“One thing I can say, your reflexes are really good, Elena. I don't recall seeing that before in a first year.”
I gave him the whatever look.
He chuckled. “I'm serious, no joke.”
“You’ll say otherwise when you see me sparring with Collin,” I said, wincing at the thought.
“Get here early and you might show him a thing or two,” he said and forced me to get ready for another round.
“Don't you ever get tired?”
“I’ve got plenty of energy left,” he flirted, pounding his fist on his chest and jumping up and down like a boxer.
“Oh, please, you're going to kill me if you say the break is over.”
“That's your second problem; you're nowhere near as fit as you need to be. So I suggest a two-mile run every morning.”
I grunted.
He gave me a hard slap on the ass that made me shriek. “C’mon, Elena, you’ll thank me after a month.”
If you live that long. I thought as my eyes narrowed.
He chuckled seductively, making me forget why I was upset. Then he attacked me again. His blows grew stronger after each swing.
I blocked two of them and landed on my butt. I didn't want to get up, but when he offered me his hand, I had no choice.
“Becky was right, you are a slave-driving maniac,” I said, still out of breath.
“You complain on the first day. Sweetheart, I see hard times for you,” he joked. For the love of blueberries, I hoped it was a joke.
He only gave me thirty seconds before he attacked me like a samurai lunatic. It didn't look so hot when I was facing him. I blocked five of his blows before my strength got the better of me, and I found myself flat on my back once again.
He pulled me up one more time, not accepting my surrender. It carried on like that for the next hour. When we were finally done, I thought I was going to drop dead right in the dome. I lay down on the cold floor, and placed my flushed cheek to the cool surface. He could even leave me there, I didn't care.
He came to sit down next to where I’d almost passed out. I heaved like someone that had run for two days straight and my parched throat made me feel like puking. “You're not bad, Elena.” He touched my leg.
“I beg to differ.”
“I know you don't see it right now, but I wasn't kidding about that run. So I suggest you go to bed early. I took it easy on you today.”
I gave him the excuse me look.
“Get up and take an afternoon nap. You look like hell.”
“I can't.”
He shook his head, picked me up, threw me over his shoulders as if I was a bag of flour, and carried me to my room.
I felt his hands on my legs, pulling me gently off his shoulder. When I reached his waist, he held me in place, and my legs automatically wrapped around him. Our lips found each other, and we kissed for a long time. It turned into a different kind of war,and I finally understood the phrase“Love is a battle field”.
He grunted and chucked me on the bed.
“I must go, before I do something we might regret,” he said, and I could hear the strain in his voice. I laughed.
“Am I too much for you, Prince Lucian?” I teased him, looking at him suggestively.
“Sweetheart, you have no idea,” he whispered, leaned down to give me another soft kiss before forcing himself out the door.
I couldn't stop smiling, but I was so tired that I dozed off a couple of seconds later.
It felt like I had only been asleep ten minutes when Becky's alarm clock went off.
“Becky!”
“It's not mine, it's yours,” she yelled back.
My eyes flew open. I didn't own an alarm clock.
“Elena, shut that thing off,” Sammy growled.
I saw a small digital clock right next to my bed, showing it was 4:45 am. The sun hadn’t even woken yet and I had to get up. I struggled to get out of bed. Getting down on all fours and crawling to the bathroom. I smelled like I’d just rolled out of a dumpster.
I needed the showerfor my aching muscles; the knots made it feel like I’d carried weights on my shoulders. This guy was really messing up my routine. Usually I took a shower after exercising, not before.
I pulled on some sweatpants and a shirt, hoping that it wouldn't be cold. When I got out of the bathroom, it grew lighter outside. My joints didn't want to work, and my knees didn't want to bend.
I found the slave driver stretching near the cafeteria. He tried to suppress his laughter but failed. Only when I pointed my finger in his face and gave him the not now look did he bite his lip, which made him look extra hot. I looked away so that I could at least stay mad for a minute.
“You should have stretched yesterday. Sit on the floor. Let’s see what we can do.”
The moment I tried to bend my knees, I tipped over. He caught me right before I landed flat on my face.