her body had once broken a pillar in La Sagrada Familia.
So. Fucking. Cool.
Satisfied, she faced Fionn and strode toward him. Stopping several feet away, Rose braced her feet, anticipation, adrenaline, and excitement soaring through her. “Again.”
16
Something like wonder caught Fionn off guard as he stared at Rose standing before him, demanding he throw her through the air for a second time.
Exhilaration blazed in her pretty blue gaze.
Wonder mixed with pride. Pride mixed with something more primal. Something that caused a heavy, hot need between his legs.
Fuck.
When he’d decided to keep Rose at his side by pretending to mentor her, he’d expected the woman who had been raised as a human to fear her fae side, to hate it, like he did. Instead, she found joy in it.
She was a natural with her abilities.
Watching her take him on, fearless and determined, on the back of dealing with her enjoyment in flirting with him, Fionn was stuck in the most unlikely of places.
He wanted to fuck the woman he planned to use in his vengeance.
It was inconvenient to say the least.
The fact that he needed to control these wants and thoughts about her was goddamn galling. Bothersome woman. First, he spent hours deflecting her personal questions only to end up telling her all about Bran, and then worst of all, sincerely suggesting she go to Bran for help if something happened to him.
It was petty to take his frustrations out on Rose … but she did ask for it.
Concentrating a potent level of magic toward her, Fionn pummeled into her body with such an impact, he heard her gasp as she flipped backward through the air.
But something happened.
Instead of crashing into the nearest pillar or wall, Rose paused as she righted herself midflight. Then she dropped, landing like a cat, hand to the ground to balance against the disorientation caused by the church grounds.
A smile prodded at his mouth.
Damn, she was good.
With a cocky smirk, she pushed to her feet. “What’s next?”
Obviously, the woman required a true challenge. “I want you to travel to the top of one of the two tallest spires. You’re going to jump off, and you’re going to land on the ground without breaking a bone. I’ll be at the bottom waiting for you.”
He noted more than a glimmer of concern flicker across her expression. “Are you kidding?”
“Even on a still evening, you can use the wind to control the fall. Tonight there’s a breeze, so it should be easy.”
“And if I break every bone in my body?”
Fionn shrugged, knowing it would annoy her and finding a little too much pleasure in the fact. “You’ll heal within a few hours.”
She scowled. “No worries, then, huh?”
“Sarcasm is beneath you.” It was a hypocritical response since sarcasm was a second language to him, but, again, irritating her was fun.
However, this time, the last word had barely left his mouth before he found himself flying to the ground with a furious trainee fae on his hands.
Rose had been an impressive blur across the church.
Incredibly fast.
And strong.
He frowned. The little viper had smacked his head off the marble floor, and this annoyance had momentarily distracted him from the fact that Rose was sprawled atop him, straddling him, her forearm pushed against his throat. “Yeah, well, now you’re beneath me, asshole.”
This was not threatening.
This was disturbingly arousing.
Gripping her wrist in his hand, he easily pried her forearm from his throat. “What the hell was that for?” Fionn snapped, anger masking his desire.
“For not giving a shit if I shatter every bone in my body,” she hissed.
Her eyes sparked fire. Her cheeks were flushed.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Fionn took hold of her narrow waist and pushed her off. Not gently.
She soared up off him but landed on her feet with remarkable grace.
He rolled up onto his and dusted off his sweater. “You’re handling the disorientation well.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“So you said,” he replied dispassionately, and then caught sight of the cracks in the marble floor where he’d landed. She’d taken him down with some force. “Impressive.” He gestured to the broken floor before using his magic to fix it.
“You know my coaches were tough on me, but they were at least concerned about my well-being.”
Exasperated, he whirled on her. “I am trying to keep you alive,” he bit out, losing his usual cool. Goddamn her. “Unless there is a graveyard of fucking pure iron spikes beneath you, I am not afraid for you if you fall from a building.” His frustrations mounting, he marched toward her and