His to Protect - Em Petrova

Chapter One

“Come on, North. Are we dancing or street fighting?” Madeline didn’t even break a sweat as they went into their third round of training for the day.

North growled and dodged her punch. The woman was wiry, mouthy and a pain in his ass, but she was the best fighter they had in The Guard, and he needed a hardcore training session after being laid up for months with a leg full of plates and pins.

She bounced away, light on her toes.

But I can be lighter. He threw all his focus into kicking her ass and collecting on their bet.

He leered at the petite blonde who was a master of Jiu Jitsu and street fighting. “You’re not besting me today, Sister.”

At the nickname, she tossed him a grin and snapped a front kick he didn’t see coming. The blow caught him in the midsection, and he grunted. Laughter drifted from the sidelines from the other members of the elite protection agency as they looked on.

North’s leg ached, and he knew he’d be icing the bastard tonight just to get enough relief to sleep. But he needed tough love to get in shape for his next mission. He’d been lazy the last four months, sitting behind the computer monitor staring at the maps he specialized in.

He not only found it intriguing to direct his fellow bodyguards and always keep them one step ahead of the bad guys by way of mapping, but he prided himself on being damn good at it too. Even so, it was time to get off his ass and protect people again.

“Points are in her favor, North,” Archer drawled.

“Not for long.” He surged forward, striking.

“Don’t go easy on me now. I can take whatever you throw at me.” Madeline brushed off the blow as though a measly fly buzzed at her instead of the hard kick to her upper thigh that would have doubled over a large man.

With a startling roar, Madeline threw herself at him, arms and legs working in precision moves. He shifted into a crouch and grabbed her entire body, lifted her and slammed her into the mat. Breath whooshed from her, but she didn’t stay stunned for long—she hooked an arm around his neck and flipped on top of him.

In the woman’s stranglehold, North wondered how the hell he got himself into these things. Madeline flipped again and then clamped her thighs around his ears like a vise. Hoots and hollers echoed through the room from his friends, and North finally edged an arm in between Madeline’s thighs and pried them apart.

With a whipping motion, he heaved her off him. She somersaulted and came up stronger, but he used his anger, strength and weight to pin her flat on her back. Silence sounded in the room. She stared up at him.

“You know I could render you unconscious right now.” He panted with exertion and the rush of victory.

She jerked upward and butted him in the head. He felt his eyebrow split open yet again.

“Son of a bitch!” His scar ran through that brow so deep that hair didn’t even grow there anymore, and it took ages to heal nowadays.

Blood dripped down his face, and Madeline casually slipped out from under his weight and stepped away, arms folded.

Laughs and jeers came from the guys standing by watching. North rolled to his feet and swiped the blood away with his sleeve. Madeline threw him a smile, and a laugh burst from him.

“You live for this shit, don’t you?” he asked her.

“Little bit.”

Their boss and leader, Oz, approached with arms out. “You guys are well-matched.”

“But I drew blood,” Madeline reminded them.

“North’s just getting back in shape,” Oz responded.

Irritation rose in North. For months now, Oz had been giving him a pass for missions, making excuses on his behalf.

“I just proved I’m ready for any fight thrown at me.” He reached up for the elastic band holding his long curly hair into a man bun and pulled it free. He swiped all the hair back and created a new topknot.

“So who won the bet?” Roman, their fellow brother in the agency they also called the Church, looked between him and Madeline.

“I did,” they said in unison.

“What was on the line again? Hundred bucks?”

The amount was a typical bet between them, but today the stakes were somewhat higher.

He met Madeline’s gray stare. “That antique knife we recovered from one of our targets,” North said.

“Ohhh. Damn. Guess you’re at a standoff and the knife remains property of all,” Roman said.

North