“Pissing contest. Male egos… that kind of thing,” Meela explains.
Raef lifts his brow as he looks at her.
“Adrian said… something pretty awful. Daegan wasn’t taking the bait, but Adrian kept pushing.”
Raef narrows his eyes at me. “What did he say?”
“Something about him being a dragon who can’t even shift.”
Raef lets out a humorless, dry chuckle, then fixes his eyes forward. It almost… gives me the chills. I could almost swear steam escapes his flared nostrils, but a distraction in the form of Adrian’s booming voice causes me to whip my head forward.
“I see we have an audience now,” Adrian begins speaking to the crowd, sounding uncharacteristically cocky. He’s shirtless now too, sporting an almost equally muscular torso. “One of our visitors from the south has agreed to a sparring match with me, hands only, in the hopes that we can all perhaps learn a thing or two from each other. Pay attention.”
That’s really not what happened, but okay. Who is this Adrian?
They face each other, and neither makes a move. Daegan may have a little height on Adrian, but they’re close enough in muscle mass. This might come down to skill and experience. But what do I know.
Adrian begins to move slowly, and Daegan mirrors his movements.
Out of nowhere, Adrian moves quickly, throwing a punch. Daegan dodges it, then steps back, keeping his distance. Daegan still manages to somehow look unaffected, calm.
Adrian again makes an offensive move, closing in and kicking at Daegan’s side. Daegan moves incredibly fast, rolling on the ground and dodging it again before popping back on his feet.
I don’t watch a lot of fights, or any at all, really, but Daegan seems to be moving incredibly fast, almost like he anticipates the moves. That must come with a lot of experience, I think.
Adrian focuses harder, his face scrunching with concentration. He moves in, grabbing Daegan around the waist and tackling him to the ground. But Daegan is still too fast, rolling and jumping to his feet again, watching as Adrian recovers and stands.
And then Daegan’s eyes find mine, almost as if he knows where I’ve been the entire time, and his lip curls back in a smirk.
What the fuck.
He focuses on Adrian again, who’s charging him, and as Adrian attempts to take him to the ground, Daegan somehow flips behind him, kicks his knees out from under him, and pins Adrian on his stomach with his cheek against the ground and his arm behind his back.
After a few gasps, the crowd is silent. There’s tension in the air.
But Adrian manages to flip around while still under him and lands a punch across Daegan’s jaw. With Daegan’s head twisted to the side, Adrian flipsDaegan off him, then attempts to overpower him while he’s on his back, but Daegan is too fast.
I watch in horror, my hands over my mouth, as their bodies tangle and Daegan lands several hard punches on Adrian’s ribs. Somehow, it looks like Daegan is having an easier time than Adrian. Adrian appears more flustered, breathing harder.
I glance at Meela who is equally entranced by the fight, though she appears less horrified and more entertained.
They’re both standing again, circling the platform. Adrian has blood dripping from his nose, and Daegan has a cut on his jaw. Both of their muscular torsos are glistening with sweat in some spots and matted with dirt in other spots. Daegan’s sandy brown hair is wild, and Adrian’s normally immaculate hair is all disheveled.
Something darkens in Daegan’s expression. In a blink he moves in on Adrian so fast I can barely process what’s happening. With a few easy moves, he takes Adrian’s legs out from under him, lands a punch to his jaw, manages to pin his arms down, and has his forearm firmly pressed against his throat.
Adrian struggles for a moment, then he goes still. I can’t see his face from this angle, only the corded muscles of Daegan’s back as he takes deep breaths in and out, and his powerful shoulders that hold Adrian down.
Something is wrong with me because I can’t help but think how good Daegan looks in that position. Intense, powerful, and commanding…
Finally, Adrian mutters something, then Daegan releases him and hops up to his feet.
I force my eyes away and silently remind myself of the first time I met him, when he was straddling me in a similar fashion. The thought of it gives me mixed emotions as I risk another glance at the platform. But I’m not looking at his expression, I’m focused on the feral beast who stands calmly in the center of the platform.
What in the damn curse is wrong with me?
“I call next!” Raef calls out beside me. I look over at him and find a ridiculous grin on his face. No one says anything, the air remains silent, and he looks around with his hands out, feigning offense.
Daegan accepts a handshake from Adrian, which I’m guessing is customary after a duel, because Adrian looks like he’d rather be doing anything else than that. Daegan nods at him and then descends from the platform. His eyes find me on his way down, and my stomach flips upside down. I can’t decide if I hate him, or… I don’t know what. Can you loathe someone and still find them hot at the same time?
