Page 27 of Seduction in Blood
ChapterFourteen
Lucas held out his hand,and I grabbed it, fairly certain I wouldn't make it off the mat without his assistance. My legs were as rubbery as my soggy fettuccine. I never could cook.
"Sorry about that last move." Lucas did look apologetic, which only irritated Devon if the sneer on his lips and light glow in his fierce gaze was any indication. He'd been warning Lucas all afternoon to stop apologizing every time I hit the floor—which was a lot.
We'd been working for two hours, which had felt more like eight. I was winded and sore, discovering muscles I didn't know and hoped to never know about again. For the first twenty minutes, Devon and Lucas sparred while I watched. I could tell by their tentative moves they were holding back. They used a combination of various styles of martial arts. I was familiar with most of them, but they mixed them up in ways I'd never considered. Deadlier ways. Methods that could elude a vampire.
The problem was, when I attempted the maneuvers, my body wouldn't obey my commands, which was too familiar with my singular, rote routine. Lesson learned. And when I became more fluid in my movements, the two vampires responded by moving faster. Completely unfair. The more tired I became—my movements slower, my time on the mat longer—the more Lucas wanted to pull back until Devon snapped at him. After the third bark to stop taking it easy on me, Devon stopped asking.
I thought he'd relented until I saw the glow in his eyes. Then I wished he'd start yelling instead of finding myself pinned to the wall again. But he controlled his temper better than our first training session because he hadn't moved past his current agitated state for a solid half-hour.
"Leave us," Devon snarled, never taking his heated glare from me. Well, his tolerance lasted longer than I'd expected.
"Sir." Lucas's response was barely audible.
Devon waved a hand, and Lucas backed up but glanced my way. Not wanting to get him in any more trouble, I nodded. Devon couldn't kill me—I had a job to do.
"I'm not going to ask again. You have other work to do." Devon's growl got Lucas's attention, and he turned for the door. Before he opened it, Devon whispered something I couldn't hear.
Lucas must have heard because his shoulders relaxed, and he gave Devon a slight nod before leaving.
Not sure what might happen next, and not wanting to find myself on the mat again, I limped my way to the single bench in the room, dropping with a silent cry for my tortured body. I leaned against the wall, waiting for my breathing to return to normal and the sweat to dry.
"You're not focusing." His tone lessened from seriously angry to irritated, and I glanced up.
Devon hadn't moved from his spot across the room. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. His hair was damp, confirming that vampires did sweat, and I followed the light sheen that emphasized the lean contours of his muscles.
"I'm trying," I bit out my response, knowing it sounded weak. But, good grief, I'd been fighting two vampires for hours.
"You're not."
That pissed me off. I glared at him. Then I had to go and open my mouth. "You're using moves I'm not used to, and if you haven't noticed, the odds are two vampires against one human. It's pretty obvious you've never trained anyone before."
His eyes flashed with a dangerous glow, yet his lips quirked for a heartbeat. Was there hope he wouldn't wipe the floor with me? He uncrossed his arms and strolled toward me. I didn't squirm, but it took every muscle in my body to remain perfectly still. Was I supposed to wave my arms when a predator approached? I was pretty sure running would be a wrong move, but freezing like a proverbial sitting duck grated on my nerves.
"You knew every move we made. I've seen you perform them." He paced ten feet from me. Far enough away to not seem threatening, but I knew he could pounce that distance in a single move.
"Not like that."
"It shouldn't matter."
"It wouldn't if I had varied my routines in my training." I hung my head but kept my eyes on his feet so I knew where he was.
When silence was his response, I braved a glimpse. The glow of his eyes had receded, but his expression was still stony.
"At least you learned one thing today."
"I'm not sure what you're hoping to accomplish. How can one human hope to fend off more than one vampire?"
"You can't. You'd be lucky to handle one, even after months of training. Not unless you had a sword that could take a head. You might be lucky enough to pierce or shoot them with silver, which wouldn't kill but would at least slow them down."
I memorized those options, wondering where I could get silver bullets. Or better, a silver dagger.
As I suspected, he was in front of me before I knew it. I held my ground. He knelt, forcing direct eye contact, and for a moment, I saw something close to approval in his stern gaze.
"Have you considered the value of the skills you're learning? How they can be used in your favor when you've worked off your debt here?"
I snorted. "Right. But I'm confused. Am I supposed to seduce my next mark with a kick to his groin or to his head?"
