Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

she snapped, realizing she was being unfair but not really caring.
     
    His laughter rumbled up from his chest, and she caught herself leaning forward, inches away from touching her lips to that lovely, glistening skin. Horrified, she stumbled back a step and probably would‟ve fallen if he hadn‟t caught her by the arms.
     
    “I was just coming to report in, Commander,” he said sardonically. He wasn‟t even breathing hard. It was completely annoying.
     
    She narrowed her eyes. “You‟re mocking me. I don‟t like it. You know you don‟t have to report in to me. We‟re allies. Also,” she asked, frustrated beyond common sense, “why is it you always make me feel like I have a stick up my butt? I‟m not like this with anyone else but you.”
     
    Atlantis Unmasked - Warriors of Poseidon 04
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    She watched in fascination as his beautiful blue eyes darkened to nearly black, but then suddenly realized she‟d given far too much away with that comment. “Um, never mind. I didn‟t mean—it‟s not important. I have a lot of paperwork to do. Good night.”
     
    She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened on her arms.
     
    “Oh, no, you don‟t,” he said, his voice rough. “You wanted me to spar with the troops. I did so. You‟ve got a few good men and women here, a few that will be good with training, and a few who need to take up a different line of work. We can get together with Sam tomorrow, and I‟ll tell you which are which. But for now, you and me.”
     
    “I don‟t think I need you to tell me—” But her indignation faded away when she realized she was reacting to his high-handed tone and the thoughts—okay, fantasies—she‟d just been having about him. The truth was, he could judge this kind of thing far more quickly than she could. “Okay. You‟re right. Now you can let me go and . . . wait. What?”
     
    Her brain had finally caught up with her ears. “What do you mean, you and me?”
     
    He slowly slid his hands down her arms to her elbows and then released her. But instead of stepping back, he stepped forward until he was most definitely invading her personal space.
     
    There was no way she was backing down. She lifted her chin. “I said, what do you mean, you and me?”
     
    He bent down to the ground, leaning so close to her that his golden hair brushed against her chest. She‟d never been so glad of her thick leather jacket that shielded her breasts from the touch of his hair. Or so she told herself.
     
    Standing up, Alexios handed her a wooden practice sword. “Can you handle this, or would you prefer daggers?”
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    Grace didn‟t bother to bristle at the question. She‟d fought alongside Alexios and had also seen over the past few days that he made no unfair assessments based on gender. He assumed nothing, but watched and surveyed until he had a good idea of the trainees‟ capabilities. The heavy wooden practice swords they used were too much for most women, who didn‟t have the arm strength to match a man carrying a sword.
     
    Grace wasn‟t most women.
     
    “I can handle it just fine. But you‟ve been out here fighting for nearly three hours. It would be a little unfair of me to take advantage of you in your weakened state,” she said sweetly.
     
    His face changed, going dark and almost primitive. He stepped forward again, backing her up against the inner wall of the courtyard until nothing but a breath separated them.
    When he spoke, his voice came out almost in a growl. “I don‟t think you understand, Grace, and I‟m tired of fighting it. I want you to take advantage of me. I want to take advantage of you . I want to use the tip of my dagger to slice through your clothing until I have you bare underneath me. I want to put my hands on you, and my mouth on you, and I want to pleasure you until you beg me to take you.”
     
    She gasped, the heat from his words sizzling through her body as if he‟d actually done the things he‟d described, and when he bent his head to her, she lifted her face for his kiss. She wanted him. She needed him. Like he‟d just said, why fight it?
     
    But he stopped, an inch away from her lips, so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath. “But I won‟t. I can‟t. I‟ve sworn vows. So no matter how much you tempt me, or taunt me, or tell me that sex is no better than tennis, I can‟t take you,” he said savagely. “But I can spar