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Focus.

Luca got in one punch, but Rafael didn’t want to play. In a few moments, he brought Luca to the ground, punching him in the face before Luca could lift his hands up to block.

“You need to be quicker,” Rafael said, pushing himself up to his feet.

Luca sat up, and there was blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. His gaze met mine, and he looked away.

“Come here,” I said when he pushed himself up to his feet.

I sat down on the bench in the corner of the room, and Luca approached, the guards following him.

“Sit,” I said.

He took a seat next to me, his jaw set. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” My eyebrows shot up.

He’d never apologized before, so why was he doing it now?

“For embarrassing you. I was terrible.” He stared down at his hands.

“No, you didn’t embarrass me. Rafael’s the best. Defeating him would take a lot of training, which I’m sure you don’t have. Actually, you’ve done better than most.” I offered him a small smile when he raised his surprised eyes to me.

When Rafael approached with a first-aid kit, I extended my hand and he gave it to me. I set the kit on the bench, and grabbed a cotton pad and dipped it in some antiseptic.

I turned to Luca and pressed the pad to the corner of his mouth, dabbing gently at the blood. His eyes were wide, his lips parted.

It would be so easy to kiss him.

It was as if he was waiting for it.

There was just something about the way he was looking at me.

“There.” I tossed away the pad when I was done. “If you need a pain killer, let me know.”

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

As I turned to give Rafael the first-aid kit back, my other hand brushed Luca’s. A current of electricity shot through me, a small gasp stealing its way out of my throat.

I glanced at Luca, who was looking down at the spot where our hands touched.

Jumping to my feet, I rushed after Rafael.

Yeah, I was probably avoiding Luca, because if we kept touching, I didn’t know what I was going to do.

Maybe I should just fuck him and he’d be out of my system, because whatever he was doing to me while actually doing nothing at all was starting to really bother me.

I needed my head clear at all times, and I needed to be in control of myself.

“He could be great one day, with some training,” Rafael said when I caught up with him. “But the question is, do you want him to be?”

I creased my brow. “What do you mean?”

“I could train with Luca. Teach him some stuff. He looks like he’s willing to learn. But do you want him to be able to fight so well that his guards might have a problem if he decides to use those skills against them?”

That was a good question.

I bit down on my lip. “You can train with him. It doesn’t mean you have to teach him all your secret moves. He’s not here to become one of us.”