Courts and Cabals 2 by G.S. D'Moore (best novel books to read .txt) 📕

know how long Peter and I tangoed, but eventually, I saw an opening. I dodged under his blow and wrapped up his legs. I could have sworn a look of surprise flashed across his face as he went down. I followed him, and executed about the only ground move I knew. Xamira hadn’t spent much time on my ground game. The one time she’d gotten me down, I bit her on the inside of her leg, and she hit me with a full dose of sex magic.

I couldn’t think about eating her out, her riding my cock like some cowgirl, or Lilith breaking her spine in retribution. I focused on trying to get the shifter’s arm in a lock. I succeeded in getting my legs across his chest, keeping him pinned, getting his arm secured, and torquing it back. It was textbook, and I grinned as I waited to hear him tap out. Instead, he laughed.

I promised not to be overconfident, but I still forgot one thing. This wasn’t me and Xamira. Xamira could make this move work. I couldn’t. Still laughing, Peter lifted me up off the ground, and I hung from his arm like a cat clutching a telephone line. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, I should have let go. Instead, I held on as he turned over and smashed me face first into the padded ground. The was a crack and I felt warm blood on my chin.

“You broke my fucking nose!” I roared as I struggled to my feet.

Peter was still chuckling as he stood up casually. “Not bad, Dupree, but . . .” I didn’t let him finish.

I felt the ball of molten heat and light in my chest and I grabbed it. I cocked back my fist and launched it towards Peter’s smug, fucking face. My hand blurred, flashed out of existence for a second, before a much louder crack echoed through the training enter. The imps who’d gone back to their workouts froze. Not just because of the crack, but because my punch picked Peter up off the ground and launched him across the room.

I launched myself right after him. I pushed off with one leg, and the power coursed through me. I covered the distance just as Peter was righting himself. I clenched my fists together, brought them over my head, and intended to bring them down on Peter’s skull, but the Pegasus rolled away. I missed him, but the floor wasn’t so lucky. The whole room shook as I cratered the ground for several feet around me. For a moment, I was shocked, and then Peter’s foot smashed into my side.

I shot across the room, skipping across the ground like a stone on the surface of a lake. I rolled the last ten feet, and ended up in a heap.

“Stand down, Dupree,” Peter stalked toward me, his face serious.

I shook my head out. I was dizzy from the roll, but I wasn’t hurt. My side throbbed for a few seconds, but then I was good. I jumped to my feet and faced the shifter. I met his eyes, saw his surprise, gave him a savage grin, and launched myself back into the fray.

Shockwave’s blasted the room as we danced. It reminded me of Dani and Chloe’s fight in the bathroom, except this time it had the imps running for safety. I caught Peter across the jaw again and sent him staggering, just for me to take a blow to the gut that launched me into the ceiling. Debris rained down around me, but I caught myself on the fall, and was able to avoid the roundhouse kick that might have taken my head off. I turned the dodge into a tackle when I hit the ground, and smashed into his muscled chest. He rained down blows onto my back and I rained them into his sides. I barely even felt it as we stampeded through the weight equipment, until I noticed there was a bar in my hand, and I was swinging it toward Peter’s head. It made contact with a gong and launched the shifter back across the room. I dropped the bar, barely even registering that it weighed several hundred pounds, and shot after him.

I was almost on top of him, when an uppercut slammed into my chin. I saw stars as I shot away from Peter. The ceiling wasn’t enough to stop my momentum, and I dug an angled gash for a dozen feet, before physics won out, and I fell back to the floor.

“I should have seen that coming,” I let the anger that fueled this fight subside, and took stock. The more I thought about it, the more I was sure my limited precognition was gone.

Sure, I could hit like a fucking tank, and take equal punishment in return, but I didn’t see where those shots were coming from. It left me vulnerable.

“Stop,” I held out my hand to Peter who looked like he was about to pounce on me. His lip was bloody and there was a fire in his eyes that made me believe he was the ancient creature of myth.

Despite the urge to do battle, my word brought him up short. “You back with me, Dupree?” With that statement, I felt, that despite everything, he had still pulled his punches. I might have been trying to wreck him, but he was trying not to wreck me or the training room.

“Yeah,” I rubbed my jaw, but the pain was already fading. As I took a few deep breaths, the great ball of fire in me winked out. Exhaustion hit every inch of my body, and I wobbled on my feet.

Xamira came out of nowhere and caught me before I fell. She eased me down onto my ass with a mix of worry and wonder written all over her face. “Gods, Cam,” she wiped the blood off my lips. My