Page 56 of The Brotherhood

His smile was slow and sharp as he walked toward her on the mat. “That’s right, my little hot hussy. Training. But not the kind you think.”

Her spine straightened with a snap as she demanded, “What does that mean?”

“It means, little nun, I’m gonna ruin you for a soldier.”

Scarlett's brows pulled together with the new threat. “Ruin me, ruin me how?”

He stopped right in front of her, towering over her, keeping his posture lazy and confident. “You think you can overcome me?” He dropped his voice with hot challenge. “You think you can stop me?”

Her throat bobbed with the shudder of her eyelids from the effort not to see the wall of muscle before her. “I—I don’t understand what you mean.”

Spar gave a slow, knowing smirk. “Let’s just say I’m gonna be your every temptation. You’re gonna show me how ready you are to say… no.” He let the words sit between them for a second before adding, “You’ll need your armor.”

Her eyes flickered with confusion. “Armor?”

“Not literal, little sis,” he murmured, his voice almost affectionate as he reached out, plucking a stray leaf from her sleeve. “The big guns. That armor of God you taught me about.”

He watched as realization hit her like a slow-building storm. His little nun had been preparing to train her tin-men. He wasn’t sure what that even looked like, but he knew what his would look like.

He raised his palms before her, slowly stepping to the right. “Let’s see how long you last.”

She eyed his hands, her breaths deep and shallow now. “I can last however long I need to,” she assured with gaspy, frail words.

As he circled her, he studied the war in her—enjoying his new gifts. The spiked pulse, fingers curled into tiny, useless fists now.

Then she caught a second wind of courage and squared her little jaw. “You think you can shake my faith?”

Spar shook his head slowly, already seeing his first move. “Not exactly,” he said, snatching her wrist and leg-sweeping her right onto the mat hard. “Shaking would mean you haven’t already fallen.”

CHAPTER 13

Ruining Scarlett

He followed her down, pinning her wrists above her head, his body pressing against hers. His breath came slow and measured while hers was ragged.

“You weren’t ready.” His voice was low, smug.

Scarlett swallowed, glaring up at him. “You caught me off guard.”

His smirk deepened. “Because you… are off guard.”

He lingered, his massive body pressing into hers, forcing her to feel him. It wasn’t the first time they’d practiced this, but it was the first time he let her feel everything she’d wondered all along. What did his muscles feel like? All of them at once. The heat radiating from his body penetrated every part of her, causing her muscles to tense in places they shouldn’t.

His dark eyes flicked down her face, lower—searching.

Then, he let her go, pushing off her like he hadn’t just set her entire nervous system on fire.

Scarlett scrambled up, trying to shake off the shiver running down her spine. She surely could not let him win. She at least had to put up a long enough fight to prove him wrong. He wasn’t the only one teaching a lesson here.

“Again,” he ordered.

She barely had time to nod before he lunged. This time, she reacted faster, twisting her body to escape his grip. He shifted, slid in behind her and wrapped his arm around her middle, yanking her back against his chest.

Her back met the solid wall of his body, just as hard as the floor. Instead of releasing her instantly like he usually did, his lips moved to her ear. “Too slow,” he murmured.

Scarlett stiffened, her breath coming too fast, her pulse hammering against her ribs.

“Are you scared?” His voice dipped, smug and teasing. “Or is it something else?”

---