Lachlan rolls his head to crack his neck, turns around.His bare back is heavily scarred, the lines much thicker than any kind Kade has ever seen, raised enough to cast small shadows of their own in the light.
‘Grab a weapon if you like.’
‘I don’t need one.’
Lachlan smirks, seems tolikeit when Kade is bratty.
He’s the only one.
‘Suit yourself.’
Kade warms up a little, only perfunctory to prevent tearing.He’s still carrying the burn of last night.All throughout he never takes his eyes off of Lachlan, who doesn’t warm up either.It’s like a staring competition.
When ready, Kade steps into a smaller central circle.The mat is soft beneath his feet, but it’s one of the thinnest, made for landing training.The real world isn’t padded, after all.Lachlan comes closer, his body language casual, but his eyes… there’s nothing easy about the way he looks at Kade.
‘Come on then,’ he bids softly, the tone running the wrong way up Kade’s spine to elicit a sense of unwilling heat.It’s just the anticipation of a good fight, nothing more.‘Give it your best shot.’
Kade starts off hard and fast, no learning curve, he goes right for the jugular, seeks to expose weak points.Against anyone less skilled, such a series of moves would easily drop them.Kade has afantasticroundhouse, and he knows how to feint, how to shift right before throwing it to craft an opening.Lachlan catches his leg before it hits, didn’t fall for the feint.
If anything he seemed to expect it.
The silence from the others is deafening.
Kade huffs, regroups when Lachlan lets his leg drop, head tipped to the side as if to say,that all you got?He has a feeling this one will knowallhis moves, so he decides to improvise.
‘Attack me,’ he tells Lachlan.
Lachlan moves in close, no hands raised for defence, it’s an insanely stupid mistake, but they’re not sparring and Kade has never fought anyone like him, so for a few moments they just circle.Kade keeps both hands raised, body angled to the side.Lachlan looks him over, never seems to blink.
Then, whipcord fast, he bursts into motion.
Kade onlybarelydips to the side, wheels around and tries to land a kick but Lachlan is moving now and there’s no stopping it.Blows thrown and blocked, the rhythm pulls them in, locks everything down and Kade can’t think, he can only react.
The first time Lachlan hits him, it’s not a punch, but a slap.
He’s playing with him.Kid gloves.
Oh,this prick.
Angry and insulted, Kade throws a back spin kick and drives his left fist into Lachlan’s face with furious gravity.It landssowell, he knows he broke his jaw, felt the crack.Lachlan doesn’t waste a single second, he sweeps Kade’s leg, drops him and thenboopshis nose when he gets on top.
Kade punches him hard, rolls to dislodge and then kicks up.
‘Stop fucking around!’
Lachlan says, ‘You can’t heal like me.’
‘Do your worst, Bodyguard!’he snaps.The older man blinks softly, seems briefly struck but not by hands.‘I mean it.’
‘Come on, then.’
Kade pulls outallthe stops, he’s not holding back and Lachlan can take everything, all he has to give and more.It’s exciting and it’s infuriating and Kade really wishes the others weren’t watching, because he’s definitely getting turned on, but that happens all the time, adrenaline and arousal are twin rivers running different paths to the sea.
It’s only when Kade has to start thinking on his feet, inventing new moves on the spot that he actually draws blood from Lachlan.A well-timed punch followed by a body spin with the violently thrown point of Kade’s elbow stabbing into Lachlan’s jaw sends a spray of blood into the air and Lachlan loses balance, actually falls.
Kade has no time to crow about it, but the rushhe feels inside is second to none.Lachlan begins to improvise too, and his training is immaculate, but he’s also been inside for seven years whereas Kade has been training nonstop.Even though it’s clear Lachlan doesn’t want to hurt Kade, that doesn’t mean he’s unharmed.Lachlan lands a meteoric uppercut that Kade never saw coming and he bites his tongue so hard his mouth fills with blood, leaves him dizzy and disoriented on his knees.Lachlan doesn’t back off, he uses it to pin him down, seems to know Kade is good with his legs because he ducks cleverly whenever Kade tries to wrap him.Lachlan’s weight atop him feels both good and bad, a rushing river of conflict that has Kade’s heartpoundingharder than it has… maybe ever and he’s all too aware now of his people watching from the side, Luca watching from the side.
Lachlan hovers over him, strong hands around his wrists.
