Page 15 of Their Demon

There was no way for my mother not to win, and no one would contest the help he gave her. We would get no such luxury. He’d make the trials impossible and do everything he could to ensure Lillian received no help.

The whole thing felt hopeless; however, we had no choice but to prepare her the best we could. I wasn’t entirely sure what would happen to me if she… I didn’t even want to think about that right now.

“We’ll work on dodging for now, okay?” My voice was smooth and assuring.

She nodded and swallowed before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and looking down at the mats.

“Stop that,” I said, the sight of her chewing on her lip making me want to do the same. “Look up. You need to see where the punches are coming from.”

She looked up at me, and had my self-control failed me, I would’ve grabbed her face and claimed her mouth with mine, biting, sucking, and kissing her sweet, delicious-looking lips until they were swollen and sore. She looked so innocent as shestood before me, her breathing quick and cheeks tinged pink, though I knew the truth.

Lillian cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows, giving me a ‘what’re you thinking about’ look. I held my arms in front of me, gesturing for her to do the same.

Once her arms were up, I swung my fist.

A squeal left her lips as she brought her arms together to block her face. She closed her eyes, her body cowering to make itself as tiny as possible, remaining that way for several seconds before realizing she’d felt no impact and opened her eyes.

She flung her hands to her sides and stood tall, loads of fury filling her little body. “Youweregoing to hit me. You liar!” she yelled.

I laughed, which only made her angrier, and put my fists down. “If I wanted to hit you, I would have, princess, but I didn’t. I just wanted to see what reaction comes naturally to you.”

She huffed and shook her head in disbelief. “I think most would scream and duck if a fist flew at their face, you dick.”

I shook my head at her, a cocky smirk taking over my lips.

“Then what would you do?” she said with so much attitude, it made the palm of my hand itch to spank the brat out of her.

“Hit me and find out.”

She let out a short, choked laugh. “I think I’d rather not. You’re different. That’s hardly fair.”

“Hit me, Lillian. I’ll show you what reaction you should have. That is… if you’re not some weak, pathetic human afraid of a little hard work.”

My insult did the trick. She reared her arm back, the action taking her too much time, and attempted a punch aimed at my face.

I grabbed her hand in my palm, stopping her movement, and was pleasantly surprised to find her other fist coming at me too, though I caught that one just as easily in my other hand. I hooked her leg with mine and swept it out from under her, catching her off guard and sending her to her back on the mat.

Her eyes closed tightly when I crouched down over her.

An amused chuckle escaped my lips, and she glared at me.

“You okay?” I asked as I offered my hand to her.

Her upper lip twitched, but she remained silent as she stood up from the mat without my assistance.

Yeah, she was fine.

She continued to look at me, or maybe past me. I couldn’t be sure, and her face turned from angry to uneasy before she turned from me and headed toward the door leading out of the gym.

“Lillian.” I followed close behind her, afraid I’d hurt her or pushed her too far. “Where are you going? We aren’t done.”

She paused with her hand on the door and let out a quiet breath.

That’s when I felt it.Her. Suddenly, I was crowded with feelings of dread, fear, inadequacy, and the desire to surrender.

No.

I wouldn’t let her give up. Not now. Not ever. We were going to fight. We were going to win. She’d accomplish the impossible and be here with us forever.

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