The Wicked Kiss (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #2)(14)

Arys shifted slightly, a motion that indicated to me that he was ready for a fight. His eyes betrayed no emotion as he stared into Shaz.

“Ah, so quick to make promises.” With a clap, he rubbed his hands together as if enjoying every excruciating second of this. He looked like the monster from every child’s nightmares when he said, “Don’t make promises you will never be able to keep.”

In a sudden, unexpected motion, Shaz lost it. Whatever self-restraint had been holding him back snapped, and he moved faster than my eyes could follow.

The sound of his impact against Arys rang in my ears. Shaz hit him full on with all of his weight. I think Arys had been expecting a fist or maybe even some fangs because the body slam sent both of them tumbling down the deck stairs to the grass below.

The small shriek that escaped me mingled with the sound of wood splitting as they successfully trashed the railing on their way down. Shaz’ snarl cut through the night followed by the heavy thud of fists on flesh.

I ran down to the bottom step, stopping frozen in my tracks. They each quickly recovered their footing, but the blows never quit.

“Stop it!” I cried uselessly. I wasn’t stupid enough to step between them and risk taking a punch. “You guys, stop! Please!”

Every fist thrown had my stomach cramping. The scent of blood hit me, and I identified it as Shaz’. Blood streamed from a cut above his left eye. He lashed out with a steady hit, connecting with Arys’ chin in a teeth-jarring smack. His eyes were all wolf; the whites, obsolete. All four of his fangs filled his mouth indicating that he was going from furious to wild. I felt helpless. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I had to act before they killed each other. I was debating on whether or not to toss a psi ball in between them and put them both on their asses.

Suddenly, they sprang apart but slowly circled one another like caged animals. Arys licked a drop of blood from the corner of his bottom lip and beckoned to Shaz with both hands. He grinned with the worst wickedness.

“Come on, pup, is that all you got?”

“You’d like to think so.” Shaz’ voice was growly, and the rage emanating from him was almost hot in its intensity.

“I have had enough of this male bullshit!” I yelled, overwhelmed at how fast I was ready to take a strip out of both of them. Fangs and claws accompanied my instinct to leap in to the fray and physically make this stop.

“Come on now, Alexa,” Arys spoke to me but stared into Shaz with a mocking smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re so naïve as to never have guessed this day would come.”

“You are both acting like children.” My spine buzzed as power raced through me in accordance to my emotions. I struggled not to actively tap and use it.

Shaz shifted from foot to foot, like a fighter that can’t wait for the next round. A fine line of crimson trickled down the side of his face. It instantly drew my eye.

“He’s right,” Shaz conceded. “This was inevitable. So, let me kick his ass and get it over with. It’s time this useless vampire learned his place.”

Arys’ left fist shot out so fast, Shaz never had a chance to block. He took the hit firm in the nose, which instantly produced another rush of blood. He never paused in his reaction as he followed up by blocking the next punch and delivering a solid temple blow with his elbow. I couldn’t watch this anymore.

“Oh my God!” Kylarai burst through the patio door, her dark hair hanging in wet chunks. “I thought I heard a fight.” She took one look at me standing uncertainly aside and did a double take. “What are you doing? Stop this nonsense.”

Before I could reply, she’d stepped into the action. Shocked turned to impressed as she grabbed Shaz by the back of the neck, using a pressure point to bring him to his knees. With the other hand, she gave Arys a shove that sent him stumbling, arms flailing in an attempt to stay on his feet. Feeling successfully pathetic, I threw up a barrier between them, a wall of power that was as good as concrete with the right energy feeding it.

Kylarai’s eyes blazed wolf in the moonlight. “If you two idiots want to kill each other, go right ahead. But, get the hell off our property first. I will smash your skulls together before I let you ass**les disrupt our quiet neighborhood.” She cast her predatory gaze over each of them in turn. “Now, make like good little boys and beat it before I have to remove you myself.”

Shaz didn’t even look up from where he kneeled on the grass. He clenched his clawed hands into fists, drawing blood from his palms. Arys stared defiantly at Kylarai but never dared to speak a word against her.

Her eyes came to land on me, flashing with an irritated fury. “You really need to deal with this crap.”

I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry. This was my fault. She was totally right. I nodded, but nothing came out when I opened my mouth.

Arys huffed and walked up to my energy barrier, dissolving it with a touch. I gawked at him incredulously. It seemed that this sharing of power was becoming quite the double-edged sword. Pulling a silver key ring from his pocket, he flipped through the keys until he got to the one he wanted.

As he approached me, I sensed both Shaz and Ky stiffen. Arys paid them no attention. His right eye was black and swollen; blood oozed from a gash on his lower lip.

My heart sunk. I couldn’t believe these dumbasses beat each other because of me.

The mystifying vampire looked down at me from his six-foot-four frame, a fire smoldering in his eyes. In a sudden motion, he practically slapped the key into my palm.