Okay, I wasn’t lookin’ at her eyes.
Unfortunately, my roving gaze was noticed. “Are you assessing my boobs?” she accused. “I didn’t think they’d be considered an asset for fighting.”
Crikey.Busted. “When fighting males, skin can be used as a weapon,” I stated, as if any instruction I’d received had ever included that crucial fact.
Didn’t make it any less bloody true, mind you.
She stared at me, and then, to my complete astonishment, stripped off her tee shirt, leaving her clad in her equally black sports bra.
Many women wore them as tops, but the very act of her removing her shirt had me instantly distracted. I couldn’t rip my eyes off her breasts. Which were completely covered, but my memory supplied dream-revealed critical details that almost took me out at the knees.
She grinned at me. “I see your point.”
Okay, two could play at this game. I grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled it over my head.
“I hardly believe that this will in any way assist with her assessment,” Mari commented from the sidelines.
“I thought you were meditating,” I growled.
“I was, until you two started stripping. It is far too distracting.”
I decided to ignore Mari.
Anna’s gaze seemed riveted on my chest as we circled each other. “I’m not removing anything else,” she told Mari, but her eyes had drifted lower on me.
“What do you see?” I asked. It was meant as useful instruction but somehow ended up with undercurrents that had her raising her brows. “Blimey, what can you tell about me, physically?” Okay, that wasn’t any better. Frustrated, I just decided to tell her. “Do you see how I automatically moved to the right? That’s because I’m guarding my left side. A berko bull right buggered that arm five years ago. It’s strong as ever now, but I still subconsciously favor the right.”
Her eyes rose to mine, and she nodded. “Okay.”
“You look for those little tells. Everyone has a side they favor—one will always be stronger than the other. Sometimes they diversify, one side is for brute clobberin’, and the other is what they use for the accurate stuff, the quick jabs.”
“Are you like that?”
“I’ve trained until I can swap sides with no issue, but that is not common.”
Her eyes narrowed. “So what else am I supposed to watch for?”
“You look for any signs of weakness. Do I move evenly with both feet? Do you detect any stiffness in my body? Change direction.”
She did so, her feet hesitating with her right, before striding out with her left.
“You just showed me your left foot is your lead foot. Any maneuver forcing you to use your right might throw you off balance.”
Her brows drew down. “I didn’t see anything like that with you.”
“If you can’t see any weaknesses, that tells you that your opponent might be well trained.”
“This—this would take a lot of practice to get right.”
“They will show you these things, Angel. That’s why you’re here.”
She nodded again, and her jaw jutted, just a little. “Okay. So we are circling. We can’t do that all day.”
“Nope. Watch your opponent’s eyes. They will tell you when they are about to come at you. The muscles around them tighten, and if you are close enough to see them, the pupils change. Some shifters can’t control their eyes, and their beast peeks through right before they pounce.”
Her gaze locked on mine.
“Say ‘now’ when you think I’m about to attack.”
