Her lips pucker in a playful pout as I process that, and then I’m suddenly smiling. It’s rare that I’m genuinely surprised by someone.
“So this is pride, not jealousy?” I tease, moving over to her as her hands clasp behind my neck with a refreshing familiarity.
“You’re being an ass,” she says in a singsong voice, even though she’s smiling up at me.
I rest my hands on her hips, teasing her with my smile, before saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from your sister, and we’ll give you a battle cry or something to make you look tougher.”
My air leaves in a whoosh, and I grunt when I collapse to the floor, holding my stomach as the pain racks through me. I never saw her knee coming.
“That sounds like a good battle cry. Why don’t you teach me that sound?” she jokes.
I dematerialize from the floor, and she squeals as I rematerialize in front of her. Her laughter coats the room when I tackle her to the bed and pin her there. But the second her lips are close to mine, the playful atmosphere dissolves, and so does her smile.
The moment our lips touch, the electricity between our connection explodes inside of me, and I get lost in her for the third time today.
Chapter 17
GAGE
“She looks hot wearing that sword,” Dice says, waggling his eyebrows at me when he catches me staring off the balcony at Kimber.
I shift uncomfortably. We’ve been here for two weeks, and Kimber is more mine than anyone has ever been. Two weeks has felt like an eternity in the best possible way.
Kimber has on a pair of some weird legging things that hug her too damn well and a tight top that leaves little to the imagination, but she won’t wear loose clothing when training or fighting. She wears the sword on her hip like a pro, and she wasn’t joking when she said she knows how to use it.
“Today’s the day,” I sigh.
“Yeah. The others have already left. Looks like you and me are leading this team.”
I snort while shaking my head. “Kimber and I are leading this team. Where’s Karma?”
“She’s practicing her shot with her death ball of fire. That shit is scary.”
He shudders for effect, and I smirk. Kimber has been focusing on opening Karma up to her powers. The girl knows how to possess dolls, but she struggles with her other powers, considering she hasn’t had anyone training her. But Kimber has fixated on her and helping her get stronger. It’s amazing what she can accomplish with all that focus, and Karma has been the ideal student because she’s just as obsessed with learning.
She wants blood. She wants her sister back. And we’re about to make it all happen tonight.
“I don’t like the dynamic between her and Chaz,” Dice says randomly.
“It’s odd. It’s like she thinks he’s dangerous,” I tell him, watching Kimber as she flips through the air, dodging the fireball that came from nowhere.
Christ. They really need to train a little safer.
Karma comes into view, smirking over at Kimber who is smiling at her. Dice keeps his voice low to escape the chance of being overheard.
“At least it’s not sexual tension. I can read that effortlessly.”
Dice apparently really cares about her if he’s even thinking like that, and for some reason, that makes me smile.
“This starts tonight. Oddly enough, all of the rings are actually aligned, separated by the planes only. It’s clever, but it’s also dangerous. They can move between the planes quickly and shift prisoners when necessary, but it also makes an invasion easier.”
Dice leans over the railing just as the sun starts to set.
“You ready for this?”
My eyes stay on Kimber, and I know without a doubt I’ll do anything in this world to keep her safe.
“If I lose it, make her get the hell out of there. I don’t want her to see it.”