Page 25 of Stolen

He looked at me with a smirk and shrugged. “If I wanted to end this, I could have five minutes ago.”

“That’s debatable,” I replied.

“Is it?” He laughed. “Which one of us is winded again? I’m not sure I can tell.”

“I am fighting at half capacity here.”

“And now you’re making excuses for yourself.”

“I think that given the circumstances, I’m entitled to them!” I shouted at him.

“Maybe, but excuses won’t win you a fight against me,” he tsked. “Actually, nothing will, but it’s cute that you’re trying.”

I furrowed my brows. Cute?

“Again. Debatable,” I sneered.

He shrugged again. “Maybe I just enjoy watching you attempt to prove yourself to me. But when you’re done failing with this one, we can see how you do with the other one.”

I dropped my hands and just stared at him in shock. His arrogance was Zeus level, but then again, so was my stubbornness.

“Says the bitch who just showed how easy it is to fuck with his ego,” I shot back.

I expected him to lash out then, to let his male fragility take him to max level tantrum so his energy would be wasted on emotion and his focus lost to the insult. For him to realize that here I was, using his precious time to prove a point I knew he’d never see, prolonging the inevitable pain I was bound for because of my stupid actions. He was affording me a privilege I doubt he’d allow for others because I somehow convinced him to.

But he acted on none of those things.

Instead, the corner of his mouth lifted, his dark eyes narrowing to an intense laser focus that I could feel penetrating into my chest. It was heavy, the weight of his gaze unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Like there was no shadow that could hide me from him, no camouflage I could blend in to, nothing to shield me from this predator’s expert attention. Like he wasn’t just catching my scent, he was keeping it.

His smile grew even bigger. “I am gonna fuck that sass right out of your pretty little mouth,” he said.

“Wait, what?”

He didn’t hesitate as he came at me, his hands reaching out to grab me, but I bent low and fast to maneuver away from him, though I only got so far. Gripping my arm, he threw me against the wall hard enough to knock the wind right from my lungs. The pain I had forgotten in my back ignited tenfold, making me cry out loud. Despite the pain, I launched myself from the wall before he could trap me in place, my arm striking out for a kidney shot and missing when he moved out of reach. I ducked just as he returned a strike and brought my back leg up into a high scorpion kick, landing my heel right into his chin before righting myself and punching him in the groin.

He took a step back and rubbed his chin before giving me a chuckle and a smile. “Now, that was impressive.”

“I’m just getting started,” I seethed.

“God, I hope so,” he beamed. And then he charged at me again.

I moved, running and jumping off the wall and going for another hit straight to his face. But he saw it coming and caught my body before slamming me straight into the wall. I cried out as he forced himself between my legs, and I wrapped them tightly around his waist, attempting to keep him where I could manage him. My fist then instantly went for his jaw as he kept me pinned against the wall, but he just gripped my wrists and held them tightly on either side of my head. I struggled against him, unable to stop myself from pulling from his grip, but I’d learned early on that was a pointless move.

“You know, it really is amusing watching you struggle like this.”

I stared up at him, glaring and baring my teeth with all the rage in the world before I finally head-butted his nose, causing his blood to spray all over me. The look on his face was priceless, but short lived when he grabbed my ribs and tossed me across the hallway. I landed on my shoulder and rolled across the carpet onto my hands and knees, but the impact was not soft. Pushing through my roll, I let my momentum carry me back up to my feet and turned to face him. The pain in my back was now becoming unbearable, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go.

I knew I was better than this. I knew my conditioning to handle a long fight was excellent, but the odds just currently weren’t in my favor. The aches and pains of my earlier belt whipping were coming back with a vengeance. I was out of my element with no shoes or proper clothes, and my opponent was the type I’d rather shoot than fight. My circumstances were so shitty, it made winning impossible, but these were the cards I’d been dealt, so I had to keep going. I had to at least show him that I wasn’t going to give up at the first sight of a leak in my boat.

He charged at me again, the ferocity shrouding him making me want to cower away, but I forced myself to remain steady. I kicked my leg out into a front kick, but it didn’t do much as he took the brunt of my kick before slamming his elbow into the side of my head. I jerked to the side, wincing and groaning in response to the ache now pulsing at my temple. Moving away, I shook my head to brush it off and regain my composer, but the pounding remained.

Blood was now seeping from his nose as he came after me again, his arm reaching out for my throat. I grabbed it this time, turning my body and bringing my leg up for another kick to his face, just barely grazing the underside of his chin before he blocked it down and then backhanded me across the face. It sent me stumbling to the floor, the initial shock stunning my body as pain exploded in the side of my face. The taste of copper flooded my mouth.

I kept my eyes on the owner, staring up at him before spitting blood on his carpeted floor and standing to my full height. He glared at me something fierce that gave fear a new meaning, but I couldn’t back down. Not now. Not while there was still fight left in me.

And again we danced, but the amount of energy it took to dodge the sheer strength in his attacks took too much out of me. He was dragging our fight out on purpose, draining my energy until I struggled to even strike him. He managed to trip me a third time, and as I landed on my back, the strength to roll over was nearly gone. I felt his presence growing nearer and before I realized what was happening, he was straddling me. I looked up to find his smug face covered in sweet satisfaction as he stared down at me, clearly claiming himself the victor. But I had one more ace up my sleeve.

“Time to surrender, little girl,” he sneered.

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