by Fleur Smith
“Tomorrow it is then,” I murmured moments before he claimed my lips.
“GET UP.” Clay’s voice was unrelenting and unrepentant.
I groaned. Every part of my body ached, even the parts I didn’t know had existed until they’d begun to protest against having to work so hard.
“Get off the ground and attack me again.” He didn’t seem to care that I was in agony on the floor.
“Just give me a minute to catch my breath,” I begged.
“Do you think any of the Rain will give you a time-out if you’re in the middle of a fight?”
I dragged myself to my feet. “No, but I don’t see any of them around here right now. All I see is you.” Being an ass, I added silently.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You asked me to train you, and I am, but you have to take it seriously.”
“I did ask you to train me, and you’ve been doing a damned good job of it.” I moved away from him. “Too damned good,” I murmured under my breath.
He was overly demanding, training me for hours at a time every single day. We barely spoke lately outside of his barked instructions. I brushed the dirt off myself and turned back toward him, immediately falling into the defensive position he’d shown me.
“Ready now?” he asked with a derisive tone in his voice.
Not for the first time, I regretted reminding him of his promise to train me. When I didn’t answer, he took it as confirmation that I was ready for another round of sparring and his arm shot forward without any additional warning. I ducked to avoid his fist before reaching for it the way he’d shown me. My hands grabbed at his wrist, and I used the advantage to pull his body closer to mine. He hadn’t shown me any actual throws yet, although I was beginning to long for the day he would so I could force him onto his ass for once.
“Good,” he murmured against my ear. His breath tickled across my neck as he spoke.
Under any other circumstances, it might’ve been enjoyable, but I ignored the feeling of warmth it caused in my middle. I’d learned on day one that he refused to allow any pleasure or distraction to interrupt his training methods.
“Now let’s do it again.” He stepped away and, without even giving me a moment to reset, launched another attack.
I twisted at the last second, narrowly avoiding his fist. Still spinning, I reached for his wrist and pinned it to the side of my body.
“I wasn’t ready,” I complained.
He rolled his eyes. “You think someone attacking you is going to wait until you are ready? They’ll find a moment of weakness and attack.”
My anger spiked as he went to pull his hand back. I refused to let go, and a moment later, the scent of singed hair filled the air.
“Ow, Evie!” He yanked his hand away. “You’re supposed to be learning how to defend yourself without using that ability.”
“You think if someone attacks me, the sunbird won’t react?” I countered in the same tone he’d used on me moments earlier.
He rubbed the spot where I’d burned him and narrowed his eyes at me. “That’s not the same thing.”
“It’s entirely the same thing.”
“I thought you wanted me to teach you how to defend yourself?”
“I did. I do! I just don’t want to lose what we have in the process.”
“Lose what we have?” He looked at me for a moment, genuinely lost and confused over my words. For a moment, I felt sorry for him, until I remembered his barking instructions. “What do you mean?”
“You’re being an ass, and it makes me not want to be here with you.” I stepped toward him, reaching out for his hand. “I miss you.” I wrapped my fingers around his.
“Miss me? I’m right here.”
I brought his hand to my lips. “I miss this. Us.”
“You think I’m being too demanding?” he asked.
I barked out a laugh and immediately regretted it. “A little.”
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I know we’re here alone, but that could be interrupted any day now.”
“I know,” I said. “And I do get it, but you need to know when to back off.”
“Back off?” he repeated.
I nodded. “And when to let loose a little. There’s nothing wrong with slacking off from time to time, so long as we’re covering what we need to. Look how much I’ve learned already, and it’s only been a few weeks.”
“You’re a fast learner.”
I smiled and stepped closer to him. “All I’m saying is maybe training doesn’t have to be all work.”
He tilted his head as he assessed me.
“Maybe it can be a little bit of fun too?” I turned in his arms so my back pressed against his front.
“A little bit of fun?” he repeated, his breath tickling over my hair. “Won’t that be distracting?”
I closed my eyes as the warmth of his body and the delightful sensation of his soft breath against the back of my neck sent desire flooding through me. “Immensely distracting, but even that could prove to be a useful training technique.”
He pressed his lips against the back of my neck. “How so?” he murmured against my skin.
“You know, training to be prepared under any situation and all that.”
“I think you’re a little devious.”
I turned around again and wrapped my arms around his neck. “As if you didn’t already know that.”
“I’ll think about what you said,” he murmured as he kissed me. “I want you to be safe, but I don’t want it at the cost of pushing you away.”
“Me either,” I said as our kisses grew hotter. “We just need balance.”
He lifted my legs around his waist and threaded his hands into my hair. “Balance is definitely not a bad thing.”
I chuckled against his lips. “Now who’s being devious?”
With his arms wrapped around me, I stopped to breathe in the moment. For once, I didn’t need to run. Wrapped in the embrace of the forest around us, our cabin was nestled far from prying eyes. I was safe and exactly where I needed to be, tucked away with Clay in our secluded little corner of the world.
We could finally be together, alone and undisturbed.
At least for the moment.
THE END
Evie and Clay return in Into the Rain:
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Excerpt:
We walked about half a mile from our shack, heading straight into the thickest part of the forest—moving away from the place where I’d seen the shadow . . . or something. The sun was out, but the expanse of tall pine trees in the forest blocked most of the light and gave the whole area an otherworldly feel. I’d been into the forests often enough during our stay in Sweden, but it was different coming in so soon after the possible sighting of the shadow. Sinister even. Every deepened silhouette gained new menace.
The dark patches and huge pine trees reminded me of the forest in Germany where I’d gone in, guns blazing—literally—to attack the shadow. The only difference was that then pine needles littered the ground beneath the trees and now it was a layer of powdery snow.
The deafening cry of pain and the crack of the gunfire reached to me from that time, echoing in the silence around me. The force of the thought was strong, the memory so vivid, that my heart raced and I froze in place, unable to take even one more step. My knees trembled, ready to give out beneath me.
“Evie?” Clay questioned when I came to a sudden stop.
I glanced at him, and he must have seen some indication of my concern in my eyes.
He frowned for a moment, before deciding on something and nodding to himself.
“Okay, let’s do a few practice shots here first, shall we? We can move onto hunting some deer a little later.”
I agreed, once again thankful that he seemed willing to try to take my mind off the possible threat. I tried to play along and fake it as best as I could.
“On one condition,” I said.
He tilted his head in qu
estion.
“I get to try some actual hunting before you take over and ruin it for me this time.”
“You’re just upset because I hold the record for most kills,” he said.
I gasped indignantly. “We’ve only gone hunting with the bow twice, and the first time you wouldn’t even let me touch the damned thing.”
He grinned, and I saw his devious intention. He’d clearly chosen words that were certain to gain a reaction and ignite the fire that burned within, bringing me back to the light.
“Okay, I promise this time you can try to bag us some food. But if you miss after three shots, I win.”
My lips split into a grin. “Sure, I’ll try. And if I lose, it’ll simply be a reflection on the quality of my trainer,” I teased in retaliation.
“Well then, I better make sure that you don’t miss, because I happen to know for a fact that your trainer is one of the best around.”
“That he is. He’s super modest too.”
Clay chuckled as he handed me the bow before pulling the quiver of arrows off his shoulder and placing it on the ground. Next, he threw an arm guard and shooting glove at me. After slipping them on as fast as I was able, I let him know that I was ready. He handed me the quiver, which I slung onto my back.
“Perfect,” he said. “Let’s practice nocking the arrow first. You’re going to need to learn how to do it quickly if you want to use the bow for hunting.”
“Or for self-defense,” I added in a murmur.
He frowned at my meaning, knowing he hadn’t been as successful in taking my mind off the shadow as he’d hoped.
Reaching over my shoulder, I grabbed an arrow from the quiver before pressing the back of it against the string, leaving one finger on either side of it and half-drawing the bow.
“Not bad,” he said. “But try it again. Faster this time.”
Tugging the arrow loose of the bowstring, I put it back into the quiver and tried again, striving to increase my speed. After successfully nocking the arrow ten times, getting successively quicker with each attempt, I was pleased with my progress, and Clay seemed to be suitably impressed as well.
He grinned widely. “Perfect. Now let’s try aiming. Remember, keep the shaft perpendicular to the target and use both of your eyes to sight your mark.”
Nodding, I held the bow in my left hand and placed my feet parallel to each other.
“This time, nock the arrow and do a practice draw. Keep your eyes on the target as much as you can.”
Lifting the large bow in my arms, I leveled it and lined up my shot before loosening the draw and dropping the bow. “How’s that?”
“Show me again.”
I repeated the process, and he watched closely, assessing each of my movements and studying my hands.
“Very good, but you’re aiming a little low.” He shifted behind me so that the front of his body was flat against my back before whispering, “Like this,” in my ear as he wrapped his fingers around mine and lifted the bow in front of us.
I had to take a deep breath to steady myself at the feel of his body pressed against my back. It was all too easy to get distracted when he used his hands-on teaching methods.
“You got it?” he asked, letting me hold the bow myself and tracing his hands along the backs of my thighs.
“Yep,” I squeaked, earning a chuckle from him as he stepped away to give me some space.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fleur Smith is the paranormally inclined pen-name of Michelle Irwin.
Other books by Fleur Smith:
Daughter of Fire Series:
Prequel: Under the Magnolia
Book 1: Through the Fire
Book 2: Rise from Ash
Book 3: Into the Rain
Book 4: Igniting the Spark
Son of Rain Series:
Book 1: Besieged by Rain
Book 2: Among the Debris
Book 3: Court the Fire
Book 4: Living with Embers
Fall for You Series:
Book 1: Happily Evan After
Book 2: All Amity Allows
Also coming soon:
Tales from Motor City series
