Page 14 of Nyx
“Okay!” I shriek, trying again in vain to knock Ronan off me. “I’m sorry for cutting your hair, alright? I thought it would be fine, like last time!”
“Last time?” he bellows.
“Yeah, when I chopped off that huge chunk in the back and you didn’t even notice…”
“What?!” Ronan roars as he reaches behind him to feel his long locks. His distraction allows me to spin onto my back, and dust flies as I scramble out from underneath him. My foot lands on his stomach, a little harder than strictly necessary. But despite my commentary abouthis gut, the kick probably hurts my ankle more than his rock-hard abs.
He coughs an outraged grunt while I apply a move he taught me last session. My body twists around him until I find the leverage to force him onto his ass. Sweat stings my eyes as I push my blade to his neck, indenting the skin as his chest heaves beneath me.
“Gotcha,” I gasp, air wheezing from my lungs and my muscles burning from the struggle. I might feel as if I’ve been hurled down a mountain face-first, but by the fucking gods, I’m going to parade my win. Ronan growls low in his throat as he snaps his jaws at me, and I decide that a victory lap is not worth losing a finger. I shriek, scrambling away from those fangs. “Fuck, you’re a rabid animal! Bad dog! Down!”
“You cheat, human,” he spits.
“Don’t get pissed because I’mstrategic.You told me to learn my opponent’s weak spots. It’s not my fault yours is that fucking hair.” Ronan lurches forward, and I squawk again as I prepare to run, but Elas’s hearty laugh catches both our attention. He claps his hands as he approaches and flashes me a grin.
“Distraction is a perfectly valid technique, Ronan, and it fits Reyes.”
“Thanks?” I say, catching my breath with stinging lungs. With a dangerous glare still fixed on me, Ronan grumbles and stands, brushing off his clothes with a little too much hostility for my liking.
Cameron chuckles as he walks over and picks the forgotten bags of food off the ground. He passes them to August, who only shakes his head as he carries them inside,and then Cameron’s attention is focused solely on Ronan. The purple fiend’s face softens into a puddle of lovesick goo as he watches his approaching mate.
“Why don’t you work off some of that aggression?” Cameron purrs as he drags his palm down Ronan’s chest, then lifts onto his toes to plant a kiss on his mouth. I track the movement of his hand until he grips the waist of Ronan’s pants, where there is averynoticeable bulge pushing against the denim.
“My eyes,” I wail as I throw a palm over my face, uncaring that it’s covered in dust and grime from our tussle.Anythingis better than seeing him in that state, becausethat…
I peek between my fingers because really, curiosity gets the best of everyone.
Yep.
That is large and terrifying.
I whine again and shake my head against my hands. “There are certain things you can never unsee, and that is burned into my fucking retinas, man.Burned!For eternity! There iszerochance I am fighting you while you have the advantage of two swords.”
Cameron sputters against Ronan’s mouth, and Elas howls with laughter. I begrudgingly drop my hands as a grumbling Ronan puts his hands on his hips and tilts his face to the sky. It’s obvious he’s searching the heavens for patience, but history proves he never finds it. The guy’s fuse is shorter than his tiny teeth.
I smirk to myself, and as if he can read my mind, Ronan’s eyes whip towards mine in a glare. He’s poised to charge me again, but Elas stops him with a heavy hand onhis shoulder, his mouth twitching as he tries not to laugh. “Why don’t you, uh, go take care of that? I’ll work with Reyes today.”
Ronan doesn’t bother with a response, just tosses a shocked Cameron over his shoulder and stalks towards their house. Cameron shrieks, but quickly gives up the fight. Glasses askew, he tosses us a cocky wink as he slaps Ronan’s ass. It doesn’t escape anyone’s notice that the Anunian marches even faster.
“Mates,” I mutter with a whole-body shudder. Elas chuckles as he grabs his weapon and assumes a fighting stance before me.
“Hey, Reyes?” A low, slightly threatening growl rumbles in his voice.
“Uh, yeah?” I ask, my brow lifting as my eyes dart across his frame.
His giant, seven-foot, massively muscled frame.
“Cut my hair and see what happens.”
An hour later, I’m sore as I drag myself along the pathway.
Actually, that’s a lie. I’m not sore.
I’m dead on my fucking feet. A walking corpse.
My muscles hurt so much, it feels like my aches have aches. There are strained, exhausted places on my body that I’m pretty sure I’d never even used before today.
And thesweat. It drips from places there ought not to be drips, but I’m too fucking drained to figure out why I’ve sprung a leak. In my previous sessions, Ronan has handled my training while Elas stood at the side and observed. He offered advice and jumped in to help with positioning and stances. He’s an amazing coach.
