Her eyes were on the dragon that was gliding down. There weren’t too many places underground where a dragon could fully fly, but the track was one of them. It was where battles between two families would happen. Duels, games, anything where they needed to be in their real form and move around, the track was the place to be. Mallory hadn’t been there much during her school day, as it was used for various classes she didn’t have, but now she had it every morning. All last week, no one was around and now she noticed, wondering if he had something to do with it.
Vincent was well-known in the community, and Mallory knew about him long before she went to the Academy. She knew him because of Balthazar, as well as from prior meetings when they were both younger. Vincent had always been a man that she admired and was attracted to. He had an assured grin on his face and Mallory wanted him. It was just that simple.
He shifted in front of her and he had a wry grin on his face.
“Is this better?”
The darkness flashed in his eyes, and he stopped in front of her.
“Much, although it will be hard to forget Friday.”
Mallory was embarrassed by how he had responded to her and how he wanted her to basically hide herself because it bothered him. How was that her fault?
“Now you will have no excuses. Are you going to stay a while?”
He growled at her menacingly, and Mallory thought for a moment that maybe she had gone too far. He was obviously bigger and stronger than her. He was fierce and everyone knew it. Mallory was worried that she had gone too far.
He moved toward her, and she sidestepped him twice before he caught her arm and pulled her in close. “What do you do now?”
She struggled against him. It was painfully clear that she was no match for him. Mallory didn’t want to panic, because that wouldn’t have gone over well. She didn’t have time to think, either, because he was holding her hard against his body, and she could feel the ripples from his abs. His big biceps flexed as they held her, and when she squirmed to get away, it just made everything worse. The man’s breath on the back of her neck was constant and finally she stamped on his feet to get away. He let go from surprise, and she was able to breathe again.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you a scenario that you got out of, but someone else could have already taken you out.”
She knew that it was true, but in Mallory’s defense, she wasn’t going to feel the same about someone’s warm breath on her neck or their strong hands on her. She would feel completely different, which would make everything different. It wasn’t a fair assessment.
“Why are you doing so poorly in training? You do better in class.”
“Because I don’t have to fight you.”
“Am I too intimidating?”
It was a serious question and it just made her want to laugh. He was intimidating, but not in the way that he imagined. It wasn’t the problem at all.
“You’re just hard to be around sometimes, Vincent.”
Mallory just wanted to leave it at that, but she knew that he wasn’t going to let her. He had a question on his lips and when he asked it, she finally just blurted out what was bothering her. Him. He was bothering her. Why couldn’t he see that?
All Mallory got in response was a chuckle. “You’re intended not taking care of you right? Is that it?”
“Are you really supposed to talk to your students like this?”
That made his smile fade, and she already missed the look of it.
“You’re almost out of the Academy and will no longer be my student.”
“Is that the excuse that you tell yourself?”
Mallory just said it flippantly. She wasn’t saying that he thought about her like that, or maybe she was. Mallory watched him get closer, and for a moment, she thought that he was going to kiss her, but he didn’t. Instead, he just pushed her back and started the training back up, telling her to keep her mind in the game. It was really hard to do when the instructor was so dreamy.
***
Things were going better. Mallory was finding it impossible to think about Balthazar when all she could fill her mind up with was Vincent. He was all she thought about, and even though it was becoming clear that her feelings for him were a flag, she couldn't help it. Mallory had just traded one thing that she wasn't supposed to think about for another thing that she really wasn't supposed to think about.
It bothered her in a way that Vincent was so at ease with everything. She was drowning inside with need for him, and he didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. Not only was it a hit to her ego, but it was hard for her to imagine it.
She thought about how he had reacted the week before when she had her grey yoga pants on. Mallory still didn't know what exactly the difference was, but he had definitely looked at her differently. There had been something on his mind, something naughty, and Mallory had to see him that way again. When he suggested that they meet outside of the Academy in the woods so they could practice shifting quickly into battle, Mallory knew that she was going to use that time to tease him. Just a little bit. It only seemed right, considering that he had been messing with her head for a while.
