“You didn’t have time to think—I could have crushed your throat with my arm.”
Her eyes fell on the limb in question, lingering a little too long and appreciatively over the thick spans of muscle. He nearly groaned. Not all business, apparently. She’d been aware of him as well. Why did that only make him hotter?
She lifted her gaze back to his, which didn’t do anything to cool his desire. Damn, she was cute. Especially when she was annoyed with him like this. Why he found that cute, he had no bloody idea. Nothing about his feelings for Cate made any sense. There was something about her fierce determination, her stubbornness, her direct, matter-of-fact manner, and her self-assuredness that just appealed to him. She carried herself like a noble lady but lacked all the superficial gloss of pretension and rigid adherence to convention.
Such as those that would have kept her from the practice field.
She was still glaring at him. “I thought it was you who told me physical strength wasn’t everything.”
“It’s not. But there are times when it can be.”
“But I wasn’t overpowered yet. I had my chin tucked to protect my neck. Here, I’ll show you.”
Reluctantly, he let himself be put back into the frustratingly intimate position. He was holding her for demonstration now, and she wasn’t struggling, but his awareness crackled all the same. She felt good against him.Reallygood. Small and distinctly feminine, even though there was very little that was soft about her. She wasn’t lush and curved, but taut and firm. When he’d held her arm, he’d been surprised to find that she actually had muscles—not thick and round like his, but long and sleek like those of a courser bred for speed.
He wondered what those muscles looked like naked.
“I have my chin tucked so you can’t…Gregor, are you paying attention?”
“Aye,” he lied gruffly.
“You’re not doing it right. You have to hold me harder.”
Christ, not the thing to say right now!
He did as she asked, although it wasn’t the way he wanted. If it had been the way he wanted, they both wouldn’t have any clothes on, the hand that was around her neck would be dipped between her legs, and the other would be cupping her breasts as he slowly slid into her from behind. It would be “harder,” all right. Hard and deep.
He cursed silently, as the image sent a fresh rush of blood to a place that had no need of it. They were pressed together again, her tucked into the shield of his body. He caught a whiff of a soft fragrance from her hair and was trying to figure out the flower in her soap when something—the heel of her boot, he realized later—slammed down hard on his instep.
He groaned in shock and not a small amount of pain, his body naturally buckling forward in surprise.
She was ready and took advantage of the slack in the arm around her neck, twisting just enough to free the arm from its locked position at her back, pivot her foot behind his, and knock him on his arse.
He didn’t know whether it was the ground or shock that slammed the air from his lungs—perhaps both.
Jesus!Lustful thoughts about his opponent was definitely a new distraction for him on the battlefield. But he was sure as hell paying attention now.
She stood over him, looking down. Though the sun was behind her head, he didn’t need to see her expression to know she was angry. He could hear it in her voice. “That’s how I’d do it. Now are you going to start taking this seriously, and stop holding me as if I’m a porcelain poppet?”
He rolled off his back and jumped to his feet. “I’m taking it seriously, Cate. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She heaved a heavy sigh, releasing some of the anger along with it. “I know, but it will happen. I’ve had plenty of bruises and scrapes with John.”
His face darkened. “If John hasn’t been careful—”
The exasperation was back. She looked like she couldn’t decide whether to shake him or stomp on his foot again. “Of course, he’s careful, but accidents happen in training. You can’t tell me you didn’t wobble home a few times after practice when you were learning.”
Hell, he still did—especially when Boyd was teaching them something new. “That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a…”
“Lass,” she finished for him. “Well, you’re going to have to forget that. How else can I learn? I went through all of this with your brother. Isn’t it better to suffer a few accidental bruises from you than be defenseless against someone who is intent on doing me harm?”
Hearing the rising agitation in her voice, he said in a gentle voice, “You are safe here, Cate.”
“Am I?” Their eyes met and held. “You can’t guarantee that. Just today I—”
