Focus, Kat!
To force her mind back to business, she spun into a roundhouse kick. He ducked under her slashing leg, kicked out a foot, snagged her ankle, and dumped her on her ass.
Ridge pounced before she could roll away, one hand capturing her wrists, legs twining around hers, his big body crushing her into the mat.
Kat snapped into action, trying the half-dozen tricks she knew to get out of this kind of hold. None of them worked. He even jerked his head out of range of her attempted head-butt. And smiled.
Think, dammit. He’s too freaking strong. You’re going to have to out-think him.
“All right,” Kat gasped, forcing her muscles to relax, watching him under half-closed lids. “You win.”
“Do I?” That sensual mouth twitched. “There’s a promising admission.” He relaxed fractionally, strong legs loosening their grip on her thighs. His lids drooped to a lazy half-mast, and he lowered his head.
Kat went still under the kiss. It was slow, lazy, a thorough exploration of her mouth, as exquisitely tempting as the one the night before.
No, even more so. Sweat and effort gave his body a sultry heat that eroded her sense of discipline. She could feel him going hard against her belly, the long width as intriguing as his soft, sinful lips.
Kat opened for him with a moan. Her head spun, and she let herself yield. His free hand slid up to cup her breast, sending teasing heat spiraling despite the thick fabric of her athletic bra.
She squirmed, letting her legs fall apart. He nudged her chin up to give her throat a teasing nibble, then lifted his weight to allow her to spread her legs around his. She braced a palm against his muscular ribs.
. . .
And gained precisely the leverage she needed.
With a twist of her legs and a heaving thrust of her arms, Kat threw him off and bounced to her feet, falling into a combat crouch. “Let’s try that again,” she growled through gritted teeth.
And Ridge, lying flat on his back, began to laugh.
Frustrated, she raked her sweaty hair out of her eyes and glared at him. “What’s so damned funny?”
“Grace did explain how you actually become a Maja, I trust?”
“Yeah, we have to have . . .” She trailed off. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” He gestured at the erection still tenting his pants. “Oh.” She blinked at him, trying to decide whether to feel triumphant or moronic. “You mean I passed your test.”
He chuckled, folding his arms behind his head as he gazed up at her. “Honey, you knocked it out of the park.”
“I thought I had to beat you.” Kat frowned in confusion.
He snorted. “Not very damned likely. I’m an eighty-year-old vampire with sixty years of combat experience, and I once deadlifted a Cadillac off a pedestrian. You’re good, but you ain’t that good.” Realization struck. “I never had a prayer.”
“You did better than I expected.” He grimaced. “Then again, I didn’t expect you to be able to throw a punch without detailed instructions and a map. Most new Majae can’t.” Puzzled, Kat dropped to her knees on the mat. “So what the hell was the point?” Ridge knelt in front of her like the sensei he could have been. “I wanted to know if you could think on your feet. If you’d panic when faced with overwhelming odds. Whether you could take a punch without running home to Mommy.”
She raised a brow. “And?”
“And you don’t panic. When you got pissed off, you controlled it instead of making stupid mistakes.
Pain doesn’t stop you. And you kept fighting long after anybody with any sense would have thrown in the towel. What’s more, you just played me for a sucker, which is both embarrassing and seriously impressive.”
Her heart was thundering a heavy metal beat in her ears. “So you’ll make me a Maja?” The humor faded from his eyes, leaving his expression grim. “Yeah. We need people like you. I just hope you don’t end up regretting it.” He rose to his feet. “Come on. I don’t know about you, but I could use a bath.”
Kat blinked, imagining Ridge naked and covered in bubbles. Oh, this is going to be good.
FIVE
She’d been right, Kat decided. You could swim laps in Ridge’s tub.
He was down on one knee, testing the water temperature and adding some mysterious oil that formed aromatic clouds of bubbles. His back looked deliciously broad, muscle flexing and working as he moved, and she contemplated it in happy anticipation.
When the tub was filled and fragrant, he stood and turned toward her. He stood tall and impossibly handsome in the golden light of the candles that rested on every flat surface. They’d all burst simultaneously into flame when he and Kat walked into the room.
Ridge claimed the candles were magic, but she suspected they’d been ignited by the sheer lust in the air. You could almost see it, sparking and swirling around them like amorous fireflies.
He moved toward her, his eyes heavy-lidded with need. A long, distinct shape strained against the soft cotton of his pants. She wanted to tug down his waistband for a shameless ogle.
Ridge tipped her chin up for his kiss. If he felt the same impatience she did, he hid it well, taking his time with the slow mating of mouths, teasing, stroking, lip-to-lip, tongue dancing around tongue. Kat sighed, relaxing into his solid strength. His hands came to rest, one cupping her butt, the other on the dip of her waist.
The kiss spun on, lazy and drugging. The taste of him intoxicated—a hint of salt, a trace of mint, and over it all, that dazzling masculinity.
Deep inside her, something woke, responded with a hot leap of need. Something furious and demanding that had never risen for another man.
The Gift?
The thought shot a little shiver of mingled excitement and fear through her. Grace had given her a rough idea what to expect, but how was it going to feel? Magic igniting in her every cell, changing her, making her immortal. Something other than human. . . .
“Shhh,” Ridge breathed against her mouth. He drew back enough to smile into her eyes. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Ha. Showed how much he knew. That, or she was a coward, because she could think of any number of things to fear.
Mostly failure.
But then he caught the hem of her top, peeled it smoothly off, and tossed it aside with an offhand little flip. Her bra followed a moment later.
She swallowed, looking up at him uncertainly as he gazed down at her br**sts in the warm candlelight.