His gaze hardened so quickly it made the moisture dry up in her mouth. “Looks like he gave them some trouble.”
She nodded.
Lightning flashed again, and the sea started to churn. She shivered, the cold air brushing across her wet body. “You should go, Logan.”
His snort just pissed her off. “I’m not afraid of these two. There’s a forestry cabin at the north end of this island—it’ll take me about two hours to get there. We can ride out the storm and then take a floatplane to the mainland tomorrow morning.”
What? “Where do you plan to get a floatplane?” she snapped, blinking through the rain.
“There are two not far from here. I scouted as I ran,” he said. “People camp and fish here, and it won’t be a problem.”
She swallowed and toughened her stance. While he’d had no problem knocking out the two soldiers, he wouldn’t hit her. “I’m staying here.”
“It’s like you want me to put my hands on you,” he murmured.
Her shiver this time had nothing to do with the cold. Why did her body have a mind of its own with him? The guy was just too sexy. Though he’d been nice by carrying her across the island and all, they still had far different goals. “I don’t want to fight you, but I will.” She was better trained than he knew. But then what? The soldiers were out for the duration, and she couldn’t teleport. But if she could knock him out, she could get to a boat or plane or something and escape. So the plan was fight, win, and run.
Good plan.
No, crappy plan. But she had a chance—a slim one—and she had to take it.
He sighed. “I’m getting tired of your nonsense. Once again, I’m happy to carry you. Either piggyback like before, or over my shoulder, which I doubt would be comfortable.”
Irritation clawed her. He was just so arrogant. So lazily sure of himself. “I think I’d rather fight,” she said, bracing her legs.
“Fine.” Any patience he’d shown seemed to be completely gone as the wind whipped into a frantic show of force. “Let’s get this over with.”
She held up a hand. “No brain attacks. This is a fair fight.”
“Oh, darlin’. This ain’t anywhere near a fair fight,” he drawled, his eyes flaring. “But I promise to keep it physical, per your request.”
Physical. Him and her. She swallowed over a lump in her throat. He wasn’t trying to be sexy, but there it was. She really needed to get away from him to reclaim some sense of control over herself. “Fine.” She motioned him forward.
He snorted. “You attack.”
This was a one-shot chance. If she gave him any sense that she could fight, he’d lose that arrogance and watch her. Okay. She could do this.
She shook out her arms. He’d be expecting a kick to the groin.
“Mercy, are you going to attack any time soon?” he asked casually.
What a dick. She nodded. “Yes.”
Lightning zapped, hitting a tree near the soldiers. She jumped back and yelped. The tree cracked, and several branches dropped to the ground. The smell of ozone burned through the air.
Electricity caught her, and adrenaline flooded her entire system. She feinted a kick to his groin.
He twisted to the side, his hand already swiping down to strike her leg.
God, her balance had to work this time. She kicked up as hard as she could, catching Logan beneath the chin and completely by surprise.
His head snapped back with an audible crack.
Dropping and rolling, she came up with one of the blazing branches, swinging with all her might for his temple. The heavy wood hit him hard enough that blood spurted, and he dropped to one knee with a grunt.
Panicking, the blood roaring through her ears, she swung again at the same temple. Then again.
Logan pitched forward, landing on his face in the fresh mud. His legs flopped behind him.
