Page 81 of Malice
Merri nodded, tightening her ponytail as she repeated it back to me, “Right, left, right, left hook, and front kick. Then switch.”
I smacked the pad and braced. “Let’s go then. We’re wasting time.”
Her jabs were powerful enough they’d do damage to a human, but nowhere near so strong as to drop a demon. I worried, as I always did, that if she found herself up against a supernatural creature without us around to help, she’d be a sitting duck. She needed us with her, and even if she chose Sin or Malice over me, I’d always be there for her. I’d protect her for the rest of her days while one of them claimed her nights.
Fuck.
Just the thought of not getting to have her in my arms again after her choice was made sent agony ripping through me. I was so caught up in the thought, I didn’t realize my grip had relaxed and the shield positioning had slipped. Merri was still focused on herself, like I’d taught her, so it wasn’t until the exploding pain in both my cock and balls that either of us understood what happened.
I crashed to my knees with a garbled, “Motherfucker.”
“Ohmigod! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
Nausea rolled my stomach as the shield fell and I clutched my throbbing crotch. Everything hurt and I was dying.
“No,” I wheezed, tears blurring my eyes.
“Chaos, I... shit. I didn’t know you dropped your shield. I was just focused on the?—”
“Stop. Talking.” Every word was a chore, but I needed her to stop apologizing for my mistake. She was kneeling next to me at this point, but being upright was more than I could bear, so I curled in on myself and rolled to the side.
“Can I get you something?” she whispered, as if her volume was the issue. “An ice pack, maybe?”
“Just leave me here to die.”
She plopped down on her ass next to me. “Well, that’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“No.”
Merri laughed. “Aw, come on. I’m sure that isn’t the first time you’ve gotten clocked in the nuts.”
“It’s not any less terrible with repetition, Red. It’s always bad. The worst.”
She ran her fingers through my hair, brushing a lock away from my face. “What can I do?”
“Nothing. I just have to wait it out.”
“Are you sure? I could kiss him better. You know, since I was so mean to him.”
There was a definite twitch of interest, but it only sent another wave of agony through me. “For the love of God, please stop. I can’t?—”
Picking up on my distress, she smothered her laugh. “I really am sorry. I feel terrible. I should have realized you were distracted and pulled the kick.” She bit her lip and studied me, her hand sort of hovering over my head. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“My mangled dick?”
She stuck her tongue out at me as I gingerly got to my feet. “Whatever is on your mind?”
“I’m fine.” Holding a hand out, I helped her up before I began walking with slow steps to the end of the room. The best way to get over this kind of injury was to walk it off. Even if it hurt like a sonofabitch.
“You’re clearly not. You’ll barely look at me.”
I gave her a look filled with meaning. “Looking at you hurts.”
A wounded expression crossed her face before her eyes dropped to the hand at my crotch and her eyes widened. “Oh.Gotcha. Guess I should have gone for the baggy sweats and loose shirt combo instead of this lycra number.”
“Wouldn’t make a difference. You could be wearing a flour sack and I’d still want you.”
Her cheeks went pink, gaze now trained on the floor. How could this beautiful, powerful creature still be shy around any of us? She certainly wasn’t shy around Sin.
