"We're evenly matched," I noted, and for once, he didn't disagree.
"We are equal partners," he replied, taking a step closer, showing not an ounce of discomfort, even though his ribs had to be killing him. "When you disappear on your stupid suicide missions, you're risking all of us."
Guilt rocked me back on my heels. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just... In my life, when bad shit has to be handled, I have to get in and do it immediately. Otherwise I’ll procrastinate forever. Alex was that shitty job that needed handling, and every time I go near him with either of you, it just ends in you all bitching at each other. Nothing else happens."
So I'd just gotten it done when I could.
"She's wired that way, Rafe," Jordan said from where he remained perched on the sidelines. "Just like you are."
Rafe took another step toward me, neither of us turning to Jordan because we knew that would be the end of this battle.
"I don't want to change you," Rafe said, huskily. "But I do want you on my team. Teams work together."
A snort of laughter, and in that same burst, I launched myself forward, wrapping my arms and legs around Rafe and rolling him down onto the mat.
He'd been ready for me, and as I rolled, he used his bulk to situate us so that we landed side by side. He'd been hoping to land on top of me, but I was too fast for that.
Launching myself across him in the split second before he moved, I got my arms and legs wrapped around his, locking him in place as I twisted his right arm at the perfect angle to break it.
He could have gotten out of it; I could tell by his first struggle that there was a weakness in my current position. Someone of Rafe's training would know it as well. But he didn't; instead he gave a few halfhearted attempts to move while I applied a little more pressure to his arms and tightened my legs.
My mistake was forgetting about his other arm. It snaked down the front of my pants, fingers sliding into my underwear and over my pussy. His fingers were inside me before I could release my next breath, and I could have screamed at how good it felt.
"Let me go," he said, “and I'll make you come."
I shook my head. "No. Fucking concede, and then you can make me scream your damn name."
He fingers slid in and out, thumb scraping over my clit and sending tingles through my body until I felt light-headed. Fuck's sake. No! I could not fall for the weakness of my body here. Rafe's punishment was one thing, but his arrogance needed no extra points. I couldn't let him win.
"Concede!" I demanded, forcing all breathiness out of my tone, even though my toes were literally curling. I twisted his arm a fraction more, and it had to be killing him, but the bastard still kept finger fucking me like this was all normal.
Jordan moved so he was over both of us. "You're going to have to break his arm," he told me, and I swallowed hard.
"Rafe, please don't make me do that."
His fingers moved faster, and as my body lifted to try and move with him, I forced it to remain still.
I don't know what the hell possessed me in that moment to kiss him, but I released my hold on his arm and slammed my mouth against his, kissing him as he continued to work my body like he knew it better than his own.
"If neither of us can concede, will you accept a tie?" I breathed against his lips.
He opened his mouth, and my tongue tangled with his as I skirted the outskirts of an orgasm. Just when I was about to tip over the edge, Rafe jerked his hand out, flipped me over to my back, and in a similar lock hold to what I'd used, got me all wrapped up. And this time I knew I couldn't get out.
He was stronger with long-ass limbs that held every part of my body down. His arm wrapped around my throat, and as it closed around my wind pipe, I wondered how far he'd go.
Would he choke me out completely?
We struggled like that for a moment, and then I went limp. From his angle Rafe probably couldn't tell if I was passed out or plotting, and I hoped that it was enough to loosen his hold.
"How about medium punishment," Rafe said, loosening his grip just enough to let me speak, "and I promise not to leave a mark anywhere that can be seen?"
My body was already wound up so fucking tight from all the fighting and then his magical fingers. Those words made it so much worse. "How about we call it a tie, for bragging rights, but I allow you thismedium punishmentso you feel like you won something?"
His hold lessened slightly more.
"You know we're evenly matched," I said, my words coming out easier without his arm locked quite so tight across my throat. "And we're out of time."
"You definitely are," Jordan said, his voice lower than usual. The sexual energy in the air was getting to all of us.
