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“No, that isnotwhat happened,” she scoffed.

“No? Then why didn’t you slit my throat that night?” A knowing grin taunted her as I twisted from side to side.

“Because I was…I wanted answers first.”

“Sure,” I said, not believing her for a second. “You forget I can feel when you’re lying, little savage.”

“How the fuck do I block my emotions from you? Did you ever figure it out?”

I bit my bottom lip, trying not to laugh. “Not exactly. We’ll work on that.” I stretched my arms above my head. “But, for now, I want to see where you are in your progress. Let’s find out if you can keep up with me.”

Gray snorted and began to stretch her legs. “I can keep up with you.”

“You’re my equal, so you better,” I challenged, meeting her fierce expression.

We had tried many times to open a portal again. We’d been unsuccessful, just like I’d been unsuccessful in slipping down the bond and taking control of her magic again during training sessions over the past several weeks.

It didn’t mean other progress hadn’t been made yet, though.

“No rules?” she asked.

“No rules. Except, obviously, we can’t actually kill each other,” I said, picking up normal human blades.

“What a strange turn my life has taken,” Gray mumbled, wielding two daggers and falling into a fighting stance.

I observed her body. “You’re not opposed to it. And neither am I.”

“You have some perks.” She shrugged.

I rolled my head from side to side, easing the stiffness. “Let’s play, my little savage.” Then I lunged.

Over an hour passed of multiple rounds of sparring. Gray held her own quite well. She had most definitely improved in recent weeks with her awareness and her magic. It wasn’t that Gray had been unskilled before, but she lacked specific skills that could cost her life in the heat of a battle. No doubt it was an intentional design flaw constructed by Forest.

I wanted her to be as equally lethal as me. She had the savagery but just needed to tighten up the loose ends in her training. In the event I wasn’t there to help her, I wanted her to be able to handle herself, regardless of the number of enemies.

“Don’t go easy on me, Chrome.” Gray used her air magic to whip three daggers at me in quick succession while she aimed a kick at my head.

I held up my palm to stop the blades and spun away. I grabbed her ankle and jerked her toward me. She crashed to the ground on her stomach witha frustrated grunt just before I straddled her lower back and pinned her wrists in front of me. “How would you get out of this hold?”

A blast of magic hit my gut, but I didn’t relent, pressing my weight harder into her. I sensed metal skewering in my direction. Using my element, I halted a knife’s blade again but angled it to her throat, lightly resting on her carotid artery. “That would’ve worked on the average Kinetic Warrior.” I leaned in, pressing my bottom lip to the shell of her ear. “I’ll count it as a win.”

My dick hardened against her tailbone as I lay across her. Having her beneath me like this at my whim had another kind of beast lifting its head within me. I could still taste her from the other day. Her sweetness never left, and it had taken everything inside me to not push for more since.

I skimmed my bottom lip along her jaw. Her breaths became more labored, husky. “Is this part of training now?” she asked, her voice raspy.

“When you beat me, you get rewarded.”

“I didn’t beat you.”

“It counts,” I whispered in her ear before finding the sensitive spot at the back of her neck and pressing slow, teasing kisses there, keeping her arms pinned behind her back.

Gray lifted her ass, grinding against me. I groaned, releasing her and flipping her onto her back. “What should your reward be this time, little savage?” I asked, absorbing the heat rising in her rainbow gaze. I released my control of the knife, dropping it to the ground beside her head.

“That’s a loaded question, Chrome.” Her newly freed hands began roaming up my thighs that straddled her, inching up my torso, then to my chest. I needed to feel her on my bare skin. I needed to beinsideher. To consume her.

I leaned in and nipped her bottom lip. “Greedy.” I kissed down her neck, flicking my tongue out to taste her salty skin. “You can take it all. I’ll give you everything.”

Gray whimpered, just the smallest of sounds. And that was it for my control.