She moved toward him with fluid ease, her stance light and springy. “Not the face,” she reminded him with a stern look in her eyes.
“Just as long asyoudon’t knee me in the groin.”
A nod of agreement and he attacked, his hand reaching for her left arm as though planning to dislodge her footing. She let him do it, her right foot simultaneously sweeping forward and hooking behind his leg while her hands caught hold of his shirt.
Pushing herself off her left foot added momentum. Ramstead began fighting for balance. The pair toppled with him falling backward and her landing squarely on top. But she didn’t ease up once he was down. Adrian watched in amazement as she kept moving, hands grabbing and legs finding purchase against Ramstead’s body, adding pressure in just the right spot to allow her to turn him onto his belly.
Sitting astride him, she grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, pinned his left arm down with her knee while placing her right leg under his right arm so she could twist it and bend it backward. Just enough for Ramstead to cry out in protest.
“Bloody hell,” Drost muttered.
Adrian glanced at him and saw that he was quietly chuckling. Everyone else looked like they’d just seen a dog recite Shakespeare. He returned his attention to Ramstead who sputtered and cursed. “Do you yield?”
“Yes.” A hoarse reply that saw him released fromSamantha’s grasp. She climbed off him and stuck out her hand, prepared to help him up.
He ignored the hand, and stood without her assistance. “The only reason you won is because I agreed not to punch you.”
“Just in the face. I made no mention of anywhere else.”
He snarled, sent Adrian a scathing look, and removed himself to the opposite side of the room. Adrian gave him a glare of his own, then turned to Samantha. “I can make him apologize if you want.”
She arched a brow. “I could have done so myself if I thought it was necessary, but it’s not. He’s accepted the loss, even if he failed to congratulate me on the win. It’s fine. I bear no grudge against him. Shall we?”
He crossed to where she waited and prepared to engage, only for her to leap toward him before he could ask if she was ready. Her fist met his chest with surprising force.
A grunt escaped him and though he’d decided he would not strike her as hard as he would a male opponent, instinct quickly took over. He aimed for her shoulder but she dodged the blow, her body a blur of movement around him. It was difficult for him to guess what she would do next.
Another attempt to strike her saw her grabbing his wrist. She tightened her hold and spun to his right, taking him with her before applying a sudden switch in direction. It was like tripping into a brick wall. He lost his balance and fell on his back.
Stupefied, he shook his head, not the least bit concerned by the laughter rolling around him. “I’ve no idea how you did that, but I want you to teach me.”
Standing over him, a satisfied gleam in her eyes, she offered her hand. He took it, and was on his feet in an instant, ready for round two.
20
Edward remained in his carriage after it pulled up in front of Adrian's home. He took a deep breath. Expelled it again. Part of him dreaded what the evening would bring even as he looked forward to spending time with his friend. It had been months since they'd last sat down together and talked.
Too long.
A lot had happened in the time since. Adrian had married and Edward…
He stared toward the handsome building he was about to visit, at the white columns flanking the black front door where a brass knocker waited for him to announce his arrival. The last time he dined here, he’d sat across from Adrian's sister, Evie.
The memory of her smiling at him with warmth in her eyes, a stray lock of brown hair curling softly against her brow, made every breath hurt. It felt like hisribs were curling, digging into his lungs and squeezing around his heart.
Almost four months.
That was how long it had been since her death.
To think the world had gone on without her, that he was finding the will to do so—to get out of bed every morning, dress, eat, and manage estate matters only to repeat the process the next day—was hard to comprehend. But getting foxed and sleeping all day was not an option.
Not when he had responsibilities to tend to, a mother and sisters who depended on him. He had to stay strong for them. Carry on. Find a way through this crippling heartache. His throat tightened and his eyes began to sting once more.
Christ, he was a mess. Hell, the fact that he'd used the deception he'd crafted with Adrian's wife to create for himself the one moment he'd longed to experience with Evie proved how destroyed he was. He'd put everything into that kiss, a kiss intended to catch Evie's killer, losing himself to devastation and the reality filling his soul.
The guilt that clawed at him daily, reminding him that he was a coward, a fool who'd wasted precious time waiting for the right moment to declare himself to Evie. Had he only acted sooner, told her how he felt – how deeply he loved her – she would have become his wife.
The events put in motion to ruin her reputation would not have worked against a married woman,which meant that the killer would not have singled her out and that Evie would still be alive.
