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Calabrea strokes my face. "I don't have all the answers, but I do know that you're mine, and no one is going to tell me that you're not. The rest, we’ll figure out along the way.”
My heart lightens with his words. I take his face between my hands. “Thank you. How did I get so lucky?”
He grins. “What, didn’t you wiggle your nose and make me appear?”
I smack his shoulder, but he catches my hands, sliding them upward along the sheets and over my head. “The moment you sassed me you were going to be mine. I just didn’t know it at the time,” he tells me. “I wish we had more time together, here at my estate, but it will soon be dark. I need to get you something to eat. All you’ve had is that light lunch in between being ravaged. Hardly enough to give you the strength you need for the night ahead.
He reluctantly lets me up, giving me a hand to join him as we get ready for the night. “Let’s get you geared up. If you’re going to follow me into the wolves’ den, then I want you to be prepared.”
I start to retort, but he smiles, raising a hand to ward it off. “I know you are a master in martial arts, but these wolves don’t fight like humans, Tansia. They can be vicious, and when theyget their teeth locked onto you, it’s almost impossible to get them off without getting torn to shreds,” he says.
I follow him down the stairs, through the great room, and down another level of stairs. I envision ending up in a large dark dungeon with medieval torture equipment placed all around the room, but am taken by surprise when he turns on the lights.
The room is large, and it may not have windows, but it’s airy and light feeling. The floor is painted a shiny grey, and the walls are a lighter shade of grey with blue streaks and tiny little silver stars. “I didn’t do much in the way of décor down here. I just wanted a quiet space to work out, and this is what the designer came up with. He grins. “Not what you expected?”
I give him wide eyes. “I was envisioning more of a dungeon; you know, with lots of wicked torture equipment or maybe even a coffin?”
Calabrea laughs out loud. “While some like to hang onto traditions, fueling the lure, I, myself, prefer the opulence of a king-sized bed. Much more room to ravage my prey,” he says.
My cheeks heat, and he doesn’t miss it. “Minds back on our business before I carry you back to my bed.”
He opens a wall safe and pulls out a chest vest with room for two daggers from the door shelf, passing it back to me while still rummaging around. “Put it on, and I’ll let you pick out your weapons. I want you to take a long sword too,” he says, still rummaging around the safe, while I finger the one on the wall. I pull it down. It has weight and when I turn around, he’s watching me with interest.
“Not that one.”
I tilt my head to one side. “It’s special? It’s on the wall and not in the safe?”
He shrugs. “I like it to be within easy grasp. I don’t even know why the designer put a safe down here. Probably one of those trending things she was talking about for martial arts gyms.”
“Ahh.”
I step back and give it an arc. “It’s got a nice swing, a little heavier than I’m used to, but I like it. Are you sure I can’t use this one,” I tease.
He smiles and takes it from me. “Pick one and let’s go a round or two. I want to see your skills and show you a few things.”
I walk into the safe, and the minute I see the sparkling jade gem at the end of a long sword with a golden handle, I’m sold. I pick it up from its case and walk out into the open light to examine it more thoroughly, testing its weight and the handle’s feel. The black rubber encasing a band of the gold gives it extra gripping power, and after arcing it twice my selection is done.
He gestures to the large white circle on the floor. “First one out of the ring loses. Should we make a wager?”
I shrug and give him a wink. “You can if you’re a glutton for punishment.”
The gold tones in his black eyes glint. “I win, you are mine for three days. We don’t leave my bed.”
I laugh. “Why, Master Calabrea, that would be such a horrific punishment.”
He tries to contain his smirk but fails miserably. “Deal,” I tell him because for three days in heaven, I’ll let him win. I get into a stance and ready to thrust. “On guard.”
We’ve barely showered,eaten, and finished getting ready, having picked out the most optimal of weapons after multiple sparring rounds before darkness settles in over the estate.
As soon as we step outside onto the vast lawn around the estate, my mind begins to swirl with activity. I envision thefight he had with the shifters earlier. I can feel Calabrea bracing for the onslaught, almost in slow motion, waiting for it, and delivering precision moves at the exact time necessary to best his enemies.
His eyes pull mine to his. "Your heart's beating faster."
“I can see the fight you had with the shifters. The one that ran off took a path through the woods. We should go this way," I tell him.
He nods. "That's right; it’s exactly where he went, Tansia.”
"It's still a little hard for me to see in the darkness, not having acclimated to it yet."
