Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,51
and I don’t like it.” His scowl was possessive, and I tried not to smile as the butterflies in my stomach took flight, fluttering against my insides.
“I’m not so sure they’re staring at me,” I responded slowly, assessing the way they watched his teaching methods.
“You mean… fuck! You think they’re checking me out?” Killian’s entire face changed with his surprise, and he nearly faltered as I threw a soft punch into this hand.
I giggled, trying so damn hard not to break into the world’s largest grin. “Not sexually,” I whispered just loud enough for him to catch. “I think they admire your teaching skills.”
“Oh.” Killian straightened, rubbing the scruff covering his jaw. I took the break to roll my shoulders and neck, working out tension from the training. Maybe I could get Damien or Theo to massage the aches and pains out of my body later. The thought brought back the simmer in my blood, and I sighed long and slow.
“I’ve seen you in here before and you really seem to know your stuff.” The tan brunette guy from earlier came sauntering up, offering his hand to Killian who took it in some kind of bro shake all men seemed to instinctively know. The two struck up a conversation while I desperately went in search of my water bottle. I returned a little less thirsty to discover Killian giving the guy some tips on his form as he sparred with a friend. “We’re actually a sparring partner short today. Would you be interested in joining us? With the political climate the way it is, we’ve been putting a lot of hours into the gym, and I have a feeling there’s more you could teach us.”
Killian was a man who always kept to himself and his own family unit, so I was surprised to find the spark of pride and interest on his face. It was good for him to make friends, and the fact that these guys recognized how much passion Killian had for training and various forms of martial arts made me happy.
He turned to me with furrowed brows, and I could read the excuse to the guys that was sitting on his tongue as he prepared to stick to our deal and leave the gym with me.
As much as I regretted not getting the extra time I craved with him, it was more important for Killian to branch out and get to know some of the other rebellion members. Out of all my mates, Killian was the one who hadn’t truly integrated into the rebellion—not like the others had. Just like Theo struggled to find his purpose and place here, I knew Killian did as well, and this might be his chance.
Before he opened his mouth, I stepped up to him. I ran my hands up his muscular chest and popped up onto my toes to give him a small, sweet kiss. “Go. Have fun.”
“But we were—”
I cut him off. “I’ll still be here when you’re done.”
Killian dove in for one more kiss, nipping my bottom lip playfully. “You better be,” he rumbled into my ear.
I watched as he joined the others, smirking when I heard them razz him about being a lucky son of a bitch. Grabbing my bag, I slunk out of the gym with a backwards glance, catching Killian instructing another one of the guys about his footwork as the door swung shut.
I hadn’t made it down more than one hallway when Ciarán came bounding around the corner with a wild look of worry and terror in his green eyes.
My fist clamped tightly around the textured strap of my gym bag, and my stomach dropped through my body as adrenaline shot through my heart.
“What? What’s wrong?” My voice wobbled as I waited for the bomb Ciar was sure to drop, my blood turning to ice when he parted his lips.
“It’s Joshua.”
Twelve
Joshua
Nix. Her name was my first coherent thought.
Every muscle in my body shook as I forced my Basilisk into the recesses of my mind and was finally able to grab onto my humanity long enough to shift. A scream wrenched from my throat as sparks of magic burst and then died away, leaving me a panting mess on my hands and knees with the concrete biting into my palms. Shifting had never been painful before, but I’d never been in my alter form for so long either, and it physically pained me to wrestle control away from my Basilisk.