Page 31 of Deception

“That’s what I thought. Now kindly go scurry off to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave me the fuck alone.” I cross my arms over my chest. The movement causes my arms to brush by her, solidifying my point. I see Veronica tug at Katrina’s arm, jolting her out of her enraged state. They scowl at me before turning on their heels and marching away.

“Bye-bye now,” I call after her, giving a little finger wave to her retreating form.

“Why didn’t you tell her the truth?” Kali asks from behind me. I turn and see her brows knitted together in confusion. Yet her gaze isn’t on me. It’s on Stacia, who stares back at her for a moment before joining Katrina, her half-sister.

“People like Katrina don’t care.” I shrug. “She wants to make up whatever she can for clout, and she’ll just twist anything I say.” I harrumph, plopping back into my chair and picking up my fork to continue my interrupted lunch.

“Let’s go,” Maximus growls above me, casting a shadow over me with his towering form.

“Can’t a girl just eat her lunch in peace?” I lament, cradling my tired head in my hands.

“Yes, however, you spent the entire time talking. We have work to do.”

“Talking? You call that talking?” I survey him for a moment before shaking my head in dismay. “Of course you do.”

I lift my cup to my lips, taking large gulps of my delicious caffeinated beverage. Maximus would have to pull my cold dead body out of here before I willingly gave up my coffee fix. Satisfied, I stand from my seat and bring my plate with me.

I wave at my friends before his hand lands on my lower back, guiding me out of the dining hall. I only pause to drop off my cup, opting to eat the rest of my lunch on the way.

He cocks his eyebrow in question, and I shrug, choosing to take a bite of food instead of answering him back. I shove a large bite of chicken into my mouth and chew obnoxiously while moaning around the food. If he’s going to interrupt my lunch, I’ll do whatever I can to annoy him.

He shakes his head but doesn’t say a word, his hand steadily guiding me down the hall to the private training room just off the gym. I break off from him to pop into the changing room. Thankfully, the space would give me a few minutes to finish my lunch in peace.

“Five minutes, or I’m coming in,” he warns before pulling open the door and disappearing behind it. I shrug, shouldering open the changing room door. Maybe I wanted him to come in.

* * *

I stepinto the small private training room where Maximus is already warming up. Since we’re in a smaller space, there are two treadmills at the side.

I pause at the door, my eyes catching on Maximus’ bulging muscles as he keeps a steady pace on the treadmill. He changed into stretchy training shorts, and obviously he’s forgone a shirt, seeing as his sculpted pecs are on full display right now. My gaze runs over him lasciviously, catching on the droplets of sweat that bead on his taut skin.

“Pick your jaw up off the ground and come join me.” His voice rumbles across the room, jolting me from my trance. I scowl at the implication but decide to join him because I want to, not because he told me to.

I take my place on the treadmill, and choose the settings. I start off at a slow trot and work myself up to match his sprinting. Pride warms my chest as I match him stride for stride. My thoughts move to when I beat him at the sprint in combat class and how I tackled him to the ground. My lips tilt up at the memory, remembering his stunned face as he found me on top of him. Without warning, my thoughts take a staggering turn, and memories of the feeling of legs straddling his waist resurface.

I remember the feeling of his thick length growing beneath me, and how he cradled me against him as I slid down his body to stand on my own. How my body ran over every one of those sculpted muscles on the way.

“Cooldown,” he bellows, breaking through my concentration. And I can’t help but interpret it in more ways than one, needing to stick my lustful thoughts in a freezer for the time being. I press the cooldown setting on the machine and slow to a walk, using the few minutes of respite to center myself before our sparring lesson. Not needing to be thinking about him sexually, with his massive sweaty body looming over me. No, Liv stop, I command myself, before shutting off the machine and hopping down.

“Stretches,” he commands gruffly, and I scowl back at him. The routine has been the same for the past two weeks. I really don’t need him to bark an order at me. Going through the stretches, I attempt to keep my thoughts focused on the task at hand. I definitely do not let my gaze drift over to the surly god of destruction, watching his tight glutes as he—no, I definitely don’t do that.

Liv, you’re still upset with him, I remind myself. The memories that thought resurfaces, help me focus on the training as we move over to the mats.

We take our positions, and surprisingly he doesn’t instruct me any further. Apparently trusting me enough to maintain the stance he had drilled through my head for the first week.

He throws a punch at me, taking the offensive position, and I throw up a block. My movement comes too late to halt his quick jab, and it connects with my stomach. He pulls back his strength, but I still let out a small oomph at the impact. I ready myself for his attack, which comes in the form of a fist hurtling towards my jaw. I sidestep and bring my arms up to catch his, but he’s ready for the move and breaks out of my hold. He gives me a slight nod of approval.

He swipes out a moment later, barely giving me time to react from the last jab. His leg makes contact with my ankles, making me lose my balance. My body hurtles back, my ass landing hard against the matt with a small thud. The impact knocks the breath from my lungs. I strain to pull in another breath, but it’s startled from my lungs once he lowers himself on top of me, bracing on his forearms to hold himself just inches away from my face.

“Attack me,” he growls. The words catch me off guard, expecting some sort of strike.

“I’m trying to,” I grit out between clenched teeth, fighting off the breathy note my body urges my voice to take with his proximity.

“No, I saw you against those shadow demons. You’re holding back. Why?”

“What about you? You want me to get over my fears so badly, yet you refuse to face your own.” I throw back at him and push him off me. He rolls to the side, letting me clamber to my feet and put some distance between us.

“What are you talking about?” He follows suit and climbs to his feet, eyeing me warily across the mat.

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