I followed as he swiped us angrily
through another set of double doors, this one lead to a large room. The walls
were covered with padding and the blue floor was kind of bouncy, it was
quartered with a red cross that divided the room into large squares. I
bounced a little on the balls of my feet; it was obviously some kind of
training room.
Bravnica walked to the furthest
square discarding his jacket then his jumper to the floor as he went, I
followed warily. As soon as my foot crossed the red line of the last square it
was swept out from under me. I felt myself falling backwards and braced for the
impact but it didn’t come. Bravnica caught me just before I hit. His eyes
searched mine briefly before he spoke. “If I were a Kudlak, you would be dead.”
He let go and I dropped the final
distance to the floor, landing with a dull thud.
So this is how it’s gonna be.
I rolled to regain my feet,
determined to prove myself. We started circling, each waiting for the other to
make the next move. Watching for him carefully I kicked off my flats and
shrugged out of my cardigan, thankful that I’d worn loose fitting pants and a
light top.
He moved again, so fast that my mind
was still trying to process his direction when he had me, held securely from
behind I had no idea how he’d gotten there. He trapped my arms across my chest
with his left hand and used his right to slowly tilt my head back, exposing the
delicate skin at my throat. Goosebumps prickled as he lowered his mouth and I
could feel the heat of his words as his lips hovered just above my skin. “Dead
again.”
It was only a whisper but it sent
shock waves coursing through me and I grappled to regain my scattered wits. We
were circling again; I could feel the weight of his gaze as it poured over me.
A shift that had occurred behind those ice blue eyes, it was subtle but base
and my instinct were screaming at me. To do what I didn’t know but at some
point his anger had turned to something else. Just as urgent, just as powerful.
I ruthlessly stamped out the memory
of how his breath felt on my throat and started to formulate a plan. I figured
as long as I let him call the shots I didn’t stand a chance. I needed to put
him on the back foot but keep my distance at the same time. He was much more
powerful than me and as soon as he had a hold of me it’d be over. Using my legs
was my best bet.
I attacked; my sidekick was aimed at
his ribs, but ended up being caught in his hands. I let out a growl of
frustration to which he responded with a chuckle. My foot still held firmly in
his hands I hopped to straighten up, as soon as I had my balance he gave a
little tug sending me falling forwards and into his arms. Crushed against his
body he looked down at me. My unsteady breath mingled with his and for one
crazy delicious second I thought he was going to kiss me, instead he breathed.
“Dead.”
I pushed back, annoyed at his game
but even more annoyed at myself. Had I actually wanted him to kiss me?
“You’re only proving my point.” We
started circling each other again. “This is why I need to train, so that I can
protect myself and my family if I need to.”
He shook his head. “You can’t protect
them like this.”
Frustrated I lashed out, rushing him
with a barrage of fists which he deftly caught, pulling them down he
transferred them into one hand to anchor low at my back. The angle caused my
breasts to thrust upward and I was painfully away of my breathlessness as my
chest heaved against him. I struggled to break free as he walked me steadily backwards
and pressed me into the soft padding of the walls. Anger surged and I made to
raise my knee but he predicted the move and let the weight of his lower body
pin mine. Trapped by my weakness and angered by my own bodies’ want for his I
bucked, trying to break free. He growled in my ear. “Not like this Ana.”
He pressed harder and I stilled
giving him my best I-hate-you look.
He watched me patiently, letting the
silence settle between us before speaking. “You are not built to fight Kudlak.”
My breath was ragged. I knew he was
going to teach me a lesson, I just didn’t predict it being this hard to
swallow. It was obvious now that Garrick had been pulling his punches.
The back of my eyes began to burn and
I looked away, trying to control my tumbling emotions but he used his free hand
to tilt my chin so that I couldn’t avoid his gaze.
“Hand to hand they will kill
you every time. If you really want to be able to protect yourself and your
family you must harness your power.”
He released my hands and eased himself
off of me, standing close enough to catch me if I decided to bolt. I didn’t,
there was no point. He waited till I looked up, his eyes searched mine out.
There was desperation in them, which he didn’t try to hide.
“It’s my job to protect you Ana; it’s
your job to run…”
