Heart is Beating

Laid out on my back, I stared up at Wolf's smug expression. He was straddling me, keeping just enough weight off of me to ensure I wasn't crushed beneath him.

"This is not quite what I imagine when I think about leaving you breathless," he remarked with a mirthful purr.

Flustered, I pushed him off of me. "|Me, either|," I muttered, getting back up to my feet.

Wolf chuckled and then shifted into his ready stance to mirror me.

"Once we finish here," he said with a lascivious arch of his brow, "I will show you some more fun moves."

I smirked even as my face reddened. "I am sure you will."

"Then, let us begin again."

He barely finished speaking before charging. I retreated a step or two before I realized it was entirely a feint. Wolf laughed at me over it and I puffed up like an aggravated bird, glaring daggers at him.

"|You're an ass|," I huffed, playfully kicking him in the shin. I couldn't help the small smile toying at the corner of my lips, though.

"I apologize," he said, though I didn't believe for one second that he meant it.

Again, he tried a feint, but I wasn't falling for it this time and held my ground. His eyes narrowed, then he took a swing at me that I ducked under and popped off with a quick jab to his side—where a kidney would be if he was human and had one. I didn't actually know if he did or not.

But, it was a soft squishy part so it was worth a shot.

The blow landed and he grunted, then shoved me away. I stumbled back, barely catching my footing as he leveled another right hook at the side of my head. I jarred my hand deflecting it and quickly swept around behind him by spinning on my heel. I kicked the back of his knee so he buckled.

I seized the opportunity and used all my strength to drive him the rest of the way, but he grabbed my leg as it came down and unbalanced me with a heave. I fell flat on my ass but recovered quickly enough to get into a crouch and put my hands up to guard his retaliatory kick.

Though I protected my head just fine, the force of his blow was still enough to send me sprawling and make my forearms ache.

Though I was hurting, I still scrambled out of his reach and hopped up, putting some distance between us so I could regroup. I shook the ache out of my arms and flexed my fingers—still working.

My heart was racing and I let out an unsteady breath, watching him carefully as he circled me. He was probably trying to look scary and intimidating, but watching him move, crouched low and prowling toward me . . . it got my heart pumping for an entirely different reason.

"|Almost laid you out that time,|" I remarked with a smirk.

"Yes, but I still have not yet seen your claws," he quipped.

My hackles raised. "Do you think I am not trying hard enough?"

He didn't answer right away. I bounced up and down, working up a rhythm, then lunged at him. Wolf easily gathered up my arms and held me fast. I fought against him for a second but he pulled me in closer. I grimaced and slumped, embarrassed that I'd fallen for his bait like that.

"It is not that you are not trying hard enough," he breathed in my ear, making my skin tingle, "but that these are not YOUR claws. Show me how YOU fight, not how you think I want you to fight."

Back on my feet, I faced him. He wanted to see "the way I fight"? There was only one way I knew: how the FBI had trained us. It was a quick and dirty hybrid version of krav maga focused on subduing and detaining . . . Focusing on defending yourself and disarming perps. Avoiding a fight at all costs by striking decisively and brutally.

Maybe, though, that was good enough.

His grip softened to let me go but I lingered for another few seconds before backing away for another round.

"|Okay,|" I said with renewed resolve.

Wolf didn't give me more than a couple of seconds before he stormed at me again. I held my ground and when he was close enough, I hit him with a full-power kick to his gut. It caught him off-guard and he retreated to recover, which boosted my confidence.

He was taller than me so he could reach farther, but I had some long ass legs. With the braces on, I could put some real power behind my kicks before he could grab me.

I was ready for his next approach and reacted with a round-house to his hip. It staggered him, so I kept the momentum going and used all my power to hoof him in the chest. With my strength enhanced by the braces, it was enough to send him stumbling away.

"|Ha! How d'you like that|?" I couldn't help but taunt.

"Finally, your true colors," Wolf rumbled, rubbing his chest.

"|I'm just getting started|." I grinned and spread my arms out in a mocking version of his challenge stance.

The blood in my veins was roaring; adrenaline coursed through me like fire. I had never felt so alive before, so in tune with everything. It was similar but also so different compared to my past experiences with facing an opponent—instead of fear, I was excited.

Arms up, I let him attack and ducked under his first swing and deflected his next, striking with my knee into his gut. He grabbed me by the shoulder I retaliated by yanking on his fingers and twisting his arm around so I could slip behind him.

Before I could finish that particular takedown, however, he planted his feet and used his brute strength to turn into my hold and throw me to the ground. Pain lanced up my spine. I rolled out of the way of his fist as it smashed into the ground, then used both of my feet to shove him away.

He grabbed me as I got to my feet and pinned my back against him, one arm around my neck and the other wrapped around my midsection.

For a moment I struggled against him, but he only gripped me tighter as if he wanted to crush me. Panic was welling up inside me. My mind went blank except for a tiny voice urging me to break free, and the best way I knew how was some good, old-fashioned SINGing.

I thrust my elbow into his solar plexus; the wind left him in a rush. I stomped my heel down on his instep, then bashed another elbow into his nose. He snarled and let go of me, giving me the chance to turn and knee him directly in the groin.

Sandra Bullock would have been proud.

Before I could grab his arm for another takedown, he picked me up and sent me flying. I found myself weightless for several heartbeats as I went sailing across the room.

Stars splattered across my vision when I landed. I didn't get up right away: my vision had given out to shiny blind spots and my ears were ringing. I couldn't tell up from down, and I'd momentarily forgot where I was.

When I remembered, I still couldn't figure out how to make my body move.

It was difficult to tell how long I was on the ground, but I hoped it was only for a few split seconds. My vision slowly faded from white and the room stopped swimming, so I picked myself back up to try and prepare for his next move, but I lost my balance and had to catch myself.

With my hand on my head, I looked around and took a few unsteady steps. The ringing in my ears was starting to fade.

I finally spotted him nearby, watching me. I couldn't quite catch my breath and I was starting to realize that I had gotten swept up in the moment, reacting on instinct when he'd grabbed me like that. It hadn't been my intention to hit him below the belt like that, but it had been second nature after so many training exercises in dealing with that exact same scenario.

My vision was swaying and two Wolfs were standing a few feet away, coming in and out of focus. I shook my head to try and shake off the daze.

"|Are you . . . are you okay|?" I asked upon realizing that he wasn't in a fighting stance anymore. "|I didn't mean to, I wasn't thinking.|"

The fact that he didn't answer me was a bit alarming.

However, it seemed that he was distracted by looking at something on his hand. A shiny, green substance smeared over his fingertips. I staggered, still somewhat dazed from that landing.

For a second, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A mixture of concern and pride flashed through me.

"Are you bleeding?" I asked.

He snapped his head toward me with a sharp sound. I took a step back.

Sure enough, if I squinted, it was blood glistening against his darker green skin. It trickled down the front of his brow where I had split the thinner skin of his face. The whole maneuver was supposed to break an assailant's nose, but since he didn't have a nose, I'd just elbowed him between the eyes.

I didn't know what to say to him. I had already kinda apologized. Was I supposed to relentlessly tease him about it? If it was Devon, I would have done both.

"|I got a little carried away, sorry|," I decided to say.

He snapped his head toward me with a growl, his lock-like tendrils arching through the air and clacking against one another. I took a step back as true fear flashed through me. The only time I'd ever seen him this worked up was when we were fighting actual enemies: the alien queen, the xenomorph hybrid.

Having that sort of killing intent turned upon me froze me in place.

I searched his face for any signs that he was fucking with me. I mean, he had to be. He wouldn't just go back on his word—he'd already told me he wasn't going to cause permanent or severe harm. As he took a few threatening steps toward me, though, I was seconds away from begging his forgiveness.

That, however, would be unsightly.

The tension in his shoulders eased by a margin and he growled, "That was a good hit. Shall we see if you can land another before I end this?"

Then, as I opened my mouth to retort, he let out another roar that made me jump out of my skin and all of that anxiety settled right back into my chest. Just like before, I could feel it deep within my bones. My adrenaline spiked and my hands started to shake.

Moreso than fear, though, I admired just how much presence he had in everything he did. The way he moved, flexed, spoke, fought . . . It demanded my attention and wouldn't let go.

Even when he was at his scariest, my heart only swelled with affection.

And though I wasn't afraid of him hurting me on purpose, I still couldn't help but bolt for the exit as he came barreling at me like an angry bull.

I hit the door frame on the way out, veering off-course and smacking into the wall. I was out in the hall, though, and the pain from hitting the wall was enough to knock some sense into me.

Why was I running?

Oh yeah, because my maybe-boyfriend was a big scary alien.

"Catch me if you can, |big guy|!" I yelled over my shoulder, deciding to play it off like I hadn't just taken off like a frightened doe and was instead making it all part of the game.

Thanks to that healthy dose of terror, I wasn't stunned anymore and could see straight again, could move more readily. I was halfway down the hall, heading in the direction of the bridge when he stormed out of the kehrite and gave chase.

For the most part, I had the ship mapped out. I didn't have an actual destination in mind, I was just going to run for a bit until I came up with some sort of end plan.

His snarls only spurred me on more. A few times I had to pick up the pace and risk running straight into a corner—his footsteps were heavy enough that I could feel them, and the wind from his swiping claws grazed the back of my neck.

At one point, I grabbed a shelving unit and hauled it down as an obstacle. In hindsight, I regretted it because poor Critter was going to have to fix that. It was necessary, though.

If I could find a good enough distraction, I could hide and ambush him . . .

Speak of the devil.

Critter showed up in one of the corridors, blocking the way. I almost slowed down to keep from slamming into him, but we noticed each other at the same time and I knew I had my opportunity.

"Critter, go high!" I commanded.

Instantly, he skittered up the wall to cling to the ceiling.

I ran underneath him and then pointed behind me without stopping. "Distract him!"

When Wolf came down the hall, Critter dropped back down to the floor. I took a break at the corner up ahead to catch my breath and observe what was about to happen from a safe distance.

At most, I expected Critter to just stand in the way and be a nuisance. He just needed to slow Wolf down.

However, he really took it the extra mile.

"Leave Ast'ni alone!" Critter shrieked, flaring his wings as wide as they would go and raising his claws high in a threat display.

He took up the entirety of the hallway without even standing at his full height, and he still couldn't spread his wings as far as they would go. Critter hissed and cried in shrill waves—sounds that I had never imagined would come out of an insect. It raised the hair on my arms and I winced.

Part of me wanted to go and reassure him that it was a misunderstanding. Another part of me was also actually worried he could hurt Wolf. In fact, Wolf was caught so off-guard that he retreated.

This was the distraction I wanted, though. I had to trust that both of them would come out of this okay. I just hoped that Wolf had enough compassion for the serf that he wouldn't punish Critter when it was my fault he was like this.

It was kind of cute that he was trying to protect me like that, though.

I used what precious time Critter could give me to look around. I had no weapons on me, but I did have the element of surprise on my side so long as he thought I had taken off.

It was only a matter of time before he swerved Critter and came for me, so I left them to it and took up my position. Instead of staying right on the corner, I moved away from it so there was about a foot between me and the edge, and I listened carefully for Wolf.

Critter's hissing stopped and was replaced by a profuse amount of apologies. I grimaced, vowing to make it up to him later.

Wolf's thundering steps came hard and fast. My muscles tensed and I lowered myself so I'd be harder to spot until it was too late. There wasn't much wiggle room when he saw heat signatures, but it wasn't anywhere near as refined compared to when he had his mask on, so my chance of success rose.

When he turned the corner, I leaped into action, muscle memory taking over. I snagged his arm as he came by and, with a well-placed forearm to the back of his elbow and using his forward moment against him, I threw him face-down into an armbar take-down.

It was one of the first things I'd learned when training with the police department and then, later, the FBI.

Swinging around, I kept his arm hyper-extended and drove my knee between his shoulder blades.

Swept up in the heat of the moment, I shouted, "|Stop resisting!|"

"Or what?" Wolf snorted, his face squished into the floor.

I faltered for a second. The next thing that was supposed to follow was "you're under arrest". I'd also have a gun drawn and pointed at the back of his head for added effect, but this wasn't an arrest and he wasn't a suspect.

Instead, I bravely boasted, "Or I will break your arm!"

"Can you?"

There was one thing I had forgotten—or, rather, never encountered—and that was that the armbar only worked if you were similar in strength and size. I'd managed to take him by surprise and made it work out that way, but he was still . . .

Wolf used his sheer size and strength to reverse the hold and toss me into the wall. I screeched with surprise (a wholly undignified sound) and steadied myself, raising my arms to guard. I was trapped, though, his massive form caging me in.

It was the worst thing that could have happened in a fight against him.

He came quick and hard, throwing his fist at me. I steeled myself against the blow, but he merely punched the spot next to my head, leaving me unharmed.

I peeked at him from between my elbows and slowly lowered my guard.

Both of us were inches away from each other, breathing heavily.

"You missed," I remarked.

Wolf chittered in amusement. "Did you think I would bludgeon you over a cut?"

Chagrined, I said, "|Maybe. You can be very intimidating when you want to be.|"

He was still crowding me, boxing me in against the wall. "You were full of surprises this time around. That pin at the end had some real skill behind it."

Sighing, I let myself relax. "|I learned it on Earth. You really couldn't have let me win even once, huh|?"

"Small victories," he said with a purr, leaning even closer so that our foreheads were almost touching.

"We say 'baby steps'," I murmured, not unkindly.

Wolf's fingers found my hair, let loose from the braid I usually tied it in. He'd stopped bleeding but some of it from before was still smeared and drying on his brow. I gave the scabbing wound a ginger touch and then he winced, making me withdraw again.

I told him, "|You were magnificent as always,|" and put my arms around his neck. His rough, warm skin rubbed against mine and I ached for more contact; my heart was still racing.

His tusks pressed together in a fond smile and he leaned in closer, his hand running along the contours of my side and coming to rest at my hip. The pressure of his fingers made me heat up from the inside out.

Those hands that could break me were so gentle now, his claws just barely scraping against my scalp and tracing lines of desire across my skin.

"Your growth is impressive," he rumbled, his voice low enough to vibrate against my chest. He paused in his affections and made a pointed nod toward the hall. "But we should relocate."

I followed his gaze and just barely managed to spot Critter's head duck away as he was caught red-handed—or red-clawed, maybe—spying on us.

Chortling, I said, "|He's just trying to make sure you didn't murder me, probably.|"

Wolf scoffed. "That one has grown too attached to you. I do believe he was ready to fight me to the death for you had I not been able to pull rank."

Grinning, I said, "|He had you a little scared, didn't he? I didn't think he had it in him|."

With a huff, Wolf pulled me toward him. "I am never afraid. Now . . . Let me take you somewhere more private to give you a new lesson."

I giggled and let him lead me away.