Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

with you. So get that pretty little ass in the ring.”
     
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    With that, he spun around and strode off toward the practice ring, slashing the wooden sword so fiercely through the air with every step that it made a whooshing, whistling noise; a counterpoint to the fierce beating of her heart in her chest. Only his scent remained, a lingering trace of sea and sandalwood. A sudden crazy longing to find his discarded shirt and carry it away to sleep in swept through her, and her body literally trembled with the force of it.
     
    Three days. She‟d had three long days to watch him, study him, try to discover his true self. His hidden self. Three long days of almost constant contact, and she‟d learned nothing that she didn‟t already know, hadn‟t known within five minutes of meeting him.
     
    He was a warrior.
     
    A true warrior. A man so deeply committed to protecting others that he put his own life on the line as easy barter over and over and over. Fiercely loyal, extremely intelligent, and calm and secure in his own strength. In his own worth. In all the time she‟d known him, she‟d never seen him lose control.
     
    Until now. Over her .
     
    He‟d let her see that she held power over him, and the knowledge seared through her on a wave of breathtaking desire. Maybe they could forget the sparring. Maybe if she marched over there and planted a huge kiss right on those sinfully elegant lips, he‟d change his mind about whatever “I‟ve sworn vows” meant.
     
    She‟d already taken the first step toward him when she reconsidered. Took a deep breath to clear her head. Not yet. For now, he‟d thrown down the proverbial gauntlet.
    She could either pick it up and face him in that ring, or she could run. Back away. Get while the getting was good, if she had any sense at all.
     
    She thought about it. Nope. Guess not.
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    “Get ready, Atlantean. I‟m about to show you what a descendant of Diana is made of.”

Chapter 8
    Alexios knew it was crazy to jeopardize their working relationship, especially when he was on orders from Conlan and Ven to make this alliance work. Crazy.
     
    Yeah, well, maybe crazed was more like it. Ever since he‟d first met Grace, fighting with Quinn‟s team in St. Louis, something about her had stuck under his skin. Beneath his calm control.
     
    That kiss .
     
    It wasn‟t just that she was beautiful, although of course she was. Even now, stalking toward him with fire in her eyes and defiance in every line of her body.
     
    Especially now.
     
    She stood, biting her lip a little, shining in the late afternoon sun like the goddess she claimed as ancestress. The cool sea air whipped at the edges of his hair and he impatiently brushed it back, wanting nothing to interfere with his vision.
     
    Grace‟s hair was firmly controlled, like every other part of her. All that long, silky hair was pulled back in a tight braid and coiled around in one of those weird twisty things women did. He wanted to see her hair loose, wild, and unbound. He wanted to see Grace that way, too.
     
    She stripped off her bulky leather jacket and dropped it on the faded winter grass of the courtyard. Without her coat, she wore only a long-sleeved red T-shirt over faded jeans.
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    have laughed. But the way that denim hugged the curves of her ass put thoughts in his mind that he had no business thinking.
     
    Ven had been right. Alexios needed the gods to help him, because he was out of his mind to spar with her. He had a terrible feeling that hand-to-hand combat was exactly the wrong way to force himself to quit thinking about Grace, naked.
     
    Grace, in the moonlight up on the parapets. Naked. Gloriously naked, riding him, with her hair unbound and whipping behind her in the night breeze.
     
    Naked.
     
    He shook his head to try to dislodge the thoughts, but she saw him and got the wrong idea. “What‟s the matter? Did you change your mind?” she taunted. “A little too tired after all, tough guy?”
     
    “I will never be too tired to take you,” he said, the impact of his deliberate dual meaning shimmering in the air between them.
     
    She gasped—a small