Leo looked over her shoulder and saw a luxurious claw-foot tub with various glass containers sitting next to it. Herbs, pink salts, and flower petals turned the bathroom into something far closer to one of the fancy spas that he’d seen in Chiang Mai.
“This is wonderful.” Leo kissed her shoulder. “After we train, you’ll be able to soak.”
Kyra turned. “After I what?”
“Train.” Leo grinned. “I recognize the need for you to go into this battle, and I’m not going to leave you unprepared. You need to know how to defend yourself.”
“But Leo—”
“I will be there every moment to protect you.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “But I’m not complacent. Should something happen to me, you need to know the basics.”
A wrinkle formed between her brows. “But I think you’d be surprised—”
“No buts.” He kissed her nose. “Now, let’s get changed and go find a clear spot we can practice. Don’t forget the bug spray.”
Leo walked out of the bungalow feeling very virtuous. No mate of his would face battle unprotected. He had every confidence of his ability to protect Kyra, but he also believed in being prepared. There was nothing better than a woman who could hold her own in battle. That’s what his watcher, Damien, had taught him. Damien’s mate, Sari, was a warrior equal to any Irin scribe. And even pacifists like Ava learned the basics of hand-to-hand combat once they entered the Irin world.
It was only an hour later, once Kyra had managed to give him two slices across his back with her daggers, that the virtuous glow wore off.
“Who taught you dagger fighting?” he said with a scowl.
“Sirius.” She flipped one knife in her hand—the knife with his blood on it. “He was also of the opinion that a woman should know how to defend herself. So he taught me—how did you put it? The basics.”
Leo’s nostrils flared. “He did well.”
“Thank you.”
He found her smugness adorable. He found her skills more than tempting. Who knew his mild-mannered kareshta would be nimble and ruthless too? She hadn’t hesitated to give him a taste of her skills.
“You didn’t feel like telling me?” He circled her, enjoying the sight of her in workout leggings. Kyra rarely wore pants, much less anything figure-hugging.
“After the second time you interrupted me, I thought a demonstration would be more effective.”
He leapt on her without warning, one arm going around her waist and another reaching for her right wrist, even as he felt the dagger point pressed to his neck. She held the knife in her left hand, and the point was at his artery.
He hissed but didn’t let go. Her bottom was pressed against his groin, and it felt too good. He pulled her closer and ignored the bite of the blade against his skin.
“Leo.” She pulled the knife away. “What are you doing?”
Mortal peril avoided, he bent down and pressed a kiss to her neck. “How is it possible for you to be even more attractive than you were an hour ago?” He continued kissing along her neck. Her collar. He tasted the pulse pounding in her neck.
“You scribes find the strangest things attractive.”
“Any man who doesn’t see the allure of a lethal woman is a fool.” He nipped the soft skin at her neck. “I am not a fool.”
He heard the daggers drop to the forest floor. She reached one arm up and hooked it around his neck. With the right force and angle, she might be able to flip him over her shoulder with that hold.
He groaned at the thought.
Instead of flipping him, she pressed her bottom back into his hips, making his erection leap with joy.
Sadly, the forest make-out session was not to last.
“There’s someone coming,” Kyra whispered.
He sighed and pulled away. Kyra was too private to endure many public displays of affection, much less public displays of ardent groping.
“Later,” he said, pressing one last kiss to her neck.
“After this morning, I will never be able to hear that word again without blushing.”
Was that a self-satisfied chuckle on his part? Yes. Yes, it was.
They ate together, Sura, Niran, Alyah, Kyra, and Leo. Niran’s other two men were ghosts, patrolling the hotel in utter silence. Leo wondered if the owners even knew they had seven guests instead of five.
“Your men,” Leo asked Niran, “have they eaten?”
“They have.” Niran was scooping chicken panang over a bowl of rice. “They take very simple meals.”
Kyra said, “There is more than enough here to share with them.”
Niran lifted his gaze, and his usually steely expression softened. “Like many of my men, they choose to focus on discipline in all things, and they believe food that appeals to the senses could weaken their resolve.”
“So they are monks as well as warriors?” Alyah said.
“In a sense,” Sura said. “Though both of them have taken the Sak Yant, they have also sacrificed inner peace for a life of protection for those weaker than themselves. If their violence is confined to the protection of others, they do not feel they have violated the precepts of Sak Yant.”
“Do you feel the same way?” Kyra asked Niran. “Is violence in the protection of others acceptable violence?”
“I have to believe it,” Niran said. “Who else will protect my sisters in a world that hates their existence?”
“But you also eat delicious food,” Kyra said with a smile. “Not very monk-like of you.”
Niran’s expression turned to something very far from monk-like. “My resolve is tested by far more tempting things than food.”
Leo would have to be blind to miss the way Niran looked at Kyra. The whole table was aware of the Grigori’s double meaning. Kyra looked down at her plate. Alyah watched with amused curiosity. Sura wore a thoughtful frown.
The rest of the meal passed in awkward silence. After the dishes had been cleared and others were taking their leave, Leo grabbed Niran by the arm.
“You and I need to talk.”
Niran wrenched his arm away. “And you need to learn manners.”
Leo spun on him. “So do you.”
Their interchange had come to the attention of Sura, Alyah, and Kyra. Kyra’s eyes were wide and pleading.
Don’t, they said.
Leo shook his head. Niran’s comments were putting Kyra in an awkward place, and it wasn’t acceptable.
“Fine,” Niran said, nodding toward a side door. “Let’s talk, scribe.”
They marched out the side door and into the darkened forest. The full moon had waned, and the forest was grey and black with shadows.
“Do not desire another man’s lover or spouse,” Leo said, turning on Niran. “Isn’t that one of your precious precepts?”
The blow to the side of the head came as a surprise. It was a sucker punch. He hadn’t expected that from Niran.
Leo snarled and came up swinging. He might not have had the light feet of the Grigori, but he had speed and size. He plowed into Niran, bringing the smaller man to the ground. They rolled in the dry leaves, Niran wrestling away from Leo and jumping to his feet.
“She does not belong to you,” he spat out, blood at his lip.
“She does,” Leo said. “And I belong to her.”
“Just because she’s known you longer does not mean you can understand her, scribe.”
Leo rolled up. “She is my reshon. I don’t expect a Grigori to understand that.”
“Reshon.” Niran sneered. “Ah yes. The precious Irin soul mates. Did she hear it? Did she hear it coming from your own mind? That’s not heaven’s will, scribe. That’s wishful thinking.”
Leo struck out, only to have Niran parry his blows. Fists and feet flew. The Grigori was clearly a master of muay thai fighting. His speed was more than a match for Leo’s own. But punching Leo was akin to punching a wall. Leo knew it, and Niran knew it too.
As they fought, Niran aimed for Leo’s knees and elbows, trying to attack the scribe’s weakest points to gain the upper hand. Leo brought his fist down on Niran’s jaw, jolting the Grigori and rattling his brain. It was the only thing that seemed to slow Niran down.
Leo had taken another jolting kick to the knee when he heard a quiet voice say, “Enough.”
A blur of movement, then a punch to the chest that felt like a gunshot.
Leo flew back into the brush. When he opened his eyes, he saw Niran on the other side of the clearing. Sura stood between them, his arms extended and his palms facing the two fighters.
“We are facing a common enemy,” Sura said quietly. “This fighting is unacceptable and useless.”
When Leo could breathe again, he rasped out, “Was that one punch?”
Niran groaned a little. “I hate it when he does that.”
“You need to teach me,” Leo said.
“You both need to calm down.” Sura reached out to Niran and helped his brother up. “She loves him. She has loved him for years. This has nothing to do with besting you. Don’t let your resentment ruin a partnership with Leo and a friendship with Kyra.”
Niran’s face was unreadable. He nodded once at Sura and disappeared into the shadows.
Sura walked to Leo. “I’d offer to help you up, but you don’t need it.”
“That is a hell of a powerful punch for a small man,” Leo said. “I hope you don’t mind my saying that.”