Senshi (A Katana Novel) by Cole Gibsen Page B

He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the ground. Sweat glistened on the tight muscles of his chest. Standing under the orange glow of the setting sun, he looked like a golden statue brought to life.
    “That’s not fair.” I struggled to swallow past the sudden dryness of my tongue. “That’s distracting.”
    He flashed me a grin that ignited a fire low inside me. “That would be the point. Call it a tactical move.”
    Braden used the tree to pull himself up. “Well, boys and girls, I think it’s time we moved along. This fight is about to lose its PG-13 rating.”
    Michelle nudged him in the side. “I think it’s cute.”
    Something prickled on the back of my neck and I turned to find Quentin staring at me with a look somewhere between confusion and pain. As I tried to decipher its meaning, Kim used that moment to snatch my wrist and twist it behind my back. He pulled me in, pinning me against his chest, and lowered his head to place a kiss just below my ear.
    “I may need to take notes.” Braden pretended to open an invisible notebook. “So, what do you call this martial arts style, Kim? Kung fu-ling around? How about jujits-you-some?”
    Michelle shook her head and tugged on his arm. “Leave them alone, Braden. You guys up for Sonic?”
    “Sounds good.” Quentin’s face looked relaxed and normal. He pulled his bandana lower on his head to keep the bare skin that used to be his eyebrows from showing. “Wanna ride with me, Drew?”
    “Sure,” Drew answered.
    Quentin smiled and waited for Drew to catch up. Had I just imagined his strange, angry look? I detected no trace of weirdness about him now as he and Drew walked to his car.
    “Go on ahead,” Kim said. “Rileigh and I will meet you there in a few.”
    Michelle waved. “See you there.”
    We stretched and shook our muscles as they climbed into their cars. After they pulled away, Kim turned to me. “You want to save yourself the trouble and just admit defeat now?”
    I snorted and lashed out at him with a hook he ducked and an uppercut he dodged.
    Kim spun back and kicked. I grabbed his foot, absorbing the shock by taking a step back. Before I could act
further, he pushed off the ground and twisted his foot free from my grasp. After he landed, he brought his hands up into a defensive stance. “At the rate we’re going, we could be here all night.”
    I lifted my arm and used the crook of my elbow to wipe the sweat off of my eyes. “I could think of a worse fate than spending all night alone with you.”
    He dropped his hands. His mouth opened but something froze the words on his tongue. It took him several tries before the word escaped his mouth. “Ninja!”
    I choked on my heart, which sat thick and heavy on the back of my tongue. Spinning on my heels, I scanned the edges of the park. How could the ninja be here now? And more importantly, how could I not have sensed the danger? I studied the shadowed curtain that lay beyond the trees, waiting for something to move. “I don’t see anything,” I whispered.
    Kim didn’t answer. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to watch him sweep my legs out from underneath me. My arms swung wildly and I braced myself for impact with the hard earth. It never came. Instead, his arms wrapped around my waist and lowered me onto the grass.
    Kim grinned as he climbed on top of me. “I can’t believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book.” Before I could react, he pinned my wrists to the ground. “Looks like I win.”
    Already the parts of my body he touched had begun to tingle like a hand held too close to a fire. How much closer until it burned? My voice, when it decided to work, came out a pitch too high. “You totally cheated! Are you really comfortable with that kind of victory?”
    He shrugged. “I think I’ll find a way to live with myself.” He lowered his face, the touch of his lips like a brush of satin against my own. My heart sped up, struggling to cool the boiling blood