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.
