Free AlphainHiding by Lea Barrymire Page A

busy getting dumped on your ass
to hear me talking, but if that’s what you want to do I’m all for it.”
    She breathed a sigh of relief that they had a plan and it
didn’t involve them being cozy. She would’ve preferred a good hard run to burn
off the sexual energy but fighting would do the same. She just hoped she didn’t
hurt him too badly.

Chapter Ten
     
    “What do you mean you want prizes if you beat me? You aren’t
four. Internal motivation, wolf boy—use it.” Emily’s voice had risen almost to
screaming level. Seth couldn’t help but find it funny. He’d proposed an
incentive program for their mock-fighting. He wanted to claim a kiss for each
hit he connected, although she didn’t know that was the prize he was going to
claim. She wanted nothing to do with it either way. Perhaps she knew the
devious plan he had to get the kisses he wanted, or perhaps she just couldn’t
give in to the idea of someone besting her. He tried to hide the snicker but
from the look of menace on her face he didn’t do a good job.
    “I mean exactly what I said. You’ve told me repeatedly how
weak I am, so it would be a way to motivate me. If I score a hit, then I get to
claim a prize. What are you afraid of, hmm? Afraid I’ll win too many rounds and
wound your little Alpha pride?” He knew he was playing with fire. Goading her
with the equivalent of calling her a chicken was really stupid, but he couldn’t
seem to stop the words from pouring from his mouth.
    “Fine, you want incentives? You can have them. But you have
to take me down to the ground for it to count as a win in your column. No
rewards unless I’m on the ground.”
    “All right, fair enough. If I get you on the ground, then I
win that round.” Seth knew she would come at him hard and fast, after the way
he’d pissed her off. He hoped he could remember his martial arts training well
enough at least not to get killed. He’d taken multiple forms of defense training
and karate until a few years ago. It had helped to channel his aggression when
he was younger.
    Warily, he watched her circle him. He let her do the
stalking, concentrating more on watching for her strike than worrying about
following her around the clearing. He didn’t see the first move coming. She
struck like a viper, knocking him down on his ass with a quick foot-sweep and a
shove to his chest. His breath whooshed out of his lungs. He sat there stunned
for a moment before climbing to his feet again. This wasn’t going to be pretty
unless he could get a jump on her attacks.
    She grinned but it wasn’t friendly. She flashed a lot of
teeth from under her curled lips. Menace bled off her in waves. She moved
again, this time running straight at him, not bothering to cover up the move.
He sidestepped her just in time and spun to find her fist in his chest. Fuck.
His ass met the ground again.
    “Come on. I know you can do better. You saw me coming that
time. Fight back.” She grunted and raced at him just as he stood.
    On instinct he threw an elbow at her blurred body and
connected with something. She skidded away from him and rubbed her upper arm.
The smile on her face was one of pride. She nodded and raced at him again. This
time he knew where to attack. He braced his body and just before she rammed
into him he sidestepped and swept her feet. She landed hard on the ground, flat
on her back. She blinked rapidly before she glanced at him.
    He couldn’t believe he’d done it. Before she could get up
and run away, he knelt beside her. He grabbed her shoulders and brought her up
to a sitting position. “You’re on the ground. Point to me.”
    He moved fast, swooping down on her mouth. She gasped in
surprise and he took full advantage by swiping his tongue against hers. He
didn’t want a soft kiss—he wanted to ravage her mouth and force her to feel
what he did. He pushed one hand into her hair, holding her mouth against his.
He wrapped his other arm around her back, pressing her against