She laughed. “I guess I can let you off the hook this time.”
He whooped and took off toward the faux rock wall.
“Rune, wait!” she called after him. “You need a harness.”
He reached the wall and started climbing before he yelled over his shoulder, “I’ll be fine! It would take a lot more than a fall from this height to seriously injure me.”
“I’m about to seriously injure you if you get hurt.”
She muttered it, so he assumed she didn’t want him to hear, but vampires had amazing hearing. He grinned toward the wall, moving quickly to the top.
Rune reached up and smacked the small bell just above his head.
“Great, you beat the record for the firm. Can you come down from there, please?” she yelled from beneath him.
“No problem,” he called back.
Then, he released his hold on the wall, pushing hard with his legs, and flipped over backwards in the air. He landed a good ten feet away from the wall on the sparring mat in the center of the room.
Rune was grinning as he straightened up, holding his hands up above his head. “I give that a ten.”
Before he could blink, Astra was in front of him, and she swept his legs out from beneath him. Rune landed flat on his back, his breath whooshing from his lungs. Before he could take another, her weight landed on his stomach, causing him to grunt again.
“You idiot!” she yelled, leaning over him. Her ponytail spilled over her shoulder to brush his cheek and her eyes were like golden flames. She looked magnificent and completely pissed off. The tiger was back, and she was baring her claws. “You could have been hurt!”
Rune knew there was a high probability he would get his face bitten off, but he had to kiss her. He reached up, cupping the back of her head with his hand, and pulled her face down to his.
Her lips were hot against his and tasted like chocolate and coffee.
Astra froze for a split second, and he realized what he’d done. Before he could release her though, her mouth opened against his, her tongue gliding across his bottom lip.
It was all he needed.
He rolled, pinning her beneath him, and slid his tongue into her mouth. Her leg wrapped around his hip and her hands dove into his hair. Electric sparks started at his scalp and ran down his spine to his limbs.
He groaned into her mouth, and she froze beneath him.
Rune lifted his head, looking down at her. When he saw her face, he levered away. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m fine.” Astra sat up. Wisps of red hair framed her face, softening the severity of her expression. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to shock you.”
“Oh, is that what that spark was?” he asked. “I thought my mind was literally blown from a kiss.”
She didn’t even smile. Instead, she stared at him with wide eyes that were more green than gold. God, he could have stared into her eyes all day for years. They seemed to change color with her moods and thoughts.
“What are you?” she asked.
Rune frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Your eyes. They’re glowing.” Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “Fangs. You’re a vampire.”
Her tone said this was not a good thing, so Rune sat very, very still. He knew that some supernatural species had a problem with his kind, but he hadn’t expected it from her.
“Yes. I’m a vampire,” he replied. “Is that a problem?”
The green in her eyes deepened and her brow furrowed as she thought. His heart sank in his chest. God, the first woman he’d met in a long time who made his blood burn and she wanted nothing to do with him because of what he was.
He started to get up, but her hand touched his arm.
