Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Center of the Universe Teaser #2


Hey friends! This will be the last excerpt I upload before the release. Sorry for any errors. This hasn't seen an editor yet. Hope you enjoy :)

Center of the Universe
Book two in The Twelfth Keeper Series 

“Are you still up for fighting?”
That got her attention right away. Once her surprise wore off, she said, “I’ve changed my mind about that.”
“Come on,” he cajoled her. “I can play by the rules.”
Fighting was interacting. He should have seen that yesterday, but he’d been too worried about hurting her. Today his head was clear. He decided he would let her beat the shit out him if it made her feel better.
Well, she could try anyway.
A frown puckered her lips as she debated. “No, you’ll just let me win.”
Not an acceptable answer. One way or another, he had to convince her to fight. “I promise you won’t even come close.”
“You sound mighty confident,” she said, narrowing her eyes on him. “How do I know you’ll put up a fair fight?”
“Guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
She glanced towards the sparring floor, then back at him, traces of doubt shadowing her eyes.
“How can you refuse the chance to knock me down? Unless you don’t think you can…”
He was laying the cockiness on pretty thick, but it did exactly what he intended it to do. Her eyes flashed, letting him know he finally goaded her into it. “Fine, but this better not be some game you’re playing.”
He held his hands up. “No games. I’m only giving you a chance to do me some serious damage. I doubt you can, but we’ll see.”
“Let’s make this interesting,” Phoenix said, getting into position. “For every time you manage to hit me, I’ll give you a hundred globals. If you knock me down, I’ll give you two hundred.”
“Seriously?” She arched a brow. “You’re on, buddy.”
The buzzer went off and she dove for him. Phoenix not only blocked her attempt, but also got hold of her arms, swung her around, and stopped her from moving by securing an arm around her ribcage.
That was almost too easy.
He leaned across her shoulder to say, “Told you I wouldn’t let you win.”
The top of his arm brushed the underside of her breasts. Kennedy’s breath hitched and he felt her body stiffen at the touch.
This kind of contact normally went unnoticed. The twelve of them trained so much on this floor, it wasn’t uncommon for one of them to end up accidentally groping body parts while trying to keep their opponent at bay. Most people’s only concern was trying to keep from getting knocked down.
The fact that such a small touch was bothering her thrilled Phoenix. He decided to have some fun with it.
He gave her an out by moving his feet back. Oblivious to what he was doing, she used that opportunity to kick him in the shin. He faked the need to recoil, allowing her the ability escape his hold. To his surprise, she was back in position quickly, ready to attack.
He tilted his head to the side, impressed. “You’re getting better.”
When she moved toward him, he ducked the other way. She swung her leg around to kick him, but he saw it coming and grabbed her by the ankle. She landed on the mat on her butt, groaning.
When she tried to get up, Phoenix pushed her down by straddling her with own body and pinning her arms to the floor behind her head. “What an interesting position,” he said, grinning down at her.