Athena’s Ashes (Star Thief Chronicles #2)(33)
Author: Jamie Grey

Blake struggled, the veins in his biceps standing out, and with one smooth move, he reversed their positions, flipping her around until he had her in a chokehold.

“How the hell did you do that?” she wheezed, bucking against his chest. His scent enveloped her—spearmint and spice and something sweet she couldn’t place. It was a clean scent, one that reminded her of bright summer days. Far different from Finn’s sexy sandalwood.

Something that felt like desire stirred inside her like a waiting beast. Gods. It had been so long since she’d been with Finn. Damn Jayla for keeping him away so long.

“I’m very talented,” he said, a smile in his voice, jerking her attention back to the fight and away from the heat growing inside her. Blake’s arm loosened ever-so-slightly, and she took her opening.

Renna twisted away from him, breaking his grasp before spinning to face him again. “Want to show me exactly how talented you are, handsome?” she asked teasingly. Her gaze dropped lower, to his muscled thighs, then traveled back up to his face. She wanted Finn more than she’d ever wanted another man, but damn she wasn’t dead yet. She could still admire the view.

He blinked at her, cheeks turning pink. “No. I didn’t mean…just forget I said…”

She grinned. “You’re a tease then?”

He stumbled a bit as they circled, catching himself before he went down on the mat in a tangle of arms and legs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He threw a clumsy punch to cover his embarrassment that Renna sidestepped easily.

Well, well. Flustering the adorable Alistair Blake might be her new favorite thing.

She attacked again while he was still distracted, bluffing with a jab and striking with an uppercut. He blocked her first punch and missed the second. Renna’s hand connected with his jaw with a satisfying thunk.

“Ow,” he said, rubbing his chin and glaring at her with puppy dog eyes. “That hurt.”

She winked at him. “Sometimes love hurts, handsome.”

“Is that so?” He cracked his knuckles. “Then let’s get serious. I’m not going to let a wispy thing like you take me down.”

“Keep talking like that, and I’ll do more than take you—” She let her gaze drop to his waist again with a suggestive grin. “—down.”

Blake sucked in a breath, then started coughing. His face turned a mottled red, and she bit back a grin. He was so easy to set off. She was having way too much fun with this.

“Put your hands up, woman,” he said once he’d gotten his breathing under control. “Let’s do this.”

He settled into his fighting stance, and she couldn’t help but admire the way his arm muscles flexed. He was almost as muscular as Finn, but there was something about him that seemed to lack Finn’s edge of danger. Blake just needed a few dangerous missions to toughen him up. He needed to get out of his comfort zone.

“Come get me, baby.” She curled her fingers at him, beckoning him toward her.

They attacked at the same moment, throwing punches at each other in a frantic bid to win. Renna felt her fist connect with Blake’s washboard abs, then grunted in pain as his hook caught her across the jaw. They flailed for a good minute, neither giving ground, until Blake feinted and she fell for it, throwing her whole weight behind a punch that totally missed him.

He grabbed her arm, spinning her back into a hold against his body. Her face was inches from his as they panted, and the strong beat of his heart raced against her chest. The sheen of sweat highlighted his chiseled cheekbones and shimmered across his nose.

He lowered his head a fraction, dropping his gaze to her mouth.

Was he going to kiss her?

For a nanosecond, a tiny part of her wanted it, wanted to see what his full lips would feel like on hers, how he’d taste. But she couldn’t do this. Not to Finn. Renna struggled in Alistair’s firm grip for three ragged breaths before she maneuvered enough to push him away.

Goose bumps rippled across her skin, and her head swiveled slowly toward the door as Finn stepped across the threshold.

“What the hell are you doing?” Finn asked.

She blinked at him as the ice in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.

Blake raised an eyebrow. “What does it look like? We were sparring.”

The captain strode into the room, fury in every tense muscle of his body. His glare alternated between Renna and Blake, but finally came to a stop on her.

He fisted his hands together in front of him, as if he didn’t think he could control himself. “I trusted you, Renna. I believed you when you said you’d changed. I should have known better.” He turned to Blake and poked a finger into the man’s chest. “And you! I thought you were my friend. A brother. That wasn’t sparring. That was…” He broke off and shook his head. “What else have the two of you been doing since I’ve been gone?” His furious gaze froze them both where they stood.

Renna opened her mouth to protest, to redouble Blake’s proclamation, but he cut her off with the wave of a hand. “I’m done here. I don’t want to hear your excuses. There’s nothing left to say.” His whole body quivered with barely suppressed rage.

Renna’s heart shattered at the hurt in his eyes. “Finn. Stop it. It’s not like that,” she protested. But he was already out the door. Her mouth went as dry as a desert. Finn still didn’t trust her. That hurt more than even the prospect of turning into a robot.

Blake put a hand on her arm to stop her from following. “He’s too angry right now. He won’t listen to a word you say. Give him a little time.”

She exhaled, her whole body deflating. “As much as I like you, you know nothing is ever going to happen between us, right?”

He smiled. “I know. I’m way out of your league.”

Despite herself, she chuckled. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I’m going to go get cleaned up. Thanks for the fight.”

“Any time.” Alistair paused and, just before Renna left the room, said, “Renna?”

“Yes?”

“Finn’s a very lucky man. Don’t let him forget it.”

TWENTY-ONE

Renna marched down the Eris’s corridors to her cabin. Emotions swirled and battled inside her, swinging between fury that Finn thought she’d cheat on him and disbelief that he could be upset when they’d never agreed to stop seeing other people. Even worse, he’d involved someone else in this mess. Poor Alistair had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.