was still hovering in the background, but even she could see the humor in this situation. “Well, you know… I think I’ve won every match we’ve ever fought.”
“Because we weren’t actually supposed to be fighting.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
She smiled. “Because I’m not.” Gesturing at the jars, she shrugged. “If this earns more money toward a good cause, then we’ll just have to make sure we really do put on that good show we talked about.”
“Are you saying you’re going to take me down?”
Reaching into her side pocket, she took out a few bills and peeled off a ten. Walking over to the jars, she stuffed it inside the one with her name on it. She turned back to look at him. “Oh, yeah, mister. You are going down.”
Dodge, dodge, dodge…retreat.
When was she going to miss a beat so that he could gain some ground?
Time and time again Tessa had pushed him to the very edge of the circle with no more than a twist of her body. She wasn’t aiming to hit him, since that wasn’t the goal of this match. But she was making him move his feet. And they sure as hell weren’t moving forward.
They were supposed to be putting on a show, but not one that had him stepping backward for the whole fifteen minutes of their exhibition.
Cut yourself some slack.
This was only their first training match. He couldn’t be expected to whip himself back into top form all at once.
Except his top form had never been any match for Tessa’s skill. And she now had those damn jars as incentive to make this a show everyone would remember.
Well, two could play at that game.
Concentrate.
He sidestepped, mentally keeping the circle of people around them in his mind. He didn’t want to go back so quickly that he careened into them—the idea was to stay inside the ring. If something happened the circle would open, but whoever broke it would automatically give up his place. In other words, he would lose.
Okay. He did a quick flip, a few muscles protesting at how much of a slacker he’d become over the past several years. His brain still remembered the moves, but his body was giving him hell over the contortions he was putting it through.
Tessa actually stepped out of the way.
One for me!
Until her foot found the back of his knee.
Dammit!
Down he went. Right onto his back.
He glared up at her, only to find her eyes alight with wicked laughter. She’d done that on purpose.
Just because she could.
And he found he couldn’t stay mad at her. Not with her face all bright and gleeful and happy.
Happy.
He hadn’t seen her like that in… over four years.
“Tessita.” Marcos entered the circle. Unlike Tessa, the man did not look happy. “This is not what we are looking for. It is okay for one of you to defeat the other, but you need to give him more than two minutes. Otherwise those watching will not see the true beauty of our capoeira.”
Ha! True. Two minutes did not constitute a match. Although his body could swear it had been closer to an hour. Marcos said it was okay for one of them to take the other down, but the director and Clay both knew who would be left standing and who would be on the floor when all was said and done. And that person was still grinning at him in that old familiar way—despite Marcos’s chiding words.
Except this time it brought back a not-so-happy memory from days past, when she’d said the words that had ended their relationship. He’d lain flat on his figurative back then, too, while Tessa had stood over him, scowling. He’d do well to keep that in mind.
Clay levered himself to his feet. Lord, he was going to be sore tomorrow.
He waited for Marcos to leave the ring and for the rhythm instruments to again pick up that hypnotic beat. All the other participants had run their matches just as they’d been programmed, entering and exiting the ring like seasoned pros.
And he and Tessa—the last match on the exhibition agenda—were gumming up the works.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Absolutely.” She yanked down the hem of her closefitting tank top, her skin gleaming.
This time Clay executed a series of moves that actually had Tessa swerving and doing some tricky maneuvers of her own to avoid him getting too close.
This was more like it. For three minutes they continued like that, the match feeling much more even all of a sudden.
She arched into a backbend and flipped out of it like an expert.
Of course it felt even. Because she was letting him gain the upper hand. Just as Marcos had suggested.
Time and time again she kicked and bowed and spun. Back. Away from him.
“Dammit, Tessa, you’re not even trying.”
She swept by him with another grin. “Because someone told me to keep it going.”
Perfect. She didn’t have to admit to it.
He pushed harder. Entering her space and then exiting it, his leg barely missing her head as he swept past. But Tessa was good at what she did, able to calculate down to the last centimeter how much room she needed to give him in order not to get hit. Because, as Marcos had said, the goal wasn’t to make contact but to show off techniques and the unique dance style, the give and take that went on in the ring. Clay had never seen anything like it in his life. And the real capoeira experts were as ripped and fit as athletes in any other sport. The timing was what made it what it was. Because in some ways it was harder to go at each other knowing you weren’t supposed to strike them, but to sweep past, and over, and under, with barely any room to spare. That took skill and an ability to read your opponent. Something Tessa seemed built to do.
And she could read him.
He only hoped that some of his secrets stayed hidden, even from the great Tessa Camara.
Like how turned on he got by watching her arms and legs move with the grace and strength of a ballerina.
At least when he wasn’t the one fighting her. And even now it was only his concentration that kept him from thinking too hard about her body and how absolutely flexible it was. In more ways than just training in capoeira.
Something hit the small of his back, and he lurched forward. Damn. He hadn’t even seen that coming. And just like that he was once again on the defensive. Because Tessa had evidently decided enough time had gone by that she could really
