“No.”
“There’s nothing I can do that will replace true training in the short time we have. From what I’ve seen, you’re fast and you’re small. Those are your strengths, and we’re going to practice a few things to take advantage of those. Here.” He presented the small switchblade, pressing the button to release the six-inch blade. “This is meant to stop people long enough so you can get free and run the hell away, not for killing people. I’m going to teach you the best places to strike, and we’ll practice until you get it down.” He pressed the hilt into her hand, her fingers reflexively curling around the metal.
Long moments of silence followed where she did nothing but stare, until she lifted her head. “I don’t understand. Why would you give this to me?”
“I’m not your enemy,” and damn, he didn’t want his voice sounding that low, that rough. He cleared his throat. “I don’t want you hurt. You’re vulnerable, and you need some type of protection.”
“What if I try to use it against you?” Her tone was flippant, but her eyes had a haunted cast, a regretful space that spoke to their strange dynamic, where it hurt that possibility even existed.
“You could practice twelve-hours a day for the next ten years, and you wouldn’t be able to get me. I can’t be touched by you, not this way.”
The flash of fire – of challenge – in her eyes had him wishing to wind his arms around her, to bring her in tight and nuzzle the delicate line of her neck, wanting to know if her skin was as soft in reality as it was in dreams.
He shut that line of thought down, blanking his mind of everything but the training. The lithe lines of her body moving under him represented how well she kept her form. The sheen of sweat on her skin spoke only to how she exerted herself during the training. Her heavy breathing that hit his ear only told of her seriousness in learning.
Nothing else, dammit. Nothing else. And if his body was more rigid than it should be while demonstrating each move, it’s not as if she’d know the difference.
They worked for hours, and at the end she collapsed to the ground. “If we do any more I’ll be a noodle tomorrow.”
That he didn’t want. They were safe now, but that could change at a moment, and her hobbled would not help them in any getaway attempt. “You did well. It would be a good idea to stretch out, maybe soak to minimize soreness.”
Amana rose with stilted movements, her body showing the strain his training had inflicted on it. Nothing serious, but she had been affected.
Before his brain could stop him, his mouth opened and he said, “I could also give you a rubdown.”
Her head shot up and her dark eyes locked with his, wary confusion and an undeniable heat blossoming in their depths. Damn. Double damn. Yet again, his mouth got him in trouble, and the problem was being here, with her, looking at her so small and fierce, he forgot why everything he’d felt from the beginning was such a bad idea.
The ringing of his cell broke through their connection, jolting him away from those eyes. He grabbed for it like a drowning man grabbing for a life preserver. “Yeah.”
Nemesis’s voice floated through the speaker. “Got news you don’t want to hear, but figured I should tell you anyway. The Guild is going after Hadrien too.”
And fuck all, there went his last hope. They knew. Fuck. “You still willing to do me that favor?”
“Course, darlin’. But don’t ever say you don’t owe me, just a little.”
“It looks like I’ll be owing lots of people, but if I get through this, I’ll make good on it.”
“Never thought otherwise.” And the call disconnected.
His feelings must be showing on his face, because any trace of wary desire had left Amana’s eyes, and now pure wariness was all that was left. “What’s going on?”
Their cat-and-mouse, his tiredness battling both his desire for her and his body’s need for sleep were all were wearing on him. It was hard to sift through everything that was riding him, to make the decision on what he could tell and what was best kept from her. This part, though, seemed safe enough. “The Guild is after Hadrien.”
“Why would the Guild be after Hadrien? You’re the one with the book.”
And her knowing about that part wasn’t safe, not at all. “Because the Guild is all about the nuclear option. If there is any chance it will work, they’ll do it and worry about the consequences later. Now come on,” he said, reaching out to place his hand at the small of her back but not touching her, only using his body to guide her. “It’s time to get inside.