Dead Drop (The Guild #2)(2)
“You’re not going to let me leave without a fight, are you?” I shifted my grip on the knife, preparing to do whatever it took to get past him. Intriguing as this shift in Leon was, I couldn’t forget that he had been about to cut my throat moments ago.
He didn’t respond immediately, his gaze raking over my naked body like he was addicted. Then he shook his head. “I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to.”
“You’re insane,” I muttered, eyeing him up and trying to stay focused on him as an opponent, not as a gorgeous naked man who I’d just fucked.
He shrugged one well-muscled shoulder. “Apparently.”
I snorted a laugh despite the gravity of the situation, then darted forward, swiping with the knife in my hand and grabbing for the door handle. Leon hissed in surprise, jumping back out of the arc of my weapon and allowing me the chance to disappear out of the bedroom.
His reaction time was a shit load quicker than I was prepared for, though, and he caught up with me before I made it even halfway down the hall. His arm wrapped around my neck, lifting me clean off my feet even as our combined momentum sent us flying into the carpet.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed when my chin hit the floor and I tasted blood. I wasn’t letting him get the better of me so easily, so I bucked in his grip to slide free and stab out with the knife I’d retained my hold on. This time it sliced across his bicep, and blood splattered the cream carpet as I scrambled back to my feet.
Leon gave the cut on his arm a cursory glance but didn’t seem to even react to the pain. Instead, he rushed forward, grabbing my wrist before I could twist away.
“Drop it,” he growled, compressing my wrist with a shockingly strong grip.
I gritted my teeth, holding onto my weapon and swinging a punch at his head with my left hand. He dodged it in a lightning fast slip, then caught my follow-up hook on his jaw with barely a grunt. Before I could punch him again, he swept an arm around my waist, spinning us both until I found myself crushed against the wall at the top of the stairs.
His dangerous green gaze locked on mine as I struggled against him, but he had me tight. No way in hell was Leon a tech bunny. He was, dare I say, better than me. And that terrified me.
“I said drop it, DeLuna,” he ordered me again, his fingers crushing the bones of my wrist even harder until I no longer had a choice. My fingers loosened involuntarily, and the knife fell to the carpeted floor with a dull thump.
A deliciously evil smile curved his lips. “Good girl.”
Oh fuck. He did not just say that. I officially needed professional help, because his mocking praise nearly made me come.
“Jesus, Leon,” I groaned. “You’re so fucking hard right now, it’s really making it difficult to remember what we’re doing here.”
He wet his lips. “What are we doing here?”
I gave a shaking laugh, holding his gaze. He had me all off balance and so fascinated in learning who Leon Marx really was. The fact that he could match me in a fight? Like my best sex dream come to life.
“I’m pretty sure I was about to kick your ass, then disappear into the night with my head still firmly attached to my neck,” I informed him. “You think I can’t kill you without a knife?”
His smile spread wide. “I know you can. But you have no idea who you’re up against this time.”
My breathing was way too quick. My skin far too warm. I should be firmly in the grasp of fight instinct, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins was in no hurry to end this tête-à-tête.
“I’ve never faced an opponent I couldn’t best, Marx,” I responded, fighting the urge to kiss him. He was so close, his hot, strong body pressed tight to mine. I hadn’t been exaggerating when I said his dick was hard; it was throbbing against my lower belly with how he had me pinned. But my pussy wasn’t exactly the Sahara right now, either. Apparently, we both enjoyed the life-or-death dance we were engaged in.
Before he could offer a witty response, I dropped. Letting my knees crumple and my shoulders turn to jelly, I slithered free of his hold before he could adjust his grip suitably. Then I popped back up and slammed my elbow into the side of his head before bolting for the stairs.
“Dammit, Danny!” Leon shouted after me as I flew down the steps in just a few long strides, my toes barely touching the ground between each leap. “You can’t run from me.”
“Watch me, asshole!” I shouted back, racing for the kitchen. It had a door that led to his garage, which housed snowmobiles and weather appropriate coats. It’d suck pretty hard to get away and then die of hypothermia for being naked in fucking Alaskan winter.
He caught me before I got to the door, this time picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. If I was paying more attention, I might think he wasn’t actually trying to kill me. But the sting of the cut on my throat and the crust of blood on my skin reminded me that this wasn’t a game. Or… not any game I’d ever played before.
I slammed my fist into the small of his back, making his knees buckle and his hold on me loosen just enough that I slipped free again. He was between me and escape now, though, so I darted into the living room to grab a weapon. Any weapon.
Leon laughed when I picked up a decorative vase and tested its weight in my hand. “Danny, you’re being ridiculous,” he told me. “Why don’t we—”