in defeat. The position gave me an up-close view of how his pants hugged his perfectly shaped backside.
I rubbed my face and lifted my head to look back at Emily pleadingly.
“I’ll make something good for lunch,” she promised.
“No, find something for me to do that will keep me out of the basement.”
Merdon swatted my backside sharply. I winced at the sting and at the way his hand lingered for just a fraction of a second after making contact. Had all those spankings been a way to cover up his secret desire for an ass grab?
A full-body flush consumed me, and I tried to fan my face as he descended the steps.
As soon as he reached the bottom, he set me on the mat. I bounded away from him, shaking my head to dislodge my thoughts. I needed to redirect them. This wasn’t the time to start thinking about all the touching that was about to go down. Nope, definitely not the time.
“I can do this.” I bounced lightly on my feet. “I can focus. Just focus. We’re fighting. Nothing to it.”
Merdon blinked slowly as he watched me.
“Do you still not know what is real?”
Great. Now he thought I was even crazier.
“Nope. You’re real. The spankings are very real. And the bites suck. I’d rather avoid those. Got any new tips for me?”
“You’re acting strange.”
I stopped moving so much and gave him a pathetic look that truly reflected how I felt on the inside.
“I know. I don’t know what to do about it. I’m trying, and it’s not working.”
He studied me for a moment then got into his “get ready for me” crouch. My nerves ratcheted up a notch, and I glanced at his pecs then his hands. My thoughts drifted back to touching, and I struggled to dislodge the topic with a new one.
“I was serious about the tips,” I said as I copied him and tried to focus. “And about the running. The only reason I’ve avoided any of your attacks so far is because you are purposely being slower, and you’re not using all your strength. You’ve said time and again that I can’t depend on pain. Obviously, that’s because pain doesn’t register with the infected. So half my dirty moves are out. Wouldn’t the smart thing be to work on my cardio so I can outrun them and avoid any bite-defense moves altogether?”
I listed to the side and dizzily realized I’d missed a few breaths during my nervous word spew.
“Focus, Hannah,” Merdon warned.
A small “eep” escaped my lips as he launched himself at me. I should have moved, turned and run, or maybe executed my drop and roll number. Instead, I stood there like a deer in headlights. He brought me down to the mat, his body pressing the front of mine and his teeth grazing that sweet spot right over my collarbone.
I lifted my hands like I was welcoming a lover’s embrace. He jerked his head up at the first touch of my fingers to his hair. My skin tingled where his mouth had been, and I licked my lips as I stared up at him.
His gaze flicked to my tongue, then his weight disappeared from me.
“Again,” he said angrily. “This time, try.”
Breathing hard, I scrambled to my feet.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try.”
He blinked at me then slowly got into his ready crouch.
“Remember, brace your forearm against my throat to keep my mouth away from you.”
“What about your hands?” I asked as I attempted the same prepared position.
“What about them?”
“If you’re trying to bite me, and I use my arm to stop you, what will your hands be doing?” My mind pictured some pretty intense petting with a bit of mild groping. “I mean, if you were an infected,” I added quickly.
“I will try to move your arm.”
“Right. You’ll touch my arm. Got it.”
He came at me again. I managed to get my arm up like he’d shown me, and my hand gripped his shoulder. But the feel of the muscles under my fingers distracted me. My grip slipped to his pectoral—it really was as hard as it looked—as he hooked a leg behind mine and brought me down to the mat again.
I landed with an oof, the feel of his chest ghosted my palm. His teeth nipped the back of my arm, which was closest to his mouth. There was no fancy tingle with that, just the stinging reminder that he was taking this seriously even if I wasn’t.