“I can’t believe you came here in the dead of night to ask me this?”
“I wouldn’t call 10:30pm the dead of night, however … this is a question that needs answering. Your father told me that you have all the skills needed to protect yourself, so why can’t you fend off even one man attempting to assault you?”
She scoffed. “That one man is the man that has been chosen for me to marry. The one that I tried to escape from. The escape that I was branded an idiot for attempting. Have you forgotten all that so quickly?”
I took a step towards her. “That is none of my business. Quite frankly, I don’t believe that you’re a damsel in distress, but for some reason you’re trying to appear so. Please clearly lay out to me the instances where you will need my interference, because the next time that dog assaults you the way that he did today, one of us is going to end up dead. And it won’t be me.”
“Why do you care?” she asked.
I began to storm away, but her whisper stopped me in my tracks. Every muscle in my body responded to those words. And not in a good way. I hated how she had such a hold over me. Why did I care? Why had her being harassed hurt me so much I wanted to bury a bullet in the dog’s head? I felt like a cornered animal.
“For the past week you’ve been acting like I don’t exist. So why do you care now whether I'm assaulted or not?”
“Because it’s my job.” I turned around and snarled.
She knew she had me then. She folded her arms over her chest. “Is it also your job to storm into my bedroom in the middle of the night, under the pretense of questioning me about my fighting skills?”
I had long mastered the ability to keep my face expressionless but I could feel a muscle in my jaw twitching. She was right. I had absolutely no business being here. I was losing my damn mind. What was it to me if she was harassed by her fiancé? Maybe she liked that sort of thing. After all, she hadn’t called out to me to intervene. The truth was none of it was any of my business. “You’re right,” I said slowly. “It’s none of my business.” Then I turned around and carried on towards the door.
Before I could get to it, she dashed over and stood in front of it.
I stared at her, and she stared back, her arms folded across her chest. It took all of my will power not to stare at how her breasts swelled up over her hands.
“I could have handled him,” she said. “But having the man I’d promised my parents I would give a chance to, return with a black eye wouldn’t have sat too well with them.”
I nodded. “Do as you see fit.” I took another step forward expecting her to move away, but she didn’t.
“The last time,” she said. “I wasn’t in my best state. I was feeling emotionally and physically fragile and you took advantage of that.”
I frowned. “What?”
“I want a rematch,” she said. “Right here. Right now. You’re right, I am well able to defend myself, against a majority of people anyway. But against a self-defense expert like you, perhaps I am lacking so I need to see how my skills compare to yours. Also, this will be a good way for you to gauge if I am able to handle myself in your absence, or if it is necessary for me to take the lessons needed to improve.” Her hand suddenly shot out then.
So did mine. I seized her slender wrist in the air.
Her response was a wicked smile. “You’re good,” she observed, “but then I don’t think I’m that bad either.” In a flash, she twisted out of my grasp, and the next thing I saw was the back of her head. The next thing I felt, was her elbow as it was driven solidly into the side of my face.
I was completely surprised at just how quick she had been. Once again, she had burst the side of my lip. My thumb came up to staunch the blood flow, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was so fucking beautiful.