After lunch, I’d return to the ring with Vivian, and with the punch I’d landed on Elaine, and the first insight I’d gained on the point of our training sessions, I couldn’t fucking wait.
Unfortunately, when I returned from lunch, pumped for another round of catty bitchiness and ready to put his advice to good use, I wound up disappointed.
Hellbent on sucking the joy out of my life, Vivian didn’t spend our training session baiting me the way Elaine had. Therefore, she didn’t earn herself a few knocks to the skull. She spent most of our session discussing technique and strategy with Josh, and I learned Brad Angelise was not going to help me in our training sessions or be an ally for the Maidens in my rebellion plans.
He hit on me two seconds after I sat on my stool in the corner, leaning over the ropes and far too close to my ear. “You know, you’re not bad looking for a poor girl.”
I whipped my head around so fast my neck muscles locked up. “Hard pass.”
His brow furrowed, but he dropped his gaze to my tits at record recovery speed. “What do you mean?”
“Wherever you were going with that brilliant observation”—I twirled my pointer finger in the air, making a circle—“turn it right back around.”
He frowned, pouting just to see if that appealed to me, but when it didn’t, he spent the rest of the time talking about Elaine. I left our session disgruntled and struggling to focus.
Unable to get anything out of my time with Vivian, my mind fixated on my upcoming session with Max, and my next three sessions passed in a blur.
Successiontraining, led by a Knight named Paul, focused on sequencing and was supposed to come in handy with the Scavenger Hunt and Obstacle Course.
Once I learned we wouldn’t get our first clue until the Ladies’ Dinner that evening, I checked out mentally.
DuringEscapetraining with Tristan, he brought up trauma responses, and despite being in the target market for that information, I barely registered his overview.
Sabotagetraining with Austin was even worse. My rapid heartbeat, thundering louder in my chest with each passing minute, blocked out everything he said. A more apt name for his sessions would’ve beenSelf-Sabotage.
Thoughts of being alone with Max distracted me so thoroughly I learned nothing. By the time I arrived at the training center, I’d hyper-focused on my plan of attack all day.
I continued to do so while I waited for him to arrive.
When his gruff voice rang out behind me, everything else faded. “What the fuck are you doing?”
My lips twitched, but I kept my expression neutral.
“What’s wrong, Max?” I feigned innocence and deepened my pose, flattening my chest against my extended leg. “I figuredyou, more than anyone, would know it’s important to stretch before a workout.”
He cursed under his breath, stalking over to the training mat in the center of the room.
Right where I’d laid out into a full split.
My hamstrings were on fucking fire, since it had been a hot minute since I’d done a split, but I suspected it’d be worth it.
Splaying my palms on the ground beside me, I sat up slowly and arched backward. I pushed my tits forward at the same time. And as predicted, Max flicked his gaze down to my chest.
Poor guy.
Couldn’t really blame him, though.
My sports bra, the one Gia had sneakily stowed away in my bag, was a size too small and risqué as hell. It was almost as see-through as the lingerie he’d made me wear in the cabin.
Karma really was a bitch.
But it served its purpose.
A low, stifled growl rumbled in his throat before he could stop it. “Do your boy toys know you’re parading around like that in front of the other Knights?”
“Why do you care,Max Dread?” I smirked, and before he responded, I dropped my head back and showed off the curve of my neck. My lips parted as I pressed back one final time and moaned into the stretch. “Oh, god. That feels good.”
It was completely unnecessary, of course.
