The tendons in her arms stretched. Then her muscles protested. She tightened up, trying to resist him, but his strength was just too great. Without pausing once, he broke her hold and stood.
She sat up, her legs still around his waist. "You're stronger. That's just biology . . . and me." She'd healed him, damn it.
Something fired in his eyes. Something hot. He grabbed her thighs and tightened his hold until she released him, letting her legs drop. Then he grabbed her hair and yanked her from the desk, nudging her to the middle of the room. "You want to fight? Let's fight."
Anticipation lit her so quickly, her limbs tingled. "I've been training since birth. You can't beat me without brute strength." Her chin lifted.
"Think not?" he asked, his voice a hoarse rumble, his jaw clenched and hard. He reached behind himself and locked the door. With the shades drawn, nobody could see in. "Let's find out, shall we?"
Warning ticked down her spine. Why, she wasn't sure. There was plenty of room to fight between the desk and the battered chairs, but the floor was bare concrete. It'd hurt to grapple on it, but she'd been in worse conditions. She was well trained, but Bear had surprised her repeatedly with his strategic command and intelligence. "You've trained?" she asked, circling to the side.
"Yes." He didn't move.
She shook out her hands. "With whom?"
He watched her legs, his eyes hard. "Everyone I could find. First dragons, then everybody I met in the States when I came over."
She kicked up, a testing movement, and he casually blocked her with an almost gentle swipe. "Why?"
"Why?" His eyebrows lifted. "I was a teenager alone in a foreign land-a bear shifter to boot." He stretched his neck as if preparing for a good match. "Do you think I ended up leading the grizzly nation because I always win the July chili cook-off?"
They had that in common. Lonely childhoods where they'd had to learn to fight in order to survive the world. Why did she get the feeling there were parts of him she didn't see? "You're not an open book, either." On the last syllable, she faked with a left and shot forward, tackling him into the door. He flipped her sideways, just using his left arm, and pinned her to the floor without causing a bruise.
She panted, twisting. "Why just the left arm?"
"Want to make it fair." He lifted up, taking her sweater with him.
She rolled and stood. "What are you doing?"
"Wanna make it interesting." He threw the sweater over the fan. "I'm not an open book, but I've never lied. You've never asked."
Had she? Not really. She'd never asked if he was rich, trained, or had a brain. "You hide who you are," she hissed.
"No." He dodged forward, hooked a leg behind hers, and dropped her on her ass. Two seconds later, her bra joined her sweater. His gaze caught on her nipples, and the room heated. The entire room.
She tried to focus, but her nipples hardened, and a pulse pounded between her legs. How could this be turning her on? Worse yet, he was just playing with her. He hadn't come close to making a real effort. She ran through a couple of moves in her head that would take him down, and hard, trying to figure out which one to try first.
A hard knock on the door stopped her.
"Go away," Bear called, his gaze not leaving hers.
"Bear? We have a problem," Lucas answered.
Irritation rippled across Bear's face. He turned and poked his head outside. "What?"
"Attack on witches along the northern perimeter from an outside force and not us-we just caught wind of it on the cameras. Apollo darts-looks bad," Lucas said.
"No," Nessa breathed, rushing past Bear to grab her sweater.
"Get a squad, and we go in bear form," Bear ordered Lucas before turning, his face a solid mask of fury. "Ness, whoever attacked has darts. They don't hurt us, but they kill you. Stay here until I get back." He leaned and grabbed the back of her head, yanking her toward his face. His mouth crashed on hers, his lips firm and determined. Then he released her. "Don't fuck with me on this. Use that computer and do all the diplomatic shit you need. But be right here when I get back."
He slammed the door in her face.
* * *
Bear stomped out into the freezing rain to meet Lucas and a squad of shifters. "Where the hell are Lars, Brinks, and Duncan? You called them back, right?" He needed his best soldiers.
Lucas pulled his shirt over his head as everyone else did the same. "Yeah. When they go underground, they do it right. I'll find 'em."