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“No.”
Talon laughed. It was deep and gruff and made my insides swirl. “I see.” He rose to his feet, stretching. My heart skipped as he approached. “Well, in that case, training will be over when you hit a perfect bullseye.”
“What? Why? You had me conditioning for over an hour. My arms feel like noodles.”
He stopped short of me, his hair tickling my forehead as he leaned down, his lips meeting my ear. “You should have thought of that before you lied to me.” His warm breath on my skin sent defiant shivers up my spine. “Now move.”
I remained where I stood, frantically getting my thoughts in order.
He strolled past me to the other side of the training room.
It meant nothing—we were both under a ton of stress. Each of us carrying the weight of impossible expectations. We needed an outlet. A mind-blowing, deeply satisfying distraction. It was normal. It meant nothing,yet the more I tried to rationalize it, the harder it became to convince myself it was true.
Where did the truth rest, anyway? It certainly wasn’t always black and white. Could we exist outside of this? After…
Inhaling a sharp breath, I grabbed a bow off the rack, balancing it in my hand as I seized a quiver of bows next. I could do this.
Readying at the mark, I pulled the cord taught.
“Keep your sight above the bullseye.” Talon sat to my right in a wooden chair, analyzing my form. “The arrow naturally arches down, so you’ll better your odds at hitting your mark.” He tore into the apple.
“Noted,” I deadpanned, aiming my bow straight ahead. Steadying my hands.
I did what he suggested, keeping my focus above the bullseye. Letting out a slow breath, I released the arrow, watching it fly and land a foot away from the mark.
It was hopeless. I dropped my arms, defeated.
“Not bad. You need to relax a little more. Try dropping your shoulders.”
I grabbed another arrow from the quiver and tried again. Dropping my shoulders and letting out a breath—watching in resignation as the arrow bounced off the stone wall onto the ground below. Talon didn’t bother to conceal his amusement this time as I let out a string of curses—tempted to accidentally release an arrow at where he sat.
My lips pursed. If only I didn’t fear the consequences. He’d keep me there all night if I pulled something like that.
Dropping the bow to my side, I faced him, fist clenched. “Please, I wouldn’t want you to hold back at my expense.” I threaded another arrow through the string.
“Sorry, it’s just—” He contained his laughter and said, “I knew we were going to be here a long time—I didn’t realize the extent of how bad you were on the bow.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure we were all witness to my botched attempt during assessments. You knew what you were getting yourself into.” Talon stood up and stalked over to me, his lips pressed together with bewildered amusement. “I assumed it was fear. I couldn’t have expected half of what I’d be signing up for.” He motioned for me to turn around and grabbed the bow from my hands. “Here, hold it like this.” Talon stood behind me and repositioned my hands, keeping his grip on mine as he brought the bow up to my shoulder.
I tried to concentrate on the target, but every fiber in my body was on fire, unable to focus on anything but his touch as his calloused fingertips tickled my skin.
My back pressed into his chest as he pulled me closer to his body, and it took every ounce of strength in me not to arch into him.
Talon’s grip on my waist tightened as if he sensed my thoughts, his lips grazing the shell of my ear as he spoke. “Now adjust your stance… like this.” I could smell the crisp apple on his breath and wanted to taste it on his lips. His voice was low and deep as he positioned me—my ass grazing against the bulge in his pants—and he held me in place. His hand traveled further up my waist.
I was too consumed with his nearness to form coherent sentences. I attempted to blink away the lust that fogged my brain. My treacherous body betraying every logical thought I’d tried to convince myself to believe. I wholeheartedly wanted him.
He ripped something open in my chest that yearned only for him. Wanted him. Refused to be satisfied by anything but him.
Talon let his fingers trace up my arm, to my neck, where he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I leaned into his touch, and he held my face in his palm.
“Stars, I love the way your body reacts to my touch. It’s so damn sexy.”
Goosebumps erupted along my skin as his warm breath caressed my cheek, and I angled my head to meet his gaze, our lips inches apart. All I could focus on was his soft, plush lips. I’d forgotten all about the bow in my hands.
But the weight of it straining my arms brought me back to reality. “I have to admit, seeing how jealous you got was kind of sexy.”
Talon brushed his sweet lips against mine—a phantom touch that filled me with magic. “Being jealous would imply I wanted something I couldn’t have, firefly.”
