Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(60)

The food was exquisite and the wine flowed freely. I allowed myself two glasses, then switched to sparkling water. A gentle buzz was fine, but getting hammered was not in the plan.

After dinner, Rhys turned to Loch. “Please escort Ms. Yasmin back to the drawing room. Ada and I will join you momentarily.”

Loch did not move. Veronica glanced at me and I nodded slightly. She stood with a pointed stare at Loch. He settled more firmly into his chair.

I rolled my eyes. “Did you already forget our earlier conversation?” I asked him.

His eyes dropped half-closed and he grinned lazily. “I believe that conversation was unfinished.”

Heat flushed through my body. I kept my voice even through sheer force of will. “Well, if you want any chance of finishing that conversation, I suggest you trust me now.”

Loch held my gaze for a long moment, then nodded and stood. He and Veronica left the room.

Rhys cast me an appraising look. “You’re playing with fire,” he said without preamble.

I didn’t pretend ignorance. “He’s leaving tomorrow.”

Rhys seemed surprised. “Are you sure?”

“Very,” I said.

Rhys idly swirled the wine in his glass. “I’ve known Loch for a long time,” he finally said. “And I’ve only seen him like this once before. It ended poorly.”

Jealously stabbed deep. “Oh?” I asked in what I hoped passed for a casual tone.

Rhys’s expression turned knowing. “Pretend indifference all you like, but I know you, Ada von Hasenberg. Just be careful. I don’t want either of you to get hurt. And Loch guards those he thinks of as his like a dragon guards gold.”

“We just have good chemistry,” I said. “He doesn’t think I’m his.” Just the thought made me twitchy, but underneath that, warmth tried to bloom. Damn my soft, traitorous heart.

Rhys merely raised an eyebrow and stood. “Let’s join them before he proves you wrong,” he said.

We returned to the drawing room to find Veronica grinning and Marcus scowling, but neither would say why. Rhys poured a round of brandy. The alcohol burned on its way down, leaving me pleasantly warm and languid, but Loch apparently did not share my feelings. “Care to spar?” he asked Rhys with studied casualness. “Or have you gone soft?”

Well, that was one way to throw down a gauntlet. “You’re going to ruin a perfectly good meal with exercise?” I asked, trying to give Rhys an exit.

“It appears so,” Rhys said with an exaggerated sigh. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us.”

Veronica and I stood with the men. “If you think we’re going to sit down here while you two beat yourselves bloody, you think wrong,” I said. “Someone has to be there to knock some sense into you once your egos take over.” Veronica nodded in agreement.

Rhys led us upstairs to a large open room with a padded floor. He and Loch stepped into a side room. They both came out wearing loose pants and no shirts. Veronica and I shared an appreciative glance. Both men were built with defined abs and heavy musculature. Loch was the slightly bulkier of the two, but it was a near thing.

Loch’s stomach was no longer bruised. He must’ve spent the afternoon in the medbay.

The men began taping their knuckles with a single-minded determination. Even Rhys’s easygoing charm had morphed into careful concentration. “If you kill each other,” I said, “I’m not cleaning up the mess.”

“I’m not going to kill him, I’m just going to rough him up enough that he remembers why he shouldn’t mess with me,” Loch said. “It shouldn’t take long.”

Rhys grunted. “I’m not going to kill him, either. I’m just going to beat some manners into his thick skull. Feel free to thank me later, Ada, in any way you’d like,” he said with a sly grin. Loch lunged at him, but Rhys expected it and flowed out of the way.

Then it was on.

Both men moved faster than anyone I’d ever seen. Arms and legs blurred as hits landed with solid thuds. They were not pulling punches and they used both hands and feet in some style of mixed martial arts. It also became clear that this was not the first time they had sparred. While they were not pulling punches, they also weren’t aiming for maximum damage.

When I realized they weren’t actually going to kill each other, I focused on the fight itself. All of that exposed skin and honed flesh working with such obvious strength and skill . . . I hated to admit it because it was violent and uncivilized, but it was hot. A quick glance at Veronica proved I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

They’d been fighting for a solid fifteen minutes when Loch caught the edge of Rhys’s jaw with a hard cross. Rhys landed a solid kick to Loch’s ribs on the way down. Then it was a grappling game, with each man rolling, throwing punches, and attempting to pin the other. They were both battered and bloody by the time Loch pinned Rhys in a choke hold. Rhys struggled for a few seconds then tapped out.

Loch stood and spat blood, then he helped Rhys up. Rhys slapped his back and said, “I forgot how hard you hit, old man.” He grinned and dodged as Loch threw another lightning-fast punch at him.

Loch turned and met my eyes. Everything in me went still and tense at the naked desire in his gaze. My body responded, tightening as lust blazed through my system. He tilted his head in silent invitation and I nodded once.