CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Nice block, Crystal. Do it again,” Chase commanded, then swung his staff at her head.
She parried with her own stick. Wood clapped against wood, reverberating in waves into her palms. A quick feint to his head followed with a sweeping kick to his legs knocked them out from under him and sent him sprawling to the mat on his ass.
He blinked up at her from the ground with a gaze caught between impressed and surprise. “Whoa. Well done.” He jumped back on his feet and shook his dark hair back into place. “Again.”
Crystal nodded and wiped the sweat from her eyes with the back of her hand. Couldn’t the little shit even pretend to look winded? She blew the lock of hair that escaped her ponytail out of her eye then braced her feet for his attack. “Bring it, pretty boy.”
Well, she had asked for his help in building her fighting skills and increasing her stamina, after all. After the Monroe fiasco, she was even more determined to be able to pull her weight when they went out on their missions. If that meant having Chase kick her ass every day, so be it.
Those once-a-week kickboxing and self-defense classes she had taken over the years had laid the foundation, but after one lesson under Chase’s tutelage, it was abundantly clear there was a lot she had to learn. It was the hardest she had ever worked, but the results were well worth it. She had lost twenty pounds since coming to the mountain, and toned her belly and the wiggle under her arms. She was growing faster, stronger, sharper.
“Man, Crystal. You’re a fast learner,” Chase praised when she took him down again with a roundhouse kick to his chest.
He took a sip of water then wiped his forehead with the bottom of his T-shirt, exposing his six-pack abs. Just because he had immeasurable strength and agility didn’t mean he slacked off on honing the weapon that was his body to perfection.
Crystal squirted some water from a bottle on her face then wiped it dry with a hand towel.
“Come on, kid.” She kicked at Chase’s foot, anxious to lose herself in the fight. It was the only time her mind went completely blank, leaving behind thoughts of him. “One more round.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Damn, girl, you don’t know when to quit. I like that in a woman.”
“Less talking, more fighting.” She twirled the staff from one hand to the other then rolled her shoulders, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet. She reached out with her third eye, searching the ether for an advantage.
After that cougar attacked her in Portland, she noticed her visions were coming faster and more frequently. Doc Kelly’s connection that adrenaline caused by physical pain heightened their powers explained why Crystal’s abilities had been so limited from the get-go.
Her ability to call upon the future was getting better, but was far from perfect. This workout session was about experimenting with that power. She might not be able to see exactly how the match would play out, but it was possible that she’d be able to pull a thread from time, anticipate his moves, and hopefully counter them.
No, she corrected. She would counter them.
With a quirk of his lips and a squint of his eyes, the battle began.
Chase swung first, aiming low to take out her tiring legs. The staffs clacked like blasts from a shotgun, echoing in the room as she blocked each swing.
From day one, her staff had become like another appendage to her. Guns could run out of ammo, and the recoil and loud pop was a dark reminder that she was preparing to take a life—a notion that disturbed her far too much. Knives required a person to get too close in order to wield them properly, although she did carry one in her waistband just in case.
But a staff, oh… Anything could be used as a staff: a baseball bat, a two-by-four, a dismembered limb.
Chase grunted when she connected a blow to his solar plexus, then spun away with a roundhouse kick that whipped the end of her ponytail.
“That stare you’re developing is pretty menacing.” He grunted and blocked a blow to his head that was more forceful than simple sparring. He was confident enough in his speed to keep that pretty face of his safe, and he told her never to pull her punches. “Cold. Emotionless. Very effective.”
“Thank you,” she murmured then ducked his swing.
A flicker winked in her vision, a flash of an image of him attempting to sweep her legs before using his speed to come up behind her.
A second later, Chase swung at her legs. She jumped over his stick then immediately thrust her staff directly behind her. He doubled over and fell to the ground, holding his gut.
“Jesus, Crystal!” he grunted. “How did you do that?” He rolled on his back like a turtle flipped over on its shell.
“Vision. Saw you move before you actually did,” she panted and held out her hand.
“That was awesome.” He took her offer to help him to his feet. “Hurts like a mother, but that was totally cool.”
For the first time that day, she grinned. It meant a lot for her to be able to keep up with the boys and earn her place on the squad. And Chase was more than likely to give a sarcastic quip than unwarranted praise. He truly was impressed. “I’ve had a good teacher. Just think how I’ll do with more training.”
“Lethal. Absolutely deadly. They won’t see you coming.” He walked to the cabinet and placed his staff on the shelf. “Same time tomorrow?”
“Yep.”
“Excellent. I’m hitting the shower. See ya.” He jogged out of the room.
Crystal sighed. Was there ever a time when she had been so youthful? Sometimes, it felt as if she had been born old.
Her back hurt, her muscles burned, even her joints ached. But it was all good. All of those aches and pains meant progress, improvement. Even if she was tempted to crawl the entire way to her room.
To ease some of the tension in her body, she bent over and stretched her back and legs, then reached up to the sky, releasing a groan that came from her toes.
“I’m seriously impressed with your skills.”
Max stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips. A lock of hair hung in his eyes that her fingers were dying to push back.
He too had gained some muscle in the last few months. With Ripley in the house, the two of them competed over everything from who could stuff the most mini doughnuts in their mouth at once to who could bench the most weight without using their powers.
And now those muscles were displayed in all of their manly glory in a gray cotton T-shirt that stretched across his shoulders and bulging biceps. The ripple of his abs made a faint impression through the material tucked neatly into his black jeans.
Her throat tightened as her tongue swelled in her mouth, hungry for a taste of him. Talk about lethal, the man could make the most jaded prostitute pay him for the chance to bed him.
And with that thought, she threw up a mental wall between her head and the rest of her body.
“Chase is a good teacher.” She hurried over to the weapons cabinet and closed up shop to make a hasty escape.
“I’d be happy to show you a few tricks,” he offered and stepped closer. The spicy scent of his aftershave made her want to bury her nose in his neck and kiss his skin.
“That’s okay. I know you’re busy with…stuff.” Lame. That was so lame.
“I’m never too busy for you.” The liquid honey of his baritone slid past her mental barricade and awakened her nerve endings.
“Yeah, I’m, um… I gotta go.”
“Wait.” He latched onto her wrist as she tried to pass him then let go the moment she raised her brow at him. “You’re doing it again. Why do you deliberately avoid me?”
“I do not. I see you every day.”
“For the few seconds it takes to run out of the room. I just want an answer, Crystal. A real answer. What have I done to make you shy away?”
“You’re a busy man. I know you’ve had a lot on your mind.” And by a lot, she meant his father.
Every day, they uncovered more of the web that Madden spun. And every day it became clearer that if they removed him with a clean shot to the head, someone else in his organization would continue his work. As much as it galled Max to allow his father to live, until they had a plan to treat the disease and not the symptom, Madden had to be allowed to continue to do business.
“Come on,” he said. “You won’t even spar with me. Why not?”
A strangled laugh caught in her throat. “I don’t want to hurt you or mess up that handsome face.”
He arched a black brow. “If you’re going to make claims like that, you better be prepared to back them up, Evans.” He lifted his hands and beckoned with his fingers. “Come on. Come get me.”
“Don’t be silly, Max.” She turned her back to him and hastened toward the door.
“Have it your way,” he warned. But then the thunderous beat of footsteps sounding like a professional left tackle taking a run at the quarterback pounded in her direction.
Newly sharpened reflexes kicked in, and she dropped to the ground and rolled. Max leapt over her and they both landed on their feet at the same time with hands ready in a fighting stance. Her heart pounded and electricity skipped over her skin as she debated whether to walk away or accept the challenge.
Max made the decision for her when he threw a left hook at her head, which pushed her from annoyed to really pissed off.
If he wanted a fight, so be it. He was going to get his ass handed to him on a silver platter.
She blocked his punch with her forearm and yanked a metal staff from her belt, extending the pole with a press of her thumb. In one smooth movement, she followed with a strike to his head and swung back, connecting with a blow to his left oblique.
He backed away with a grunt. Amusement and admiration sparkled in his eyes, turning them aqua blue. He rubbed his side and laughed. “You want to step it up? Okay. Let’s see how you do against flying projectiles.”
He waved his hands toward the wall and at the stack of clay disks he used for target practice sitting on the shelf. Two salad plate–sized disks hovered in the air then flew straight at her, one after another.
Smash. Smash. She batted them away with a crack of the staff, shattering the clay into bits. Clouds of dust were left in their wake, turning her blue shirt gray.
Another disk zoomed at her head and she ducked, tucking into a neat roll. When she popped back up to her feet, another disk slammed into her hand, smashing her fingers.
She dropped her staff to the floor with a clang as she bent over and bit her lip to hold back a cry. Pain radiated up the bones in her hand before numbness set in.
“Fuck, Crystal.” Max rushed to her side. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He placed a hand on her back and bent over her to better see the injury.
With her free hand, she reached around and grabbed his wrist as she drove her shoulder into his stomach, knocking him on his back. Pouncing on top of him, she loomed over and pinned him with a knee placed at his groin. Snatching the switchblade from her hip, she pressed it to his throat as he stared up at her in shock.
“Sucka,” she drawled and dug the blade a tiny bit deeper into his skin. Not much, but just enough to show she meant business.
His brows lowered with confusion. “I thought I hurt you.”
“You did. It hurts like a motherfucker.”
Beneath her, his body seemed to melt and become more supple. “Who are you? Who is this tough-talking warrior woman? Where is the soft, sweet, baking, psychic I first met?”
She let out a long breath but didn’t relinquish her position at his throat. “That’s just another side of me. Times are different now. I need to be different.”
His gaze roamed her face, searching, looking for who knew what. “I liked you before. I like you now too, but you’ve grown…distant.”
This time she did laugh. “You’re calling me distant? That’s rich.”
“Haven’t I tried, Crystal?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet and his breathing shallow so as not to get cut. “Didn’t I let strangers into my home? Haven’t I tried working with the team? I know things started out rough, but haven’t I made an effort?”
Damn him for being right. She averted her gaze.
When it came to the others, he led with strength and conviction, but showed a willingness to listen to others.
But that was business. When it came to her physical safety, she would put herself into his hands, no question. Letting him into her heart was another matter.
“You’re a good leader.” There. At least she would concede to that.
His eyes narrowed as he gritted out, “I don’t want to be your leader.”
An invisible force ripped the switchblade out of her hand and flung it across the room. She gasped in surprise, which was all the time he needed to grip her by the ponytail and bring her mouth to his.
His lips were both soft and firm as he took, and took, and took some more. His tongue tangled with hers, inviting her to play and infusing her very being with his essence.
How had she lived these last few months without his taste on her tongue morning and night? And how would she go on without it in the future?
Max moaned into her mouth and pulled her closer, his hand curving around her bottom. The hard length of his erection pressed the seam of her jeans against her core, liquefying her center. Without shame, she ground against him as his hand swept up her body to squeeze and fondle her breast, twisting her nipple through the heavy sports bra. She wanted, needed to be naked. Needed Max bare and between her legs, driving, thrusting hard.
Behind her closed eyelids she could see them. See the sweat pooling in the crease of his spine as he reared up, roaring his release as she screamed his name. Teal satin sheets.
But they weren’t on teal satin sheets. They were on a rubber mat on the floor of the gym. This wasn’t her vision. There was still time to stop the madness.
She tore away with a cry and struggled to her feet on shaky legs. “Stop. We have to stop this.”
For several seconds he lay there, struggling for breath. Then he heaved a huge sigh and wiped his hand over his face before sitting up with a grimace. “Why?”
“Why?” Her voice cracked with her frustration. “What do you want from me, Max?”
Both of his brows rose to his hairline. Reaching down, he adjusted the impressive bulge straining his zipper. “I think that’s obvious.”
“Be more specific.”
“You want specifics?” His eyes widened and his nostrils flared. “All right. I want to strip those clothes off you. Take those puckered nipples into my mouth, and suck and tease you while my fingers thrust inside you, preparing you for my cock. How’s that for specific?”
Damn. That sounded good. Really, really, good.
No, she blinked hard and locked her knees to keep her from dropping her to the ground and crawling to him. Focus.
“And then what?”
He smiled, looking as though he thought she was playing a game. He took another step closer and his eyelids lowered with hunger. His voice dropped to a purr. “And then I would fit my body between your thighs and drive my cock inside you deep and true. Over and over until you screamed.”
She swallowed hard. “And then what?”
“And then I’d come. I’d come so hard, I’ll probably pass out.”
“And then what?”
He stopped and blinked at her in confusion. “Um, we’d take a nap then do it again?”
Figures. “And then what?”
“What do you mean? I don’t get it.”
“Exactly,” she shouted and threw her good hand up in the air. “What happens after we spend the night fucking?” She used the cold, crude word to remind her what he was really talking about. Not making love—fucking. “Will your curiosity about us be sated? Do we go on like nothing happened? Am I your girlfriend? What if we break up? Am I then expected to sit back and watch you go off with other women and expect you to let me be with other men? What will that do to the team, our mission? What then, Max?”
“I don’t know,” he shouted back. “I just want you. I didn’t think that far ahead.”
“Of course you didn’t. You were only thinking with your dick,” she spat. Bitter tears burned the back of her throat. What did she expect? He was a man; he was never going to understand.
“Crystal,” he began then sucked breath through his teeth. He pushed the hair off his face, his fingers tightening around his bangs. “What do you want from me?”
Everything.
Didn’t he realize she was keeping her distance to the betterment of all of them? If they entered into a relationship that crashed and burned, which was practically a guarantee where Max was concerned, everything they’d been working so hard for would be ruined. The fate of the world was more important than their love life. Right?
Right.
“Just your professional courtesy.” He was so close, yet so far away. “I’ll work beside you. I’ll live with you. But that’s all.”
“Crystal, wait,” he called out as she ran past him and out the door.
With tears streaming down her checks, she kept going, determined to never look back.