Qi and I exchange a series of texts…ALL EXPLICIT…all with one goal in mind…FIND REAPER. She barters with me sending me a series of things she’d like me to do to her, but I don’t take the bait. Not now anyway. If I make it too easy for her she’ll lose interest and as long as I have her nose wide open I can milk the situation for all it’s worth.
Shaking the thought of having to sleep with her again out of my head, I focus on Aria. She’s been quiet and withdrawn since I put our relationship on ice. Instead, she’s poured every waking hour of the day into training with Bleak. I hate to admit it, but she makes a better General than I do. She’s focused…she’s driven…and she’s incredibly lethal. I guess its true what they say about messing with a mama bear’s cub. She’s determined to get her son back.
Bleak motions for Aria and I to spar and Aria looks disappointed. This has been going on for weeks now. Anytime we have to work together she gets this look on her face like there’s a rotting dead body in the room. She never says anything though.
We gear up for a little hand-to-hand combat, and like the previous weeks before, she takes it easy on me. I know her. She’s like a pride of lions going in for the kill when it comes to combat. She’s purposely not going in on me and I’m not sure if she thinks I’m that weak or that she’s that strong. I’m offended.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” I ask.
“What?” Her brows purse together.
“I’ve fought hangovers with more ferocity than you’re giving me.” I laugh hoping to get underneath her skin. “You’re like a kitten with no claws.”
“Screw you.” She narrows her eyes at me before turning her back to leave.
I kick the back of her left knee and force her to kneel. “You can screw me better from that position.” I smirk.
Her head whips in my direction with rage brimming in her eyes. Before I can finish laughing she switches from kneeling on her knee to being extended in the air by one hand, her right hand, and promptly kicks me in the chest and face, knocking the wind out of me. She twirls on the palm she has placed against the floor, and with the grace of a prima ballerina she lands upright on her feet, watching me stumble backwards into Bleak who was working with Wake. Now everyone’s attention is on us.
Good, she’s pissed…don’t let her leave until the bloodthirsty vixen you fell in love with is present in her eyes because that’s what its going to take to get her son back…
Aria turns to leave again when I hurl a spark at her legs, knocking them out from under her. She does a backwards somersault and a murderous look forms in her eyes. “What the fuck are you doing?” She asks.
“I’m sparring with you.”
“No, you’re trying to piss me off.”
“Who me?” I feign innocence. “That would be stupid, wouldn’t it?”
“Very.” She glares at me. “Leave me alone Havoc.”
There she goes again with that name…
I walk right up to her and shove her backwards. She glares at me murderously but she still has yet to raise a hand to me. I go to shove her a second only she counters, swats my hand away and lightly kicks me backwards away from her.
“Stop playing with me and spar.” I charge at her. She twirls around me but she doesn’t strike. “What will it take?” I ask. “Or do you only do what Noah asks you now that he’s made you his bitch?”
WRONG. THING. TO SAY…
I don’t know which one of her feet kicked me in the face first. I just remember the pain, the bells ringing in my ear, flashing lights, Aria being a blur and blood filling my mouth right before I hit the floor.
I just got my ass handed to me by a thin, five-foot eleven Barbie doll, crouching tiger hidden dragon style and my body fucking hurts…
“Are you done?” Aria asks, pressing her boot into my neck.
I smile and grab hold of her foot, twisting it to the left which knocks her down onto the floor, and then I roll on top of her grabbing a dagger from her side and holding it up to her neck. “That’s better.” I smile.
“Your eyes give you away and you lead into your attacks” Aria offers up some advice. “Next time think less, do more, and you might escape the tramp stamp I just gave you.”
She motions to my abs and when I look down the pain hits me. She’s carved her initials into my stomach and I didn’t even feel a thing.
“I should make you pay for that.”
“What are you waiting for?” She leans into my blade, slicing into her own flesh.
I recoil and stare at her incredulously, climbing off of her. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she’d be happy to die. Temporarily in shock, I didn’t see her making a move until it was too late. She wrapped her feet around my head and yanked me backwards. Within seconds she was on her feet and standing before our Sensei.
“What was that about?” Hydro asks.
“Just a little couples therapy.” I answer, shaking my head and smiling.
“Looks more like she kicked your ass.” Wake chuckles.
“That she did.” I nod.
Aria looks over her shoulder at me and I wave back at her. She narrows her eyes at me and turns back around.
“Word on the playground is you pulled an Elsa on your relationship and put the shit on ice.” Hydro casts an inquisitive eye.
Wake and I look at each other and frown. “Dude, did you really just reference a fucking Disney Princess movie?” I ask.
“Oh please, like you two assholes haven’t seen it.” Hydro huffs.
Again we look at each other then back to Hydro, “We haven’t.” Wake and I both say in unison.
“Dude, I don’t even know you right now.” Wake walks away.
“Yeah…I’m pretty sure that shit right there just got your man-card revoked.” I add.
“Whatever.” Hydro waves me off. “Stop trying to avoid my question.”
“I’m not avoiding shit. Look, I love her. She’s the fucking Ygritte to my Jon Snow from ‘Games of Thrones’, but she cheated on me…twice.”
“Technically it was only once.” He corrects me.
“No, technically you should shut the fuck up and let me answer the damn question.” I retort. “If I say it’s twice then it was twice. She knew how I felt about her. The only reason she was even into that douchebag was because she was pissed at me for breaking up with her when Katnis got pregnant. And I did her a fucking favor letting her go. I could’ve been an asshole and fucked them both. But I didn’t want that with her.”
“And now you’re screwing Qi.” He throws that twisted, sexually starved, magical-tongue equipped bitch up in my face. “I heard the two of you going at it. I think the whole fucking Legion heard you two going at it. There’s only so much ‘Oh Chi…! Oh Chi…! Oh Chi…! Don’t stop you fucking three-legged freak’ a guy can take.”
We both start laughing when I catch Aria watching us. She heard every last word he said…it wasn’t like he was trying to be discreet about it.
She whispers something to Sensei Bleak, he nods, and then she glares in our direction as she leaves. Tonight should be interesting.
Once I finished my training the fellas and I went to the Crimson Rose. It’s a club near my home that I used to escape to when I became old enough. I was trying to get away from the castle and give Aria some space, but it turns out she had the same idea. Sitting in a corner at the back of the nightclub was Aria and her friends. We make eye contact and she rolls her eyes like she’s pissed I’m here. I’m the reason she even knows about this damn place.
Aria, Pru, Willow, Becka, Cara, Mila and Samara, also known as the sinful seven, take turns glancing in our direction. Willow plays the dutiful best friend and comforts Aria, while the others appoint themselves her cock-blockers for the night. It won’t be necessary. I have no plans of going anywhere near my estranged consort.
Not yet anyway…maybe if I was drunk enough and forgot she let that douchebag touch her...
“Psycho bitch alert.” Wake announces.
I followed his gaze over to the front door where Qi saunters in like she belongs here. She walks right over to me, places herself in my lap and smiles. “Order me a drink.” She demands.
“Let’s pretend you’re somewhat civilized and that you remember how to talk to me.” I make eye contact.
Qi rakes her eyes over me and runs her fingers through my hair. “Please.” She smiles.
“Give her a pint of Dark Brew.” I tell the bartender and toss a gold coin onto the counter.
“Thank you.” Qi replies. She glances around the room, spots Aria, and a wicked grin spreads across her face. “I think your consort’s head is about to explode.”
We all follow her gaze over to Aria who looks like she’s about to go Hannibal Lector in here if Qi doesn’t get off my lap. Sensing her mood, instead of running from danger, Qi invites it by shifting her legs so she’s straddling me.
I can feel the gust of air and hear the whooshing sound of the blade flying through the air before I actually catch it midair. It’s a warning. Qi flinches and gets the hint. Aria isn’t fucking around with her and the next shot I might not be able to catch.
Qi sits in the stool next to me but faces Aria so she can see her coming. “She’s pretty surgical with those damn daggers, isn’t she?” She scowls annoyed that she can no longer touch me.
“Why are you even here? I told you to text me when you had something for me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Her eyes take me in and stop at the bulge in my pants. “You’re not even hard are you?”
“Not even close.” I reply. “You should leave before she kills you.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” She gets up to leave. “I don’t blame her. I’d want to keep all of that to myself too.”
Qi purposely leans into me and sticks something in the inside pocket of my leather jacket. As she walks away she lets her hand trail up my abs and over my chest.
“What the fuck is that?” Bo asks, referring to the tramp stamp Aria gave me.
“That is what sparring with a pissed off shadow will get you.” I reply.
“Please…please…PLEASE, tell me what it is that you do to these girls.” Dax smiles. “Does Noah know about you and Qi?”
“Don’t know and I don’t care.” I shrug.
“Well don’t look now, but the misses is on her way over here. If I were you I’d hide any and everything sharp.” Wake suggests.
“She wouldn’t hurt me.” I scoff.
“Dude, she stabbed you through the fucking chest with a Katana just for breaking up with her.” Hydro points out.
We all look around at each other and collectively began to hide anything sharp.
ns 15.158.61.7da2
