I roll my eyes. “So, you admit I shouldn’t be walking down the stairs, but you want me training anyway?”
He smirks. “Enemies won’t care that you’re injured. You need to fight through the pain.”
I huff but then remember how debilitated I was by the pain that wracked through me with Leon. Swallowing thickly, I nod. “You’re right.”
Sin’s eyes narrow, as if he’s trying to figure out what changed my mind, before shaking his head and looking away. “You won’t be able to move around too much today. Otherwise, you’ll open your stitches, so we’ll be focusing on strengthening your body and honing your other instincts.”
While none of those things sound appealing, I grit my teeth and do as I’m told. Sin takes me through a series of warmups and then has me doing all kinds ofstrength training until I think every one of my muscles is trembling.
Less than an hour into training, I collapse onto the sand. “I can’t – no more. That’s as strong as I’m going to get today.”
Sin towers over me and rolls his eyes at my dramatics. “We’ve barely started.”
“You seriously overestimate how much exercise I did in the Mortal Realm,” I wheeze.
His jaw works as he stares down at me. I think he’s deciding whether to grant me a reprieve or not. I cross my fingers in hopes that he will take pity on me.
“Fine,” he acquiesces. “We’ll move on to the next portion of the training.”
At my answering groan, he smiles. “I’m giving you a ten-minute head-start. Avoid me for the next hour, and you can have the rest of the day off.”
Sin offers me his hand, and I blink at him repeatedly, trying to process what he’s proposing.
“I – Wait, you want to play hide and seek?” I ask a bit incredulously as I ignore his hand and struggle to stand on my own.
Sin’s expression darkens as he answers, “There might come a time when I need you to run and hide. I need to know that you won’t panic or get caught.”
I shake my head. “This is ridiculous. The castle is huge. If you’re ready to give me the day off, just do it. We don’t need to play a children’s game.”
At my words, he stalks over to me, his movements becoming deliberate. “Don’t assume I’m going to be relying on the same senses you have.”
He only stops when he’s inches away from me. “I know your scent, kitten. I know the signature of your energy, and I know the castle. Underestimating your opponent is how you get killed.”
I swallow. Whatever playful tone he just held is gone.
“What happens if you find me?” I ask warily.
His eyes sweep down my body. “What happens when a predator catches their prey?”
My eyes widen, and Sin gives me a wicked grin.
“Run,” he whispers.
I bolt.
Panic floods my senses. The stitches in my leg scream as I hurry around the side of the castle, heading for the front doors.
No part of me thinks Sin was alluding to becoming a cannibal. There’s no mistaking the sexual undertone of his threat. And from the way heat coils in my lower belly at that thought, I need to make sure he doesn’t get the chance to try.
Sin is my partner. He’s also a walking cesspool of toxicity, and my traitorous vagina needs to get a grip.
I reach the large wooden doors but pause before ripping them open.
Something isn’t adding up.
Use your damn head, Vivian.
Sin had every opportunity to make sexual advances on me last night when I was wearing far less clothing. Why would he all of a sudden be thinking about touching me now?
