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I didn’t let her explain further. I retaliated, launching at her with the same speed—a tempo that should only have belonged to the gods. But she was ready for me, blocking my punch and striking out, planting a knee in my side. I grunted and quit holding back.
We were still just sparring, not fighting all-out. But if this was how hard she fought when training, I could only imagine what a force she’d be on the battlefield. She’d become so much stronger than I’d realized after her second death.
She didn’t give me a chance to think about what was happening, and I did what I did best. I fought. Fists flew, blows were blocked, I kicked, and she jumped back. She attacked, and I parried. Her braid flew through the air when she spun around and twice I tried to grab for it. But despite having a weakness like that, she knew how to keep her hair out of my hands.
When we finally paused for a break, we both breathed hard, sweating like animals, and Elyse’s eyes glittered with adrenaline and the thrill of the fight. Her cheeks were flushed, and strands of flyaway hair had escaped from her braid.
She looked fucking fantastic.
“Don’t you get tired of doing all this?” I asked as we sat side by side on the floor, draining our water bottles.
She tilted her head from side to side, as if weighing her choices. “It’s what I was born to do. The people need me.”
“You never wished for something different?” I probed, glancing down at her forearm where X had bitten her. Where her skin was lined with black marks from the injury. It had definitely improved from when he’d first bitten her and it had looked like her skin was rotting.
“Sometimes, but there’s no one else left to do this. It’s who I am, how my dad brought me up. It’s for the greater good, right?”
Was that sarcasm in her voice? Had she ever thought about kids? Or had she made up her mind about what having them would mean—subjecting those she loved to her lifestyle? To the way her father had brought her up? She’d watched her family die after all. Yet, without their bloodline, the world would be doomed. And if she decided on having children, who would she ask to father her baby? Part of me was convinced that if she looked at me in the right way, I wouldn’t say no right away. I’d need time to think about the implications. But in truth, I didn’t know if a god could father children with a Lowe.
Fuck, all those thoughts hurt my head.
I nodded in response to her comment. “I can understand that.”
Elyse frowned. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I turned to face her. “Everyone thinks I’m selfish and a coward and all the other shit. But I’m the God of War. And there is no war without a cause. I care about who gets hurt and why. There’s so much fucked-up crap out there. And not just these days, either. It’s always been like that.”
She stared at me for a long time with a strange look on her face. Compassion?
“You’re right,” she finally admitted.
“About what?”
“What you said earlier. I don’t know you. At all.”
The atmosphere shifted between us, charging with that same power I’d felt before. It was her magic and my energy, plus some kind of pull that made me think we’d fit together if we tried.
I leaned forward until her face was mere inches from mine. Her breath caught in her throat, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, her eyes slid to my lips.
I kissed her before I could stop myself. And she kissed me back this time, parting her lips for me to taste her. Sweet heaven, she intoxicated me, and I breathed in her sexy scent. She arched, her soft breasts pressed against my chest, and I drew her closer. One kiss, and I was lost, just like our first time. Electricity pricked my skin, and fuck, she had me craving her with such intensity.
My body was on fire, heat dancing on my skin, my nerve endings alive. I put my hand on her jaw, my fingers brushing against her neck, and magic poured between the two of us, more powerful than any we’d experienced before. Stronger than anything I’d ever sensed with a lover.
And that was exactly what I wanted from Elyse. To be her lover. Not just to fuck, but something deeper.
Hell! What was she doing to me?
I wasn’t sure I really cared.
