“Later.” I roll my shoulders, working out the knots. “We should train.”
“Now? Aren’t you tired?”
“Best time to learn is when you’re exhausted. Real fights don’t happen when you’re fresh.”
She makes a face but follows me around the side of the cabin, where a flat stretch of grass shaded by tall pines offers enough space.
I drop into a ready stance, beckoning her forward. “Remember what I showed you before? Creating distance?”
She nods, mirroring my position, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
“Show me.”
She braces her hands against my chest, body weight behind it, and shoves me. I rock back a step, not because she’s strong enough to move me, but because her form’s improved. Core engaged. Balance maintained.
“Good.” I reset. “Again. Harder.”
This time, she drives forward with a grunt, and I let her momentum carry me back two full steps before catching her wrists. “Better. You’re thinking about leverage now, not just strength.”
“Because I’m not strong,” she says, breathing harder.
“Because strength isn’t everything.” I release her wrists, circling her slowly. “You’re smaller. Faster. Use that. If someone grabs you—” I move behind her, arms wrapping around her torso, pinning her arms. “What do you do?”
She struggles against my hold. Not working.
“Stop fighting the grip.” I brush my lips against her ear. “You won’t win that way. Drop your weight. Make yourself heavy.”
She goes limp, and my arms slip up toward her neck as she drops. Smart.
“Now?”
“Now you’re lower than my center of gravity.” I keep my hold loose, letting her figure it out. “What’s vulnerable?”
She slams her heel down on my instep.
I grunt, releasing her automatically. “Fuck. Yes. Exactly that.”
She spins to face me, grinning before it falls. “Shit. Sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“You did good.” I shake out my foot. “Do it again.”
She shifts her weight, uncertainty creasing her brow. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re—” She stops, color flooding her cheeks. “I just don’t.”
I step closer, close enough that she has to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. “In a real fight, hesitation gets you killed. You understand that?”
“Yes.”
“Then stop apologizing for doing what I tell you to.” My hand finds her chin, thumb brushing across her jaw. “You’re stronger than you think.”
Her pupils dilate, and the pulse in her throat jumps.
Wrong time. Wrong. Fucking?—
“Julien!” Ramirez’s voice cuts through the moment. “We got company at the gate!”
