Baelfire slumps to the ground beside me when his turn on the mat ends early. His turn has ended early every time because, apparently, the oversexed idiot gets too aroused every time Maven pins him, and he has to tap out early to cool off.
He wipes the sweat off his face with a grimace and leans back against the wall like I am. "How does such a tiny person put me in a fucking headlock? I'm like three times her size."
"Try ten times, you behemoth," I fire back, watching Silas take a defensive position on the opposite side of the mat from Maven with a determined set to his jaw.
The only one of us who hasn't been brutally taken down repeatedly by Maven has been Crypt. She's pinned him a few times, but the asshole refuses to play by the rules and keeps slipping into Limbo to pin her down from behind and whisper what I assume are filthy things into her ear.
The last time he did it, Maven had enough and head-butted him, and we haven't seen him since. I'm pretty sure he's lettinghis nose heal in Limbo while he enjoys watching the rest of us fail.
I watch as Silas rushes her and tries yet another tactic. Maven easily outmaneuvers him before he ends up pinned to the ground with his leg stuck in an incredibly uncomfortable-looking position. He swears and taps out, and the pure amusement on Maven's face has me smiling.
She really likes combat, doesn't she? And she's insanely good at it. I know I should be using that as a reason to convince myself I don't want her...but godsdamn me, I love that look on her face. She can win as many sparring matches as she wants with me—I don't mind the sore muscles and bruises if she's happy.
Baelfire elbows me hard, knocking the wind from my side. I shoot him a glare. "What the hell?"
He just shakes his head. "Cockblock curse," he whispers. "Stare at Silas instead. Pretend you like his ass more."
I really hate him so much.
Silas gets to his feet and tips his head. "Why is it that touching during combat isn't a trigger for you?"
"Touch is an entirely different beast during combat. I was never conditioned against fighting. In fact, it's what I was turned into this for," Maven shrugs as if it's that simple.
Immediately, my mouth tastes like bile. I can only assume that the Entity is the one whoconditionedher and…
"Turned you into what, exactly?" I manage to ask through clenched teeth.
She ignores the question and nods to Silas. "They're still licking their wounds and egos. Get back into position."
But he has his scheming face on, the same one that used to make me anxious as fuck when we were kids. "No, I want to know, too. What are you, Maven?"
"The girl who's about to kick your ass. Again."
He smirks. "Goading me won't work."
She stretches as if to work out a kink in her shoulder. Again, I can't look away, and my hands itch with the urge to rub out whatever discomfort she's feeling. If she let me, I would massage her entire body. She must get really worked up and sore—after all, if she's pushing us this hard, I can only imagine how hard she pushes herself.
I don't like that. I want to see my keeper comfortable and content. I want to spoil her in every possible way.
My mouth goes dry when she abruptly strips off her oversized, baggy shirt, leaving behind a form-fitting black undershirt. Silas and Baelfire stare hard, too, and Crypt finally reappears in the mortal realm to check her out as he leans against the wall.
"All right. I'm officially ready for another round," he says too eagerly.
For once, I agree with him. But Baelfire must notice how much I enjoy seeing her in something tight because he elbows me hard again. This time, a grunt escapes. The sound draws Maven's attention to us.
As soon as her eyes are on me, I dutifully look away like this is the most boring experience of my entire life. But I can still admire her in the reflective glass she's standing in front of.
That tight shirt shows off a bit of her midriff and lower back. I'd like to kiss all of it. I know my cheeks are turning red the longer I can feel her studying me.
"Fine. That's the prize," Maven says finally. "You're all in desperate need of motivation, anyway."
"Not anymore," Crypt smiles. "That's a lovely shirt."
She rolls her eyes. "Here's how it works. If any of you beat me on the mat, I'll tell you what I am."
That has all of us hooked. I can see the resolution set in as Silas rolls his shoulders back and retakes his stance. "You'll keep your word?"
"I always do," she says sweetly, then pins him again in less than two minutes.
