Page 40 of Encounter

“They’ll continue doin’ it, you know?” The melancholy in his voice took me by surprise. I didn’t understand where it was coming from or why. “They’ll keep doin’ it even if you try to fight back and fail—same as they’ll continue if you don’t resist.”

Lowering my eyes, I made a short step back. “You... don’t understand,” I whispered.

“I wasn’t born with a six-pack and a combat brochure burned into my mind,” he informed me bitterly, and I slowly started to feel like I was a child that he was trying to pass his wisdom to.

What he said might have been true, but there was nothing about us that was even comparable. He was foolish to even imply I could ever be like him.

Frustration over that fact—and that I didn’t seem to be able to change it—made me clench my fists. “I can’t afford to get beaten up and attract more attention,” I mumbled, looking away and attempting to stop my cheeks from puffing up. “People like you are born, and they... act with their gut. They don’t care what happens because they know they’ll manage. I’m— I’m expected to be polite, to always bow down, that’s how everyone expects me to be.”Shit, Galen, shut up already. “I can’t do what you would do, I— I wish I could, but I don’t know how to fight back or how to think the way you do.”

“Then why are you here?”

His blunt question made my heart hiccup. My eyes were drawn toward his as my brain urged me to assess the danger.

Stepping to me, his heavy boots entered the field of my vision. “Clearly, things can’t stay the way they’re now, huh? We’re wastin’ time.” His voice—deep, laced with frustration and impatience—made me want to retreat like a scared doe. As he let out a loud sigh following my silence, I hoped he was going to walk away, but instead, he came closer and grabbed my arms.

Yelping in shock, I barely registered what was going on. Turning me around and twisting my arms behind my back, he pushed me to make a few shaky steps toward the padded wall and pressed my face against it.

Panic spread through my body like a prickly below-zero breeze.

Chast held me, his large hand managing to wrap around both of my wrists while the other tightened around the nape of my neck. His thigh blocked me from pushing back, resting against my pelvis.

“Come on! Fight back a little,” he snarled into my ear with feral vibrations pulsing through his voice. The images of him beating those guys to death flashed in front of my eyes, making me groan and sink even further underneath his grasp.

Is he going to hurt me? He wouldn’t, would he?

“You gave up, just like that. Maybe I was wrong.” He paused. “Maybe I went ‘bout it the wrong way. The boring, standard training won’t do shit for you. You think too much. Always stuck in your head.”

Sucking in my lip, I took in a shaky breath and squirmed under his hold, desperately trying to make my voice come out.

“Let’s do this then. It’s happenin’ right now—youneedto fight back. Do it!”

Twitching as he raised his voice, I opened my eyes and saw his face in my peripheral vision. He didn’t seem as angry as I thought; instead, there was this strange focus in his gaze. And he wassoclose.

“It’s not good enough for you to listen to theory, to stand there and play pretend, so is it pain that’ll finally motivate you? Is it pain that’ll make you put your fucking heart into this?” His hand radiated heat as he wrapped it even tighter around my wrist. Pressing me into the wall mat with his body, he finally pushed me far enough to speak.

“Enough!” I gasped.

The moment I said it, he eased off, stepping away to let me breathe again. Now that my face wasn’t glued to the mat, I could glance over my shoulder at him, but Chast still held my arms, still had control over me.

“Fear is the only intense reaction I keep seein’ from you,” he said, looking me right in the eyes. “Surely, that can’t be everythin’ you run on.” Again—his voice dipped and smoothed.

I have no idea what I run on, what I feel or what I should do!

Staring at him with my mouth half open, I was ready to beg him to let me go, even knowing it was probably going to lead to him giving up on this. All I could think about was how much I wanted the fear to go away, how much I didn’t want him to see me like that. Before I could speak again, I saw his gaze dip down.

Parting his lips, Chast looked toward my crotch.

Feeling a drip of sweat running down my face as I did the same, another wave of embarrassment washed over me. His amused chuckle echoed in my ears.

“Fuck... I’m breakin’ your hand, and you’re gettin’ hard.”

Wishing for it all to be a bad dream, I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to throw up.Shit, shit shit! You can’t be turned on right now.

When I finally opened them again, I saw him studying the tent in my shorts, and the expression on his face was terrifying. Like he just uncovered something, something—

Is he going to be disgusted? Is he going to hurt me?

The way he shifted his gaze and locked it on me rendered me completely unable to fight back. The faint smirk found its way on his lips, the lips which were so close to me I could feel his breath on—No, stop. You have to stop being this way!

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