AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My skin tingled from his deft touch. It betrayed every logical fiber in my body, but I couldn’t look away. Not from the beads of sweat that dripped down his tanned body, or the veins that pulsed in his neck. I imagined my tongue trailing up his salty skin?—
The thought escaped me as quickly as it arrived when Talon materialized back in front of me, reminding me how much his fae agility annoyed me. It made training with him impossible. Infuriating, even. It was better that way. Disliking him. Entertaining these bizarre fantasies would be a recipe for disaster. An ending that would see me buried and him alive to tell the tale.
He got into a fighting stance, about to slip the boxing mitts back on, when he dropped his arms and sighed. “Stop dropping your elbows,” he growled. “Getting hit in the ribs will suck, but it won’t knock you out. You’re leaving yourself wide open.”
“What are you talking about?” I was confident they hadn’t moved an inch. Then again, they might’ve sagged a bit while I was drinking him in. I shook my head, settling back into my stance. “This is where you put them.”
Talon’s hand latched around my neck and kicked my feet out from underneath me. I dropped to the ground—the wind knocking from my lungs—and he straddled my legs, pressing his dagger to my sternum.
His raven hair tickled my forehead. “Then tell me why it was so easy to overpower you? If I were Aeron or Kelvin, you’d be dead. That quick.”
I sucked in a breath, squirming under his weight. Squirming because he could and did overpower me.
“Keep. Your. Elbows. Up.”
My skin warmed. How could I focus when every touch, every glance, every fluid movement, had me questioning my sanity? The oddest part about it? I could’ve sworn his face softened as he searched mine.
I loosened a breath, regained control of my thoughts, and without wasting another second, slapped him in the face. Stunning him just enough that the dagger dropped from his grip.
Scurrying out from under him, I clambered to my feet.
Talon stood, his nostrils flaring as he sucked his teeth.
“That’s it, firefly. Keep that aggression up.” There was nothing friendly in his voice as he approached, and I folded under his intense scrutiny. “Get back into position.”
I refrained from saying anything else that’d excite him more and did as he ordered. I’d never seen anyone’s face light with such delight after being smacked in the face before—he was more deranged than I thought. However, the way my body tingled in response was even more concerning. Maybe I was just as deranged.
I threw my weight into the next punch, and then the next, releasing the fermenting anger, when Talon smacked me upside the head, startling me.
I paused, rubbing the sore spot. “What the fuck was that for?”
“You’re not blocking.”
Smack.
“Stop that!” I punched the mitt harder, pretending it was Talon’s face.
A tense silence threatened to ignite the training room—only the sounds of my fists pounding leather filled the space.
Hit.
Hit.
Smack.
Hit.
Talon swung again, but this time I ducked, avoiding his attack, and popped up—kicking my heel into the mitt. He beamed. “Perfect. Again.”
For someone stressing the importance of blocking, his right side was wide open.
I bit my lip. Oh, I’d do it again alright. Payback for his relentless assaults. I returned his smile before I spun around, kicking the top of my foot into his side, and sending him to the ground.
My chest puffed out, relishing in my victory, but it was short-lived.
Talon wrapped his long fingers around my ankle and pulled my leg out from underneath, the air whooshing from my lungs as I fell on my back. His movements were fast.
He grabbed my hands, attempting to pin them to the ground, but I challenged him. His chest pressed into mine, his stomach.
