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“Hold your weapon like this,” he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper, as his lips hovered dangerously close to my ear. I could feel the coolness of his breath against my neck, making me shudder involuntarily. My breath hitched in my throat, the scent of him intoxicating my senses.
“Got it,” I replied, trying to mask the sound of my shaky voice. I quickly pulled away and took a defensive stance, desperate to regain some semblance of composure.
I held my ground, readying myself for his inevitable attack. He easily outmaneuvered my parry, his movements fluid and graceful like a predatory cat stalking its prey. It was both fascinating and infuriating to watch him in action, especially given how effortlessly he seemed to anticipate my every move.
“Focus, Alice,” he reminded me. This time his voice was more stern, but I found myself enjoying it. There was something about Jack – the way he held himself, the frustrated way he looked at me – that made me want to push him even further, to see how far we could go before one of us fell apart.
And although I knew it was dangerous, I couldn’t help wanting to taste the darkness that lurked beneath his refined exterior.
Our swords clashed again. A shower of sparks erupted from the point of contact. The muscles in Jack’s arms flexed beneath his armor, the sight momentarily distracting me.
“Alice...” he growled as he pushed against me. “Pay attention!”
“Sorry,” I muttered through gritted teeth, forcing myself to concentrate on the task at hand. But it was hard – so hard – when all I could think about was what he did at night when he wasn’t here training me.
Was he at parties, seducing members of the White Queen’s court into letting him drink from them? Did he have a girlfriend? A boyfriend? One of each? Did he sleep in the nude? Did he have a dog? Maybe a pet wolf? Did he drink wine?
Did hereallynever laugh?
“Alice!”
Two smoldering red eyes were holding me captive, and it took a moment for me to realize the cool sensation on my jaw was his hand holding my chin. The sheer intensity of his gaze made my breath catch in my throat.
“Your mind seems to be elsewhere,” he said in a low growl. It was the kind of growl that made the hairs on the back of my neck immediately stand up. “Perhaps if you paid more attention, you’d stand a chance.”
I blinked at him, speechless.
Meanwhile, my inner monologue wouldn’t shut up.
Perhaps if you weren’t so fucking gorgeous and mysterious, I could concentrate better.
His eyes sparkled like rubies as they bored into mine, and in that moment I would’ve let him do anything he wanted to me. He clenched his jaw enough for me to see the muscles feather beneath his flawless skin.
But as he held my chin, I could feel his hand shaking.
Not a lot.
But it wasdefinitelyshaking.
“We’re done for today,” Jack said quietly, and abruptly let go of me. He stepped away from me and sheathed his sword.
“Are you sure? I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention. Let’s try it again.”
“No.” Glancing over his shoulder, Jack looked up at the windows. They were streaked with orange and purple...the colors of approaching twilight. “It’s late. We’ll pick up where we left off in the morning.”
“Okay.” Even though he was right about it getting late, I couldn’t help feeling like I’d done something wrong...like a line had been crossed.
“You did well today,” he mused. Then his eyes darkened. “I’ll have to go harder on you tomorrow.”
A thrill ran through me at his words.
At his praise.
At his threat.
“I can take it,” I said breathlessly as I headed for the door.
Jack’s expression turned predatory. “Can you now? We shall see.”
