Page 181 of Interion

I started walking again, weaving through the trees. I was reaching the edge of the woods—from there it was just a short run to the house. Zion came after me.

“It was a test, and you passed it, didn't you? Adele was safer with you than in the hospital. I didn't see any risk. The way you convinced her—I thought it was incredible.”

He approached again, trying to touch me.

“GET AWAY FROM ME, NOW!” I shouted hysterically.

Zion stopped, surprised by my outburst.

“You and Adele were always safe. Serguei needed proof that your mind is sound. Now that you've passed the psychological test, only the physical one is left.”

Zion offered me an apologetic smile.

“Test completed perfectly, General. Now leave me alone. If you're going to laugh at me, do it where I can't hear you.”

“I'm not laughing at you. I'm happy for you.”

“I don't want to know.”

He didn't move, and neither did I. Silence settled over everything around us; only the wind screamed as it passed through the tree branches. His eyes traveled over my face, but the smile had already vanished from his lips.

“Let me take you home—your lips are purple from the cold.”

He stepped closer and I stepped back.

“No. I told you I want to run. If you weren't worried while I was dangling 800 meters up, you're not going to start worrying now,” I grunted, seething.

I stepped to the right, but he intercepted me a second later. I caught a glimpse of the movement he made to grab me—just the sensation of intent: the way his eyes flicked to my hand, the twitch of a thigh muscle. Before he could even act, I dodged out of reach. Zion grabbed nothing but air.

“Someone's finally learning to think with their body,” he said with an amused smile. Then he shifted into something like a training stance.

“Must be what you've been doing all this time. After all, someone who thinks with their brain wouldn't leave their partner hanging off a cliff.”

Zion laughed—a sound that only made my mood worse.

“If I only thought with my body, I certainly wouldn't be thinking at all.” He circled me with a predatory gleam, and I kept backing away from him. “Did you know you're even more beautiful when you're angry? A dangerous little ray of sunshine.”

I frowned at him, trying to understand what he'd just said, but then I felt the intention again, and when he reached out, I ducked. He tried to sweep my legs, but I was already airborne before the kick landed. I dodged right while he aimed left—his hands caught nothing but wind. But Zion was no amateur, and the moment he finished his attack, I braced for the next. He feinted toward my arm, then changed direction mid-motion. Fast as a blur, he shoved me against a tree. My back slammed into it and I was ready to run, but my body wouldn't obey. My arms felt glued to the bark, along with my back.

Shadows like sticky mud pinned me in place.

“That wasn't fair!” I shouted as he approached, removing the black overcoat with Interion's symbol emblazoned on the chest.

“And you're being fair? You just saved Adele and passed a test—something that puts us even closer to breaking the agreement. Now you're growling like a furious lioness, freezing cold and refusing help, and I'm the one who's not fair?”

He spread the overcoat wide, closing in on me like a veterinarian trying to capture a wild animal.

“I don't care about that shitty agreement. I don't care about anything that involves you and Serguei playing with my life and putting me in danger.”

“You don't care?” He closed the distance between us.

I felt the shadows give way and tried to flee, but in the blink of an eye, Zion wrapped me in his overcoat, grabbed me by the waist, and threw me over his shoulder. I hung there like a rolled-up cigar, my legs bound together by the shadows. He held me in place with just one hand.

“Damn it! What do you think you're doing?” I had a prime view of his ass. I managed to free one arm from the overcoat and grabbed at his lower back, yanking up his military shirt to expose the skin. I dug my nails in, scratching him like a crazed cat. He growled at me, but it wasn't a growl of anger, and my toes curled in response.

“So you want to play?”

Suddenly I felt a hand sliding over my ass—the nightgown had ridden up and bunched around my waist. I didn't have time to think about how invasive that was, because he landed a hard slap right there, making my whole body jolt.