Page 16 of Burn for Me

“Again!” I yell before Caspian can get the chance to do it. Even though I did my training with him this morning, I'll have to step out of my comfort zone and do it with someone else here in a moment.

I'm fucking dreading it.

Moe groans and pulls his shirt from his shoulders. Even with the clouds covering the sun, the air is humid enough that a thick layer of sweat drips down his back.

If he’s sweating, then I’m sure… I turn my head in Jasmine's direction and watch as she pulls the hair band from her bun. The loose blonde strands fall, sticking to her head before she pushes them back into a tight ponytail.

Taking a deep breath, I shift and nod as they step on the starting line.

The click of the timer starts on Caspian's watch, and they're off. Sprinting through tires, diving under the wire, and crawling to the thick rope, they race up the side of a battered wooden wall and down the other. I have to suppress a smile of amusement when Moe gets close to Jasmine's heels, but she drops to her arse, sliding through a thick patch of fake grass and under another layer of low-hung string.

Moe struggles to crawl under the twine without setting off the alarm, falling behind as Jasmine rushes through the monkey bars. She’s pushing herself harder than usual. Typically, they’d be neck and neck the whole course, but with each run, there’s more space between them.My little devil is finally showing the hell I've always known she can bring.

The timer clicks, and she falls to her knees right at the finish, gasping for breath as Moe lets out a series of curses, dropping from the bars to snatch up his shirt.

“Enough! Moe, firing range. Jasmine, with Sam.” Caspian barks.

My brows raise in Caspian's direction. Those are the first words he’s said since Sharkie and Jasmine arrived, but they're better than nothing.

“I’ll go work with Moe.” Sharkie bites out, surely irritated by his overly possessive behavior, and she leaves him with a huff.

“Someone’s in trouble,” I mutter under my breath, and his narrowed glare turns to me as Jasmine saunters up with hunched shoulders as she rubs her hand to her arse. I tilt my head curiously at the motion.Maybe she landed on it the wrong way?She's lucky all she’ll leave here with is a grass burn and a tiny bruise. If I had it my way, that perfect plush patch of flesh would be swollen and red with my hand prints across it from her behavior. All I may know is how to inflict pain, but I’d try to kiss it away later after telling her how well she did today.

I shake my head and start walking towards the sparring mat without ensuring she’s following so I can bring those thoughts to a halt.I’m supposed to be mad at her.

“If it gets to be too much, just tap. That goes for both of you.” Tide says sternly as soon as my boots dip into the plush surface. I haven't sparred with anyone but him since I've joined.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jasmine mutters. Peeling my shirt from my back, I expose the obsidian ink that crawls over my shoulders to my knuckles and the scythe that runs along my spine.

I scoff in response, ignoring the way her stare is heating my skin.Does she think I'll hurt her?She must think this is the consequence for the shit she pulled, but technically this was the original training–the course was her punishment.

“Are you going to disobey another order?” Caspian growls.

I know she's giving me that look again–the one she shoots in my direction when she's scared or unsure–so I finally give her a small glance. It’s not much because I don't feel she has yet earned the right to be comforted, but it's enough that her chest expands and her chin tilts up.

“No, Sir.” She mutters as she steps onto the mat, aligning her fists with her shoulders.

“Relax, and don't step before you swing like usual,” I whisper to where only she can hear, pushing her body to the side until her shoulder aligns with my chest.

“It's positional sparring.” A hard punch in my direction cuts off my words as I duck. I swear this woman does everything in her powernotto listen when someone is just trying to help. Her nose scrunches, and her brows pull tight together as she tries to swing again, so I step back.

Oh. She’s mad.

I glance at Tide, and he shrugs. I know I have to handle this myself; he’s made that very clear since I won't let him kick her out.She is my responsibility.

“You have to wait until I'm in position.” I try to calm my tone, but the words come through my clenched teeth.

“Why? I'm already at a disadvantage. Isn't it logical to catch you off guard?”

A low growl bubbles in my chest. Now isn’t the time for her to argue with a superior, and if she’d use her damn brain, then she’d be able to understand that without me having to spell it out. She's missing the concept.

I open my mouth, but she doesn't stop swinging punch after punch, so I’m forced to stay silent while I duck and dodge each move.Where the hell did all this anger come from? Is it exhaustion taking over? Maybe it’s the fact that she feels cornered. I’d be able to gauge this better if I knew her history….

I'm knocked in the jaw as I try to sort through the possibilities instead of focusing on what I should do. Everything turns black, and it's as if the world has gone still when I hunch over, tracing my fingers over the tender spot.

All my senses are thrown into overdrive, forcing me to take in the salty air that sticks to my skin and voices that ring off the walls. Without thinking, I grip her calf and yank it so that she falls on her back.

“Calm down!” I snap while crawling over her as I attempt to pin her arms down. With Caspian, I’m free to move and use as much force as I please, but with her, I can’t. Just when I think I have her at my mercy, she's rolling out from under me and crawling over my back like a little damn spider monkey—wrapping her legs around my waist and her arm around my throat. I can't focus. Her movements have my mind spinning and grappling for all the ways I can flip our position.

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