me. “Ready?”
Well then...
Exhaling a ragged breath, I sat up and placed my hand against his palm. His hand curled around mine, the grip warm and firm as he hauled me to my feet with minimal effort on my part.
“Ready.” I gave myself a good mental slap in the face.
We squared off in the center of the mats, and I thought I would have to begin, but I was wrong. Zayne came at me first. I got over the initial shock and darted under his arm. I was quick and light on my feet, but so was Zayne. I came back at him, but he feinted in one direction only to spin, kicking out his leg. I blocked the kick, and at that moment I knew Zayne wasn’t holding back because the blow echoed up my arm, forcing me to take a step back.
And that brought a smile to my face.
Kind of twisted, but whatever.
I spun out to avoid a sharp thrust that would’ve surely hurt and delivered a rather brutal sideways kick to his back.
Zayne grunted but stayed on the balls of his feet as he faced me. “Ouch.”
“Sorry. Not sorry.” I shot toward him, losing the distance that kept him in my central vision, and Zayne must have realized that because he darted right. My breath caught and then exploded from my chest. I couldn’t move fast enough. His fist caught my shoulder, spinning me around. I stumbled back, stuck between irritation and respect. He’d done what he needed to do. Found my weakness and gone for it.
We kept at it, blow after blow. Most I deflected. Some I missed because we were fighting too close and he was too quick for me to gain any distance. Sweat dampened my brow, and my heart pounded from the exertion.
“I’ve taken you down five times,” I told him, dragging my arm over my forehead as we broke apart.
“And I’ve gotten you on those mats six times,” he replied. “Not that I’m counting.”
“Uh-huh.” I charged at him, dipping low and going for his legs, something I was learning was his weakness.
Zayne saw it coming and swung his fist again, but this time I was fast enough, moving to the side so I could see the punch. I caught his fist and twisted.
Zayne tsked and broke the hold all too easily, but I was prepared. I turned on my heel, moving behind him. Planting my weight on one foot, I swung my arms in a low arch to pick up momentum as I jumped off my left foot and spun in the air with my right leg out lower than usual, delivering a butterfly kick to Zayne’s kneecaps.
He went down onto his back as I landed and rose to stand over him.
“We’re tied now.” I grinned despite the ache in my forearms and legs.
Zayne picked himself up. “You’re enjoying this,” he said, knocking the strand of hair out of his face.
“I am,” I chirped.
“A little too much.”
Laughing, I started toward him but skidded to a halt when I saw that he’d lowered his hands and was staring at me with a rather strange look on his face. “What?”
He pulled his lower lip between his teeth. “Your laugh.”
“What about it?”
A smile formed and then vanished as he gave a shake of his head. “It’s nothing.”
“No. It’s something. Was it weird? Did I cackle? Peanut says I cackle. Like a witch.”
“No.” Half of that smile returned. “It wasn’t a cackle. It was nice. Actually, it was a great laugh. You just... I haven’t heard you laugh like that a lot.”
I shifted from one foot to the next. “You haven’t?”
“No.” He pushed the hair out of his face again. “I think the last time I heard you laugh like that was when you jumped those rooftops and nearly gave me a heart attack.”
I smiled. I had scared the bejesus out of him, and he’d come at me, angry and... Well, anger hadn’t been the only thing he’d been feeling that night. My smile faded. That had been the night the imps had attacked and I had taken the claw out of his chest and...
I looked away, letting out a breath and pumping the brakes on that train of thought. “Maybe I’ll jump off some rooftops again so you can hear the laugh.”
“As much as I love the sound, that would be entirely unnecessary.”
“I don’t think so.” I padded to where I’d left my Coke and took a drink, wishing it was fresher. “I think I’m going