Page 43 of A Simple Truth

Gideon Bellator

I opened it, pulling out a beautiful, red dress, made with the softest of silks.

Jerk.I couldn’t train in this. He knew that.

I should’ve been upset at his frivolousness, but I bit on my lip instead, fighting the girly smile creeping up. I pulled the dress tight against my body as I plummeted onto my bed.

My eyes stared at the tall ceiling, wondering what in the world I had done.

24

GIDEON

It had to be poison.

She must have poisoned me.

There could be no other explanation for why my heart hadn’t stopped racing ever since her lips touched mine. Why I couldn’t sleep the whole night. Why I deliriously craved to feel her body against mine.

Poison. That’s theonlyexplanation, I sternly told myself as I stood amidst the morning dew, waiting for her to arrive. My ears were enjoying the jolly chirping song of the spring birds as they perched on the branches of the old evergreens, observing.

Sure…I had found her interesting. There was no harm in admitting that.

But anyone would.

She was strong, resilient, hardworking, smart, and kind. Her sheer will and determination, and even at times, the awful stubbornness, were most admirable.

And sure, I had enjoyed the little death glares those beautiful eyes sent me each time I tormented her. The way her perfect mouth quivered when she fought a smile on her lips at myridiculous remarks, and the way her soft hands felt against mine each time I corrected her hand motion.

That, perhaps, I enjoyed too much.

And yes, I went to bed each night with the utmost anticipation for our training in the mornings. And in the mornings, I impatiently rushed to the training ring, always looking forward to the time spent with her. And when I wasn’t actively near her, I thought about being with her.

But that didn’t mean anything. I, once again, reassured myself.

My eyes trailed the small patches of new, green grass waking from a deep winter slumber signaling the return of spring.

The crack of dry branches under her feet made my heart jump as Finnleah, in all her beauty, appeared a second later.

“General,” she greeted dryly.

“Finnleah,” I greeted her back, unable to pull my eyes away from her, no matter how hard I tried. She wore a casual, wide-sleeved shirt. Her dark brown pants hugged her muscled thighs, reminding me precisely of how good they felt when I grabbed them yesterday.

It meant nothing,I again repeated to myself, ignoring the speed at which my heart raced now that I was in her presence.

“I see you are already in youruniform,” she said, as her gaze lingered on my half-exposed body a moment too long.Such a lustful little thing.I fought back a satisfied smile.

“Sleep well?” I asked, walking to the middle of the ring.

“Better than ever,” she lied.

We warmed up slowly in a familiar sequence of movements.

“How is the loser's life treating you so far?” She perked her round chin up, proud of her clearly well-thought-out jab. I couldn’t resist a crooked smile.

“Was I a loser though?” I sent a fireball her way and she shielded against it. “Because I remember getting a kiss. Onewould hardly call that a loss,” I teased her, “Perhaps, only on account of the quality of said kiss.”

I got a well-deserved glare, fighting hard to keep the corner of my lips down as her eyes flickered with wild fury at my insinuation.

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