Page 6 of Their Demon

“Good.” I held my hand up, palm facing her. “Punch me.” I tapped my palm. “Right here.”

She got back in her stance, and I watched her feet.

“Wait,” I stopped her. I walked around to her side. “Move your left foot a little,” I said as I pushed my hand against her thigh, helping her find the correct position. “And your right foot needs to be here.”

Once her feet were correctly placed, I wrapped my arms around her and grabbed her forearms, showing her how to hold them.

Our breaths quickened as the multiple points of contact sunk in, the closeness of our bodies becoming apparent. My thumbs moved against her soft, pale skin. I knew her heart was racing; I could practically hear it.

Holy shit. Her voice was like a breathy moan in my head.

“Focus,” I whispered through gritted teeth, trying to rein in emerging thoughts of ripping off her skimpy clothes and fucking her against the wall.

Lillian turned her head to look at me with wide eyes, most likely having heard my indecent thoughts, but I refused to look at her as I responded.

I can’t, Lillian.

Why not?She flexed her hips, pressing her ass into me.

My already-hard cock strained against my pants, and I couldn’t hold back my groan.

Lillian…I warned her.Wecan’tdo that.

“You never tell me why,” she muttered, looking away from me.

I sighed. “Lillian, you don’t understand. It’s not that simple.”

She pulled away, my body immediately missing hers, and spun to face me with a perplexed look. “Not that simple? What’s that supposed to mean, Keir?”

Though I did it often, I really did hate upsetting her in this manner. If only she knew how much I wanted her, how much I craved her.

“There’s too much on my plate to worry about a girl,” I said bitterly, instantly wishing I could take back my words.Fuck. I hadn’t meant to say something so harsh. She was so much more than some girl.

“So I’m not good enough for the heir’s attention?” she bit back. “I see how it is.” She took two steps toward the door. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Lillian, you need to—”

“I said no.” She sounded, and looked, fed up and angry.

“Lillian…” My voice sounded like a threat, but I wasn’t sure what I intended to do to her if she continued to disobey me.

She continued to the door, though, completely ignoring me.

My chest tightened, knowing I was losing her, knowing I’d pushed her too far. I hadn’t meant to hurt her, just keep her at arm’s length, which was getting more difficult each day. My frustration was being let loose on her. While it wasn’t fair, I was still making the right choice. It sucked, but there were bigger things at stake, and right now, she needed to train for her life.

“Lillian!” I demanded with a rough, loud voice.

Her stop was abrupt, as if she was shocked I would speak to her that way. We both were. She turned on her heels to face me, her jaw clenched tight and her eyes daring me to yell at her again.

Neither of us spoke for several moments. We just stared at each other intensely, waiting for the other to crack and admit defeat.

I squeezed my eyes shut briefly before opening them at the same time as my mouth. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised myvoice like that.” She rolled her eyes, and it annoyed the fuck out of me, but I deserved her resentment. “I just… I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you when it’s my fault he found you in the first place. I promised you would be safe here.” I paused. “I let you down.”

Her eyes softened a bit. “Keir, it’s not your fault.”

I ignored her tenderness. It was undeserved. “These trials willnotbe easy. You need to focus on building your endurance and strength. We need to focus on protecting you and getting you ready.That’swhat we should be focusing on, Lillian. Please.” I knew I sounded desperate, but I needed her to concentrate on training so she would be here with us for a long time.

Maybe if I knew she would be here for a long time, if I knew she was here to stay, perhaps I’d pursue her. Perhaps we cou—

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