Summon Lyght(86)

He'd have to think of something. "I'm waiting for you."

She signaled her men to attack and surprised him with a beautiful straight kick to the chest. He barely sidestepped it and reached to wrap her in his arms, then let her duck away. She was fast. Already, she followed with a series of punches and kicks. She clearly planned to keep him occupied and away from her. It was smart. She would keep out of reach of the more powerful male and wear him down, taking advantage of her greater speed and endurance. Then she'd move in for the kill.

Letting her play while he enjoyed the view, he watched his siblings out of the corner of his eye. They easily sidestepped attacks and maneuvered their opponents into injuring one another.

He took note of the human energy levels. Only six minutes in and they were already down to seventy-fifty percent. One had started to decrease at an exponential rate, using ten times as much energy in one minute as he had in the previous minute. The others would tire just as quickly.

Francis stepped up his game and made his beautiful Abigail work harder to stay away from him. His vow to not touch her quickly fell aside. Her lightning attacks brought her within easy reach and the temptation proved too much. Moving away from a kick, he allowed his fingers to graze along her calf. Her cheek at another moment. He even got bold, or hungry, enough to barely graze her ass. It all drove his ruby power higher. Soon, he had her in retreat, sweat trickling down her neck and upper chest as her plan backfired. The harder he pushed, the more he touched her, the angrier she became.

When he easily avoided a kick aimed at his chin and spun to skim his fingertips across the small of her back, she bared her teeth and growled. "You call this fighting?"

He couldn't stop the smile. "No, beautiful, I call this play." In a rush he pressed her into a corner. From there, he quickly pinned her, using his body weight to hold her tight to the wall. But damn, where was the anticipated anger and fury? Instead of fighting harder, she kept her body against his, turning to bring a hip against his groin that sent a blast of heat through him. Rather than stop there, she maneuvered his thigh between hers for a few seconds, long enough for him to marvel at the heavy beat of her pulse. Then he tasted it. She was…aroused. Oh God. The ruby in his body roiled like angry lava and more instinct brought his mouth closer to hers. Taste. Had to taste it.

She looked up at him, seeming to want him to. Beg him to. What would she feel like on his lips in real life? In human form?

She suddenly slammed her head into his and fear seized him as her eyes rolled up and blood dripped from the gash in her forehead. She slumped and lost her balance.

"Shit." He slid an arm around her waist and gathered her close "I'm so sorry."

She let out a faint whimper. "What—what are you?" Her voice sounded weak, barely coherent. "Hey…I… dirtied your clothes." She laid her head on his chest, exhausted. "Take me home."

The fragile voice he'd heard the night before peaked through those final words and Francis picked her up in his arms. All the toughness she hid the real Abigail behind had fallen away. If he was ever to have a chance at winning her to his side, he couldn't wait. They'd have to take her with the boy.

A blow landed on the back of his neck that would have dropped a human. He wheeled to face the threat, shifting Abigail over his shoulder to free one hand. The boy stood there with a baseball bat pulled back ready for another swing.

"Put her down!" A pair of gang member rushed at Francis, one wielding a knife, the other grabbing a bottle from the ground. A third grabbed the boy and hustled him away, handing him off to someone else. In seconds he was out of sight.

Francis glanced at Peggy and his brothers, all looking extremely bored as they continued to dodge clumsy, half-hearted attacks. Abort this mission. I'm taking her first while she's ready. Robert, put them to sleep. I'll meet all of you at the compound later.

Robert raised his hand and an invisible wave of power buckled the humans' knees simultaneously, dropping them to the floor.

"Goodnight." Max offered a little salute to go with Peggy's little smile.

Francis ignored them and flashed Abigail back to her apartment, his heart pounding in a mixture of fear and anticipation.

Holding her close, he stood at the side of her bed, studying her face. Her jaw was strong, almost masculine, and combined with the square chin and broad cheekbones, she wasn't what he'd learned society considered beautiful. The habit of keeping her luxuriant hair concealed in sleek braids made her seem even more masculine. Delicately textured ivory skin, deep red lips appeared at direct odds with her more male-looking features and her firmly muscled frame. And as far as Francis was concerned, she was the most exquisitely feminine beautiful woman who ever existed.