full mouth. He wasn’t like the men of the Moon Clan, or delicate as most of them appeared. His eyes slid back to me, finding me watching him silently.
“Who are you?” he demanded, and I resumed struggling to get away from him before the dark creatures reached us and ripped apart our bodies. “I asked you a question. I expect it to be answered, little girl.”
“Get off me, you ogre-ass tramp,” I snarled, working my legs up between us. He lifted his body a smidgen, staring down at my knees that were rising between his.
When they were high enough, his eyes lifted with confusion as the smile slid across my lips. I parted his legs, using my leg muscles and gravity to unseat him, sending his body slamming down against the cobblestone street. I rolled away, grabbing my blade as he did the same.
“Do you want to die here?” he snapped.
“Better to die in battle than beneath some dark prick who was weak enough to sell his soul to the demons walking within the darkness,” I hissed, bending down to retrieve the other blade while keeping him in front of me.
He watched me with a wicked look burning in his eyes. My cloak had fallen off, sliding from my shoulders to reveal the leather pants that curved around my muscular legs. The top I wore covered my chest, wrapping around my breasts, crisscrossing over my shoulders to wrap around my waist. It was lightweight and made to protect vital organs while not weighing me down.
The warrior didn’t move or strike out again, choosing to watch me instead. I frowned, going into a defensive pose while the sound of swords within the cottage went silent. My attention flicked toward it, and a line of worry creased my forehead. I started forward, and he bowed his head, cold wintery eyes watching me step toward him.
Before I’d reached him, he vanished, and I paused, peering around the empty street. Swallowing past the nervousness, I moved toward the silent house. Steel sang through the air, and I barely brought mine up in time to deflect a punishing blow. He was fast, and the spicy masculine scent he radiated was playing hell on the woman within me. I paused and took note, even though he was trying to kill me. Why was my magic not shielding me from his scent and masculinity? I should have been immune to the lure of men.
“You’re out-skilled, little girl,” he growled, his voice low, raspy, and surprisingly sexy.
Had he just told me I was out-skilled? I laughed, swinging my twin blades hard and fast until sparks filled the street. I swayed toward him, moving in quick precision, fighting to disarm him. The warrior perceived every move, easily deflecting every blow with his much larger weapon and strength.
“You’re tiring,” he growled.
I swung both blades, scissoring his before twisting my body in the air to use my full weight to take the sword by force. I landed, swinging my leg low, which took his legs out from beneath him before lifting my blades into the air. I intended to pierce them through his shoulders, but Amo’s groan sounded, and my eyes rose to see a sword held against her throat.
“Enough,” the male demanded, thrusting his leg out to send my body to the ground, hard.