Hunter moved fast but without the same passion that he had with Luke—or maybe with a different kind of passion. He swung at her again, an open-palmed smack that struck only air.
"They say the turtle wins the race, but you haven't even made it to the event yet."
Hunter harrumphed and muttered something about stubborn women, then finally whipped a series of blows at her in quick succession.
His torso gave away each move, and her muscles responded reflexively, blocking easily as he attacked. A trickle of sweat ran down Hunter's chest, and Lucy couldn't keep her eyes off of it.
"You're pretty good," he said with a mischievous grin.
"Thanks."
"I wonder what else those hands are good for?"
Just what she'd been thinking about his hands. She blushed, then scowled at herself for being so silly.
Before she could retort, her brother butted in. "Watch it. Or it'll be my hands you'll be worried about."
Oh, Luke, stay out of this. I can take care of myself. "My hands are skilled at many things. Not the least of which is putting cocky boys in their place."
Another jab. "That may be, but I'm no boy. Perhaps you need to be reminded of that." He kicked, and she dodged, but not fast enough. His foot grazed her shoulder.
Crap. Damn him for getting me all flustered. Focus, Luce. She just had to concentrate and be patient. Hmm... that's a thought.
She relaxed, and breathed in to steady herself, just as she did while meditating. Only this time, instead of focusing inward, she focused on Hunter.
Her energy connected to his, and she felt his every movement, every breath, every flex of muscle.
His right hand flicked back—his giveaway. No one else would have noticed it, but she had caught it while he fought Luke.
She moved a fraction of a second before he punched, sliding past his hand. She used his momentum against him, wrapping her leg around his and tripping him, and used her arm as leverage to throw him to the ground. Lucy dropped onto him and pinned his chest with her knees close to his throat.
Her ponytail fell against his cheek as she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I could have crushed your windpipe."
She felt his heat against her body, his heart beating so close to hers, the mint on this breath that he must have chewed that morning. They both breathed hard, exhausted and exhilarated at the same time.
Hunter's green eyes were wide, taking in everything. "Yeah, I think we have a technical knockout here. Luke, your sister pretended to kill me."
"Good," said Luke as he munched on berries. "I hope she uses her imagination more often."
Hunter grabbed Lucy's hips and flipped her over, immobilizing her beneath his long, hard body. He leaned and mimicked her own whisper. "Always take the kill shot when you get the chance, otherwise you could end up on the bottom."
Before she could say something stupid, like the bottom didn't seem that bad either, he rolled off and helped her into a sitting position. Their hips and shoulders pressed together, and neither moved away.
He nudged her. "That was a good move."
"Watch your right hand. You pull it back right before you punch."
"Thanks."
"It's a small tell, but it's still there." She added in a whisper, "Kind of like my brother's leg."
"Really?" Hunter kept his face void of expression. "I didn't notice."
"You let him win," Lucy insisted. "Thank you. I haven't seen him that happy in a while."
Hunter brushed a stray hair from her face. "He'll be back to normal soon. You just have to be patient, no matter how badly you want to kick his ass."
She nodded and stifled a sigh of regret when he pulled his hand away from her face. "I know. I need to be more patient in everything, it appears. I just miss my old brother and want him back. But today really helped with that. Speaking of being patient, when are you going to tell me the truth?"
"Depends on what I'm telling you."
"How you jumped, when the lizard attacked me."
He smiled. "Ah, that. It's not really hard actually. You just bend your legs, flex, and push up."
She punched him in the shoulder. "You know what I mean."
An ocean breeze brushed against them, and Hunter looked out to the horizon with faraway eyes. "You two are not the first paranormals IPI's worked with. There's not many of us, though. As I said, I advanced through the ranks due to my natural talents, which I wish were more helpful right now. We need to find a way out of here." He stood up and held his hand out to Lucy.
She gripped it but didn't move to stand yet. "What's your para-power?"
He lifted her, then wagged his finger. "Keeping secrets." And with that totally unhelpful answer, he walked away.