I let the change roll over me. Once my Rijitera form was complete, I crouched down into a fighting stance and flexed my claws. Ohem chuckled andmoved.He was fast enough to blur from my sight, but the air stirred to my left and dodged out of the way just as he popped back into existence where I’d been standing.
“Come, Rijitera, you must be faster,” he mocked, blurring again.
I cocked my head and kept my muscles loose and ready.There.The air shifted behind me and I jumped straight up, twisting my body in mid-air like a cat to land behind Ohem. I swiped my claws across his back, scoring him shallowly. Thin lines bled yellow, dripping slowly down his skin. I’d drawn first blood. Score one for me.
Ohem pivoted quickly, leaving me no time to react or move out of the way of his backhand. The blow landed solidly across my muzzle, and I bared my teeth at him. Blood trickled down my lip. Score one for Ohem. I ducked his next blow, dancing around him, slashing at his exposed side and missing by centimeters. Ohem’s tails lashed out, wrapping around my calf, and pulled me almost off my feet. I snarled and slashed at it with my claws. Ohem hissed, and a tentacle snapped out, catching my forearm in a bruising grip.
I lunged into him rather than trying to get away and our bodies collided with enough force to knock Ohem off his feet. He rolled with me, trying to pin me beneath him and end the fight. I gave a short bark and jerked away from him during the roll, breaking his hold on me and coming to my feet with a wolf smile.
I wasted no time and pounced on him. I hit the empty mat. I rolled out of the way in time to miss being stomped on. I popped to my feet, but Ohem was rushing me and I danced out of the way, my claws scoring his side as he passed. More yellow blood. Two points.
“Come, General, you must be faster.”
Ohem kick hit me square to the chest. My breath rushed out of me with a hoarse whoosh. The eerie chittering sound that emerged from him made my hair stand on end and I kept dodging out of his way, trying to catch my breath. His tentacles snapped in the surrounding air, his tails tried to trip me up or wind around my legs, but I bobbed and weaved, jumping when I needed to, just managing to evade capture.
Growling, I leapt to the side, landing a punch into his wounded side, slashed with my other claw, drawing blood along the outside of his thigh. Three points. Ohem chuckled, disappearing from in front of me to reappear behind me, and the fiery burn of claws across my back signaled another point for him. We got increasingly faster until our bodies blended together across the mat, each landing blows until I lost count on who was winning and who was losing. Teeth and claws flashed, yellow and red blood spattered the mat beneath our dancing feet.
It wasglorious.
Blood pounded through my veins in rich rivers of battle fueled lust. Ohem pulled back and crouched low, tentacles raised behind him, opening and closing threateningly. His tails thrashed around on the mat, all the lines on his body lit up. He tilted his head at a downward angle and let loose a deep, low roar. His teeth pressed forward out of his mouth, his eyes bright against the black of his face plates. It was a terrifying threat display. He was done playing with me. My hair stood up along my spine and I snarled back at him.
Ohem disappeared from in front of me. I whirled around and had to step back to avoid him, and step back again, and again. He just kept coming, too fast for me to escape, all I could do was block his blows. He wasn’t clawing at me, just pushing me, herding me. My back hit the wall, and his big body pressed against mine, pinning me.
I struggled for a moment, trying to gain enough leverage, but the battle was lost. Ohem snarled into my face, all four tentacles slamming into the wall behind me. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. There was only one option left to me and I was all aflutter about it. It was beyond arousing to turn my neck to him and submit. He pressed his mouth firmly against the scales on my throat, and bit down lightly. Every single strand of fur stood on end, a full body shiver cascading over me.
He released my neck after a moment and ran his face up until our cheeks were pressed together, my fur against his hard plates. “I win, myursang.” His hand ran up my armored stomach.“You are magnificent,” he murmured into my ear.
The heat between us threatened to light the gym on fire. I had enjoyed that fight entirely too much. It wasn’t every day a female Rijitera found more than her match.
Just when I made steps to jump into his arms, fur and all, the clapping started. I peaked around Ohem and caught Patty collecting money from Rema while the other girls cheered.
That traitorous bitch!
I narrowed my eyes at her when she turned my way. She just grinned, shrugging her shoulders as she pocketed the silver coins the aliens used for physical currency. That she made Rema bet with real money and not the more commonly used digital stuff meant she’d wanted me to see it exchange hands. She was a psychopath.
I loved her crazy assso much.
Rema was sweet for thinking I’d win. I’d file that away for a later favor owed. Still, I’d have bet against myself too. Ohem was a beast. It was almost a shame neither of us could actually hurt the other. I was very curious about which one of us would come out on top of a life or death fight. The little cat scratches we’d given each other were nothing but foreplay.
I tilted my head up to catch Ohem’s eyes, and he winked two of his four eyes at me in a gesture he’d picked up from us earth girls.
He’d win.
I was pulled from my ogling by Sam trotting up to us, a big shit-eating grin on her cute face.
“That was amazing! I got a little nervous for a second, thinking you two were fighting for real!”
She was so adorable. I just couldn’t handle it.
I shifted back, crossed my arms over my chest, and leaned into Ohem’s side. “Just a little friendly competition. I couldn’t actually hurt the big guy, but a few love taps? That’s totally on the table,” I said, nudging Ohem with my elbow.
He chuckled and laid a hand on my shoulder. “She couldn’t hurt me, even if she tried her hardest.”
The smug sonofabitch! I elbowed him harder, and he caught me in a bear hug, laughing. I wriggled out of his arms to glare at him. It only made him laugh harder. My lips were twitching, so I tightened them into a thin line. My mate needed no further encouragement.
Patty came and handed me my clothes, still smirking. “Yeah, he totally whooped your ass. He was going easy on you and still whooped your ass.”
First the betting and now the trash talking? This bitch.
