Cathaire Signed,Go again.
Slowly, Sean rose to standing. Anna mirrored his movements, her expression far more serious than it had been before. They faced each other, staring, neither of them blinking. He wasn’t sure what to do. A part of him was scared to touch her again, confused why the pixie spark had transformed into…that.
Another part of him wanted to do it again.
“What are you waiting for?” Cathaire asked. “Begin!”
Obediently, Sean moved, though he tried not to touch any parts of her that weren’t covered by clothes. Luckily the wintry air meant she wore a neck wrap and sleeves to her wrists. The bracers and gloves beneath covered all but her fingertips.
Could he replace his own bracers without seeming suspicious?
Didn’t matter. After a few half-hearted maneuvers, they reverted to their usual ways.Block-jab-kick-block.Their bodies crashed together in a flurry of movement, and then he found her beneath him, his pulse hammering as he hovered above her.
He had her thigh pinned with his knee and one arm restrained by her wrist, but her free hand moved automatically to push him off, the way she would if everything were normal. Bare fingertips grazed the exposed skin of his neck, then the notch between his collarbones.
Stronger than before, the spark burst to life, coasting down a network in the surface of his skin, writing pleasure across it. His body dipped closer to hers, pulled by a magnet he didn’t understand.
Her breathing went ragged, something unreadable flickering behind her eyes. “We’re just sparring,” she whispered, as if she needed to convince herself.
Sean swallowed hard. “Do you want to keep going?” he said, not even sure what he was asking.
Her fingers moved, and the pleasure sensation flared. She gasped.
Whatwasthis?
Why was it happeningnow?
Her leg pushed against his, and he took the hint to roll away from her. The network evaporated with the loss of her touch, but the memory of it stained his entire consciousness with a red haze.
“I think I might be done for the day,” Anna said, avoiding his gaze. “Need a breather.”
Cathaire nodded. “You both did well. Tomorrow, if Bowenn can spare you for a few hours, we will work on directing Luster.” He rose an eyebrow at Sean. “I hear your aim needs improvement.”
Shaking himself of the strangeness with Anna, Sean tried to laugh. “You talked to Kywyn?”
Cathaire clapped him on the shoulder. “Aye. You go to Viterra soon. Either you improve your aim or the Indies will use you for target practice.” He turned to Anna. “And you will rise to Honor Guard in just a few short weeks. You will be in Viterra yourself before you know it.”
A smile grew on her face. “I know. I can’t wait.”
Sean met her eyes and winked again—sheer habit—then watched as a flush crept up her neck. Something twisted in his chest at the inviting color, and an odd heat flooded his body. Not desire, not anger. Something else.
Something possessive.
Words fled, and he tumbled over some sort of ledge.
He was falling. Drowning.
Anna’s lips parted, and his gaze dropped to her mouth.
Mine.
The instinct rose from a place that didn’t belong to him, that was wholly David, but as soon as it arrived, it delved deep into Sean, burrowing inside his marrow with thorny vines he’d never be able to rip out.
His heart swelled into his throat as he came to terms with this new emotion, this…adoration. Thislove.
David’slove.
Debilitating. Hot. Consuming.
