"Someone's not playing today," he murmured. "All right, c'mon."
The words had barely left his mouth when Jenn launched a quick sequence Xander helped her perfect. He'd taught her a few things during the two weeks he toyed with her, among them, how to combine her flexibility and speed into something more lethal. He'd taught her to dance in the ring to outmaneuver the seven-foot vamp's hard strikes.
"Nice!" Darian breathed, reacting to the quick succession. He missed one strike, and she pulled the punch, not wanting to hurt him despite her anger.
Where Xander used brute force to subdue an opponent, Darian was wily. The moment she paused, he pounced, reminding her of just how fast he was. Jenn adjusted her stance, keeping more of a distance from him than she would Xander to give her more time to react. Darian pierced her defenses twice. She braced herself for the blows before recalling he'd never struck her full force. Unlike Xander.
They sparred hard for several moments, until Darian's upper body carried a sheen of sweat. He eased back so they could both catch their breaths.
"You've learned a few things," he said.
"Darian, I swear you've gotten even faster."
"You've gotten slower."
She glared at him.
"I don't mean that how it came out," he said quickly. "What I mean is that the world moves more slowly. I don't know how else to explain it, except it's how I beat the Others, too."
"It makes sense. You have more magic now. It'll react differently with your natural abilities."
"You move differently," he said, gaze sweeping up and down her frame.
"Xander taught me how to use my body."
Darian's gaze flew up to her face. "He did what?"
"You know," she said with a wink, unable to resist the urge to mess with him a little. "You ready for round two?"
"How did he teach you to use your body?"
Jenn almost laughed at his sudden intensity, both flattered and terrified to see just how interested in her he was. The part of her job she'd never tell people: Sometimes she loved messing with the dangerous men she spent her life around. Instead of answering, she lashed out at him, following her kick sequence with an elbow to his chest. Darian deflected it and dropped his hip, sweeping her legs out from under her.
Jenn shifted her weight and rolled into a somersault, leaping up before he could pin her. Darian anticipated her first kick and snatched it, sweeping her off her feet again and falling with her this time to keep her from escaping. Jenn broke his first chokehold and elbowed him in the back of the neck, this time at near full-strength. She expected the blow to faze the Grey God, but it didn't. He reacted too fast for her to counter, snatching her forearms and shoving her onto her stomach. His weight kept her from moving.