Page 20 of To Catch A Rogue

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"What's wrong?"Gemma asked, as she closed the door to the room she shared with Obsidian.

He continued kicking and striking at his shadow, a fluid mixture of what looked like savate boxing, and Jiu-Jitsu. Stripped to the waist, his pale skin gleamed in the light that shone through the portholes. "Nothing is wrong."

"Of course," she drawled, crossing her arms over her bosom. "Which is why you're down here, beating an unknown assailant to death. Is he very bloody yet? Does he have a name? Or a face?"

Tell me whom it is you imagine....

His bare foot lowered, both of the arches of his feet flexing lightly as he settled into a balanced stance. Not a hint of consternation crossed his face, but then it never did.

No, the trick was to read the tension in his shoulders, and the aggression in his movements. Other men paced and threw their arms about, but Obsidian grew quiet and focused intently inwards when something was bothering him.

"You do realize the shadow can't kick back?" she asked, taking pity on him. Stripping her jacket down her arms, she tossed it on the bed. "But I can."

"You're in skirts," he pointed out.

Gemma kicked her slippers off. "Oh no, whatever shall I do? I've never been assaulted whilst I was wearing a dress. Never strangled a man with my pearls. Never been kidnapped...."

Their gazes met, both of them clearly remembering the time when he'd kidnapped her from a museum, in order to keep her safe from his brethren. Mind you, neither of them had been entirely aware that was what he was doing at the time; every memory of their past had been stripped from him long ago and only the instinct to protect her remained.

Some things couldn't be stolen.

He might not have remembered he'd loved her at the time, but something inside him did.

"Besides...." She tucked her skirts up into the leather holsters she wore around her thighs. "I don't have to pretend to be a lady in here. And you don't have to pull your punches. You know I can handle you."

Years of training as an assassin as a child had given her the skills to face him, though she wasn't quite strong enough or fast enough to win without cheating.

Heat flared to life in his cold gray eyes. "I have to admit I'm not entirely certain whether this is an invitation to spar, or whether you plan on seducing me."

"Why not both?"

She attacked the second the words were out of her mouth. Obsidian countered the kick that came close to unmanning him with a swift chop of his hand. He arched his brow and tilted his head, "That was a little unkind."

"Testing your reflexes," she replied impishly. "Besides, I knew it would never land. And I was aiming for your thigh. I happen to like your unmentionables."

"Heaven help me if you were actually aiming for them."

Gemma grinned and launched into a loose set of sparring kicks and punches to warm up her muscles. She even stole a smile from him when she snuck under his guard to strike his thigh again.

"My turn," he warned her, and drove the heel of his foot at her face.

Gemma ducked beneath the blow and trapped his ankle on her shoulder with her hands. "Predictable."

Sweeping his feet out from under him, she laughed as he took her with him. Then there was a mad scramble as the pair of them wrestled and rolled for position, trapping arms and ankles, and pinching bottoms when the opportunity arose.

Or maybe that was just her.

He pinned her to the hard timber floor, and Gemma's thighs parted, wrapping around his hips as his hard body came over her.

"Predictable." His breathing had quickened. "You didn't even try to escape."

Why would I?

All those slick muscles straining above her, the hard flex of his abdomen painted in delicate ripples that dove into his trousers. Whowouldwant to escape him?

"It seems we're in somewhat of a predicament," she whispered, her chest heaving against the constraints of her corset and gown. "You could concede defeat and have your wicked way with me, which" —a slight wriggle confirmed her suspicions— "one part of you seems quite enthused about. Or.... You could tell me what's been bothering you this entire trip. You've been brooding most intensely."