Soar (Cold Mark Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

breathing.”
    “But Killeg didn’t wait until the bell rang.”
    Killeg jumped over the barbwire and landed in an easy crouch next to us. As he straightened, he was glaring so hard at the coach that I wondered if the guy was going to pee in his pants. “I saw his hand going for the damned thing. I just reacted.”
    I patted his shoulder. “It was a good try.” I even said it with a straight face.
    “Shut up, and get up there. It’s your turn for fun.”
    Unlike all the other Mian inside the training gym, I needed Phila to give me a boost up to the ring. “That’s embarrassing,” I grumbled under my breath as I grabbed onto the barbwire rope between spikes, keeping myself balanced on the edge.
    Phila jumped and smacked my ass lightly. “I enjoyed it.”
    I huffed but felt my cheeks heat. “Quit. I need to focus.”
    His grin was slow. “I’m not stopping you.”
    Yes, he was—in ways he was enjoying all too much.
    I bared my teeth at him, and then cautiously dipped between the ropes.
    “Be careful of those while you’re in there.” Killeg was eyeing the mini-spears as the staff yanked the ‘sleeping’ Mian out of the ring. “Maybe this isn’t such a great idea.”
    “I’ll be fine,” I hissed.
    “Just stay away from any kicks and the outer edges.”
    “Yes, yes.” I placed the mouth guard into my mouth and kept moving, warming up my muscles further. Around the foaming piece, I mumbled, “This is my best idea yet.”
    “Fuck me. This is going to end badly,” Killeg whispered to his other half.
    “I heard that!”

I made sure to wait until the bell rang, and then I was a flurry of movement. The Mian man wanted to hurt me; it was there in his eyes. Female Mian didn’t fight. And I was a Human. What—and who—I was, was against everything he held close to his traditional sexist heart, and change wasn’t of particular interest to him.
    And he was fast.
    Not as fast as the Plumas, but I had to track his movements by the color of his rouge colored hair. A blur of red here, a dash of red there, and he kept me on my toes. When he wasn’t knocking them out from under me. My back hit the ground for the third time, but I swiftly rolled when he followed me down with fists swinging.
    I managed a hard jab to his temple and fully enjoyed watching him stagger to the side.
    I took full advantage of it too, racing forward and slamming my gloves into all the legal ‘down’ zones I knew. “Fall, dammit.” I shot my fist into his solar plexus and grinned when he kneeled over, trying to catch his breath. “Take that….” Another punch. “And that.” A hard upper jab. “And that!”
    Ding. Ding. Ding.
    Damn…I backed away. I almost had him down, too.
    The coach still motioned to me as the winner.
    I threw my fists up and pumped them in the air, turning to give the Plumas a huge grin.
    But instead of cheering me on, their eyes simmered with desire. Mother Joyal, me kicking the shit out of a man turned them on. And it dawned on me. Those two were dangerous savages in a sensual way.
    I kind of liked it, my gut warming with a cloying heat.
    I carefully maneuvered through the barbwire and removed the mouth guard. “I know I just showed you how awe-inspiring I am…but I need help getting down from here.” Oh, the ironies.

    We stepped inside a sweets store, still sweating and stinky from the gym. Little Mian children rushed around our legs, and I felt like one of them as I gazed at all of the choices. I opened my arms wide and whispered, “I’m home, my lovelies.”
    Killeg couldn’t contain his laughter, slapping his palm on a countertop. “Do you want us to leave you alone with all the goodies?”
    “Yes, please do,” I mumbled absently, trekking farther into the store. I pointed a finger at a clear tube that had pink cubes inside…all the way to the ceiling. “Are those good?”
    “They’re one of my favorites,” Phila murmured, bending to lift a paper sack. He proceeded to fill it up with