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Not that I cared too much. I was grateful to escape the harsh rays, even if it was only for a moment. Slapping my hand in his, I allowed him to pull me from the ground. With wobbly legs, I leaned onto Atlas for support. I was exhausted, and I still had to fight today, too! I just wanted to curl back up in bed and go back to sleep; I was so over this shit.
“Go shower and meet us in the training room in five minutes. There’s a pair of clean clothes waiting for you in the locker room,” Apollo shouted.
Turning around, he and the rest of the group made their way toward a building on the other side of the field.
“Fuck is he ever not in a shit mood?” My legs felt like jello, and my arms were throbbing from the intense exercise. While I did go to the gym a few times a week, it was nothing like this. I had muscles hurting that I didn’t even know I had.
Atlas laughed. “Not really. Apollo means well. He wants us all in top shape so he knows we can hold our own in the field. He lost a team member once, and it changed him. He’s extra hard on everybody now. It's all out of love though, he just doesn’t want to lose anyone else. Come on pretty girl, I'll show you where the locker room is.”
Still holding my hand, Atlas tugged me away from the hell course and toward another building. Once inside, I didn’t even wait for him to leave. I started stripping, leaving a mess of mud and clothes in my wake. I was in desperate need of a shower.
“You just keep taking off more clothes every time I see you bunny. Are you trying to tell me something?” Atlas’s heated glare met mine as I turned on the shower.
“Yeah, it's called Apollo only gave me five minutes to shower, and I’m not wasting a single second of it. Do you know how long it takes to wash this damn hair?” Not caring one bit that I was naked under his heated eyes, I started washing the mud out of my hair, giving him a view of my ass the whole time.
I felt his gaze rake over my body, sending goosebumps all over my skin. The cool shower did amazing things to my aching muscles, easing some of the pain from unbearable to manageable.
Maybe I should fuck Atlas; it would definitely fill the ache between my legs. I felt a blush creep up the back of my neck at that thought. As I turned to face him and stepped out of the shower, he got a full view of the front of my body and not just my ass that his eyes were glued to.
Atlas’s gaze intensified, and pure lust crossed his face. A low whistle left his lips. “Bunny, a belly button piercing and nipple piercings. You really know how to drive a man crazy.” His fists were clenched at his sides like it was taking all of his willpower to not snatch me up.
“What can I say? They make me feel like a bad bitch.” I grabbed the towel to dry off and dressed in clean clothes.
There were even new sneakers, thank god. Heaven knows I did not want to put on those other mud-covered ones. After I did a quick comb through my hair, I braided it so it wouldn’t be a knotty mess again and turned to face Atlas. “Okay let’s go before Apollo comes in here and drags me out by my hair.”
Chapter 11
Diana
Walking once again with Atlas’s hand in mine, we entered the training room. Lining the walls were so many different weapons, from bows to deadly-looking daggers.
“Sweet, what one can I start with?” I said as I pulled my hand from his grasp and made my way around the room, gawking at all the different kinds of weapons. I didn’t know there were so many. This was crazy. Just as I went to reach for a brilliant-looking sword, a hand stopped me.
“None. You’ll be using this for the time being. I don’t trust you won’t accidentally kill me in our match,” Phoenix said as he handed me a wooden staff.
He was insinuating I would actually land a blow on him. There had to be a reason he was the one sparring with me. If I had to bet, it was because he was the best. Apollo would want me going head-to-head with someone who wouldn’t hold back so he could properly access me.
Testing the staff's weight, I threw it back and forth from hand to hand. Twirling it around the back side of my hand like a baton and grabbing hold once again. It was a good four feet long and not super heavy. I looked up to see Phoenix had a similar staff in his hand.
“Okay, big guy. Let’s do this.” I turned to enter one of the taped-off squares on the padded mat. There were nine squares all over the room. I wasn’t surprised at all to see the room was empty except for us. Apollo was definitely a predictable man. I’m guessing he scheduled it this way so I wouldn’t be distracted by others engaged in combat around me.
Phoenix chuckled as he followed me. “Okay, but don’t be mad at me for what I’m about to do. Apollo said no holding back.” He had an apologetic look on his face when I turned to look at him.
He was breathtaking, with his long red hair up in the hottest man bun I’ve ever seen. His red beard was the perfect length, not super long, but more than a couple of inches. His eyes were such a beautiful amber color I could stare at them all day. The black shirt pulled deliciously across his toned abs, and the basketball shorts he had on left nothing to the imagination of what he was packing between his legs.
Fuck focus, Diana. Stop thinking about his dick. I brought my attention back to the match a second too late and caught sight of the staff being swept out towards my feet.
That’s what you get. Maybe now you’ll stop thinking about sex.
The wind was knocked out of me as my back hit the mat. “Ooph! Fuck Phoenix! I wasn’t ready. Give me a minute! Damn.”
Rolling to my knees, I got up and shot a death glare at the beautiful man. A smirk tugged at his lips and he hitched up an eyebrow.
“You stepped into the square. Lesson one: as soon as you pass over that line, be prepared for anything. There is no waiting,” he said as he swung his staff again to strike me in the side.
I stopped that attack with my staff and went blow for blow with Phoenix. This man was a machine. He was already on the next as soon as I deflected one strike. Leaving me in defense and hardly letting me get the chance to attempt a strike of my own.
I was smacking my staff left and right against his. He was faster than me, though, and every few strikes connected with my body. I was going to have some hardcore bruising when this day was over. I think he was holding back a bit because every time he connected with my body, he left an
