“Come on, Azara. You can do better than that.”
My demon flickered to life from the depths of my core at his taunting tone. With the mystical cuffs off, she wasn’t far from the surface. I tamped down on her fiery urges and focused on Talon.
I can do this. I’m in charge. Not her. Bumping my fists together, I charged. A quick one-two combo had my trainer staggering back.
“Nice,” he called out as he backed into the wall.
I kept hitting, throwing punches into his chiseled abs, his arm, I even got a jab in on the side of his face. He never hit back, just kept taking my quickening blows.
Beads of sweat accumulated on my brow as I danced back and forth across the mat. He was taking it easy on me and I was already panting, my breaths coming hard and fast. I was so out of shape it was embarrassing.
“Are you going to hit me back or what?” I asked as I wiped sweat off my brow.
The hint of a smile lifted his lip. “Do you think you’re ready for that?”
Oh, I’m ready. I gulped as my she-demon’s voice echoed in my mind. Clenching my fingers into tight fists, I nodded.
“You promise you won’t try to suck out my soul?” The teasing grin still curled his lips, and his irises sparkled with mischief.
“No promises, dragon douche canoe.” I smirked. Two could play this game.
He crushed his fists together, and the smack resonated across the training room. “Let’s do this then.” He lunged for me, his wings snapping out and propelling him right over my head.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” I squealed.
Talon was on the other side of the room by the time I spun around.
“Why not? If your demon is in the game, then why shouldn’t my dragon be?”
I rolled my eyes and sprinted for him. I got in exactly one hit before he countered. His fists moved so fast I could barely keep up. Block, block, hit, duck. Ow! He nailed me in the gut, and all the air siphoned from my lungs.
I staggered back and hit the wall as he stalked forward. Trapped. He swung his fists and blocked the first few hits, but with the sleek obsidian pressing into my shoulder blades I was stuck. Kicking my leg out, I tried to sweep his feet out from under him, but he was unmovable.
“Come on, Azara, fight me.”
“I’m trying!” I shoved him back, but he barely budged an inch.
He yanked his gloves off and slapped his hands on the wall on either side of my head, caging me in. “I’m Thax, and I’m back for you. I’m going to drag you to the Underworld and take you prisoner. What are you going to do?”
“Stop!” I screamed. Ripping my gloves off, I smacked his chest again. He only pressed closer, trapping me against the wall. Darkness edged into my vision as my demon bubbled to the surface. No. No. No.
Talon’s warm breath ghosted over my face as he leaned closer, his teeth lengthening to fangs. His pupils thinned to narrow reptilian slits. “What are you going to do?” he hissed, his voice more beast than man.
My own beast was getting harder to shove down. She wanted a crack at the dragon—or maybe a taste was more accurate. Hunger clawed at my insides as my pulse accelerated. The thundering of my frantic heartbeats roared across my eardrums until it was all I could hear. Talon faded to black, the entire room going with him.
“Don’t you let her win, Azara.” The familiar voice tugged at my insides, and I blinked rapidly.
Just a taste. A little taste to show him who’s in charge.
My jaw unlocked and a whisper of blue energy streamed forth, dancing along Talon’s lips. His eyes widened, the silver nearly eclipsing the thin reptilian slits. My hand closed around the back of his neck and drew him closer. He didn’t even try to resist. I pressed my mouth to his and inhaled a long breath. Mmm. Yummy. He tasted like freshly fallen snow and charred wood. His familiar scent snapped me from the darkness, and I blinked back the curtain of black.
I recalled my demon energy, and it curled back into the murky depths of my core. A tidal wave of guilt slammed into me as Talon’s features unblurred, and his face took shape inches from my own. “I—I’m so sorry.” I tried to spin away, but I was still trapped between the wall and his impassable chest.
He captured my chin and forced my eyes to meet his. “Don’t apologize. You did great.”
My head snapped back so hard I almost gave myself whiplash. “What are you talking about? I almost sucked out your soul. Again.”
“You weren’t even close,” he muttered, inching dangerously close to my lips. “I barely felt a tickle. And you stopped yourself. That’s all that matters.”
My jaw unhinged as realization hit me. “You were testing me? You provoked me on purpose!” I slapped him across the cheek. Hard. Because he totally deserved it.
And he barely flinched.
“I’m sorry, but I had to, Azara. You remember what I told you when I first started training you? Don’t be afraid of your powers. Burying them is the worst thing you can do. You have to let them out, fight them, learn about them and finally control them. And today, you did just that.”
A small smile melted across my face. “I don’t remember you being so wise.”
He leaned closer, his soft lips nearly brushing mine. “There are a lot of things you don’t remember about me, Azara.”
A chill skirted up my spine, and it was all I could do to keep from crushing my lips against his. Just friends. Just friends. I repeated the mantra in my head hoping it would sink in.
For now. Talon’s voice reverberated in my skull, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Did you hear me?” A tidal wave of embarrassment rolled over me. I’d forgotten about that weird mental connection we occasionally shared.
He nodded slowly.
“How?” From my limited understanding, my telepathic abilities only worked when I initiated the connection.
“I’m not sure. Maybe some leftover effect of the blood bond mixed with your freaky warlock powers.”
When had he gotten so close? His breath ghosted over my lips. My heartrate spiked, and my ribcage suddenly felt too small for my raging organ. “For now?” I muttered.
His lips brushed against mine, so softly they felt like butterfly wings dancing along my skin. He pulled back a second later, but my hand snaked around the back of his neck, holding his mouth to mine.
I pried his teeth apart with my tongue, and his mouth quickly yielded to my will. His tongue caressed mine with slow, languid strokes. Wrapping my arms tighter around his neck, I drew him closer until he pressed me into the wall. The cool obsidian chilled my heated flesh, the contrast sending chills spilling up and down my spine.
“I don’t want to wait,” I whispered against his ear as his lips moved to my collarbone. “We’ve already lost so much time.”
“Neither do I,” he growled into my skin. He nipped at my flesh, running his tongue over the hollow of my neck. “But we have to.”
I pushed him out to arm’s length even though every cell in my body screamed at the absence of his. “Why?” I rasped out.
“Because you need to focus on getting full control of your demon, and I need to focus on keeping you safe. Once I make you mine, which believe me I will, I’ll be too consumed in you to care about anything else.”