I levered myself out of the chair, following him.
“Nathan tells me your fighting skills have improved,” he said in a silky voice.“I’d like to verify that fact for myself.”
“Now?” I looked down at myself. I was wearing jeans and a simple shirt. Not exactly attire suitable for sparring.
“No time like the present.”
I came to a stop, giving his back a look of extreme dislike. This was going to hurt me a lot more than it hurt him, I realized in resignation.
*
I concentrated on the man across from me, wanting to punch his pretty face so bad it was an itch beneath my skin.
He cocked an arrogant eyebrow at me, as if inviting me to try.
That urge shifted from an itch to a heated fire in my belly. Punching him in the face became my new life goal.
Not that I was likely to achieve it anytime soon.
Five minutes of sparring with him felt like an eternity. My breath heaved in and out as sweat dripped off me.
Even worse, in that five minutes I hadn’t managed to touch him once. The same couldn’t be said of him.
No, he’d danced across the grass, delivering blows with a careless precision when he wasn’t using opportunities to sneak touches. A hand to my back. A touch to my shoulder or cheek. It was humiliating to be so outclassed he didn’t even pretend to be working up a sweat.
Nathan and Eric watched from the sidelines.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Liam asked, his voice taunting.
I took a moment to catch my breath, knowing anger would just make me careless and lead to further humiliation.
“Just getting started,” I told him.
Fighting, despite what many might think, was just as much about brains and strategy as it was strength and speed.
My opponent was ridiculously fast and frighteningly powerful. Sparring with him wasn’t like sparring with Nathan, who while also faster and stronger than me, had nothing on Liam. Taking one of Liam’s punches was like being hit with a sledgehammer. It made you want to curl up into a ball and slink away in defeat.
Liam gave me a dangerous smile. It was all the warning I got before he was right in front of me. I ducked away, sidestepping his arm, and throwing a feint, not putting my weight behind it as I followed it up with a blow from my other arm.
He caught my arm and yanked me past him, a touch gliding across the back of my neck. I kicked out behind me, not looking.
My foot glanced off his stomach and I heard a grunt. At least that was something.
I whirled, already putting my arms up to protect me from reprisal.
Liam moved with precision, no movements wasted. His muscles flexed as he sparred with me. It was a graceful dance on his part and a staggering embarrassment on mine as we swept across the grass.
His blows came faster and faster until it was all I could do to keep up with him, my breath sawing in and out of my lungs as I defended myself and evaded when I could, all the while watching for my chance.
There, a slight opening. I moved, realizing too late it was a trap.
Liam slid to the side, grabbing my outstretched arm and tugging it behind me, fitting his chest to my back.
“Your form has much improved since I last saw you,” he said into my ear.“Though you are still holding back.”
I sent my elbow hard into his stomach. A slight puff of air on my neck was the only sign that it had affected him.
He released me, his hands sliding away with the smallest of caresses.
