Claim (Fury Brothers #5)

Pleasure washed through me and I nodded. I slipped through the ropes.

“You ready to tell me about him? The man hunting you?”

I froze, my muscles going tight. I stayed silent.

Carr was my horror. If I talked about him… It felt like I’d summon him, or something. I knew it was silly, but it was hard to shake.

Right then, all I felt was a tight ball of fear and pain in my chest.

Behind me, Beau sighed. “Go and shower.”

I didn’t linger long under the hot water. It was late, and I figured Beau wanted to get home. When I walked back into the gym, there was no sign of him.

“Beau?” With only a few low lights on, there were so many shadows in the gym. “Beau?”

A force hit me from behind. I went down on the training mats with anoof. I was pinned.

Fear was like a spike in my chest. I started jerking.

“You need to know how to break the hold of someone bigger and stronger than you.” Beau’s deep voice in my ear. His warm breath brushed over my skin.

I relaxed, even as my heart hammered. It was just Beau.

“No, don’t relax. Think. This fucker, he won’t come at you from the front. He won’t fight fair.”

Beau was right.

I bucked and tried to shift my weight, but he was too big and strong.

“Reach back,” he said. “Poke him in the eyes, pull his hair.”

I obeyed and grabbed Beau’s thick hair, and pulled. He grunted.

I managed to get a foot up under me, and pushed. It gave me enough leverage to unbalance him.

I slithered out from under him, scrambled, and rolled.

But a second later, he was on me again.

This time, he pinned me down on my back. We were face-to-face. My heartbeat picked up for a different reason.

“Now what?” he asked.

I decided I needed the element of surprise. I raised my head and kissed him.

As my lips moved over his, his big body went slack.

I hadn’t kissed anyone in a really long time. Kissing Beau felt good.

That’s when I rammed an elbow into his side. He reared up enough that I wriggled free.

In a crouch, I grinned at him.

“Clever,” he said. “But youneveruse that move on anyone else.”

“I won.”

His gaze moved over my face. “I thought you didn’t do kissing?”