Free Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill Page A

his knees, but he flew over me, landing behind me with a gentle thud.
    I pushed to my feet again, and turned to see him grinning wildly, his eyes blazing green. “I’m impressed. Let’s do it again.” Then his expression went solemn, and he bounced on the balls of his feet and crooked a hand again in invitation. Rolling my eyes at the Matrix replay, I tried a butterfly kick. I’d once seen a kick-boxing instructor try it, but as a human I hadn’t had the power or stretch to execute it.
    Being a vampire changed the rules. Now I had the strength to push myself into the air and swing my legs around, to spin my body horizontally.
    Still, Ethan’s reflexes were faster than mine, so I missed him again. He threw his torso back nearly 180 degrees, all the while keeping himself upright, and completely avoided my extended legs.
    “So close,” he offered breathily.
    “Not close enough.” But I grinned when I said it, thrilled that I’d managed the move. It pleased the crowd, too, and they hooted appreciatively. “Careful, Liege!” someone called out. “She might scar that pretty face.”
    Ethan laughed good-naturedly. “God forbid,” he told the gallery. “Then I’d only have fabulous wealth and canny instincts to rely on.” The vampires chuckled together, and he tipped his head up to smile at the crowd.
    That was my chance, and I took it. Ethan was distracted, so I rushed him, but the sneaky bastard anticipated my move. He edged to the left just before I could take him down. I braced my arms to hit the ground as I flew past him, but before I made contact, he grabbed my arm, spun me around midair, and pushed me to the ground. I landed flat on my back with Ethan above me, his body stretched atop mine. He neatly captured my wrists in his hands and pushed them—despite my squirming—to the mat above my head.
    The crowd erupted into catcalls and lewd suggestions.
    “You baited me!” I accused.
    His lips scant inches from my face, he smiled wolfishly. “And so easily.” I squirmed, but he pushed me harder against the mat and slid a knee between mine. “Initiate, you can guess exactly where that’s going to lead.”
    I growled in irritation.
    At least, I told myself it was irritation, and not at all the fact he smelled delicious, a clean combination of linen, cotton, and soap. Not the fact that the weight of his body on mine felt completely natural—a languid heat suddenly flowing through my chest, like the union of our bodies had closed a circuit.
    I tried to tune out the sensation and, embarrassed at the silvering of my eyes—I have to admit, I had a sudden, new sympathy for men faced with hiding their arousal—I squeezed them shut. Ethan let me calm, and when I finally opened my eyes, his face was blank.
    “Do you agree that you failed to land a blow?”
    I paused, but nodded. “Unless you’re willing to give me a freebie?”
    For a heartbeat, his gaze dropped to my lips. I wondered if he’d kiss me, if he thought about it, if he felt the pull like I did. But he looked away, then loosened my wrists and pushed himself up. He offered me a hand, which I took, and let him pull me to my feet . . . to the boos and general disappointment of the peanut gallery.
    “Is this why you came?” he asked when we were both upright again. “To fight me?”
    Mallory must have heard the question over the mumbling of the crowd, as she stepped forward, the note in her outstretched hand. “We came for this.”
    Ethan wiped his brow with the back of a hand, then took the note. He read it, his expression blanking. “Where did you get this?”
    “It was wrapped around a brick that was thrown through our living room window,” I said.
    His gaze snapped up. “Were you hurt?” He scanned my body, looking for injuries.
    “We’re fine. There were three of us in the house, and we’re all fine.”
    “Three?”
    “Mallory’s boyfriend was there.”
    “Ah.”
    I thumped the note with a finger. “What’s this about? Is there