Page 20 of Midnight Sun
“Are you exhausted already?” Finn teases. “I thought my training was too soft for your tastes.”
“That was before you forced me to go over the same drill for hours,” Jamie says petulantly.
“It hasn’t been hours,” Finn comments drily, but Jamie doesn’t pay him much attention. He’s almost near enough now. Just a step further. Jamie suppresses a smirk. He’ll show Finn that he isn’t the only one who can fight.
Jamie takes a deep breath and focuses on his combat training. Unlike what Finn seems to think, he’s been honing his fighting skills since drama school. And for his last movie, he had to do a lot of fighting scenes on the ground. So that’s where he’ll get Finn.
He charges without warning and tackles Finn, using the full weight of his body. Finn falls on his back with a satisfyingthud,Jamie conveniently on top of him. He straddles Finn’s thighs and snatches his wrists to pin them on the ground next to Finn’s face. Finn’s eyes are wide in surprise as he stares at Jamie.
“Where’s the great consulting swordsman now?” Jamie grins.
Finn’s lips twist into a feral grin. Jamie involuntarily tightens his grip around Finn’s wrists, his stomach clenching in anticipation. Finn has no right to look so dangerous lying on his back, dammit! Jamie wants him to be caught off guard. And a shameless part of him wants to impress Finn. He just wishes Finn would see him as the perfect alpha male that everyone else sees in Jamie. He needs to make that point clear.
“Yield,” Jamie demands, making himself heavy, so Finn knows he hasn’t got a chance against Jamie’s muscle mass and superior position.
“No,” Finn replies evenly.
“Then prepare to be–”
Finn twists his hip upward, and suddenly Jamie is thrown sideways. He yelps and tumbles to the ground, trying to keep a grip on Finn’s wrists. But the bastard is just too fast. Finn lands with his upper body half on top of him, one arm thrown over Jamie’s shoulder, the other going under his arm, hands clasped tight behind Jamie’s neck. Fuck, he didn’t plan for Finn to get so close and he frantically tries to remember what he has to do to get out of Finn’s side control.
“I didn’t get that the first time,” Finn rumbles next to his ear. “Can you repeat that?”
Jamie growls, his cheeks heating up as he struggles uselessly to break Finn’s grip. He has to twist his face away, because Finn’s adorable broken nose is just inches away from Jamie’s and his lips are in perfect kissing range. He can’t bear the proximity. To his annoyance, Finn is completely relaxed, lying heavy on top of him. Fine, if he wants to play it like this…
Jamie uses his admittedly restricted range of motion to land a hit against Finn’s ribs.
“Ow! Hey, stop that!”
Jamie only intensifies his struggle, aiming for the same spot again.
“You. Little. Minx.”
Finn’s in motion again, and Jamie has a split second to feel smug about it before he realizes that provoking Finn might’ve been a mistake. Finn grabs Jamie’s belt and twists his body again. What’s he doing? Jamie forgets for a moment that he’s supposed to come up with a proper counter attack instead of squirming uselessly. Finn is behind him in the blink of an eye, chest flush against Jamie’s back. The press of Finn’s legs around Jamie’s middle and his arms around Jamie’s neck make him feel lightheaded. No way is he getting out of this position.
So much for teaching Finn a lesson. To make things worse, Jamie is getting undeniably aroused. It’s the unfamiliar sensation of being restrained, Finn’s strong body positioning Jamie as he pleases and the press of his choke hold against Jamie’s neck that doesn’t really cut off his air yet, but it could.
“Stop squirming,” Finn growls into his ear. Jamie shudders. “Now we’re going to talk about safety rules and respecting your trainer. Are you listening?”
The pressure against his neck increases ever so slightly. Jamie slumps in Finn’s grip.
“Yes,” he mumbles, his impulse to keep arguing, to establish his dominance at least verbally, is trumped by the desire to just melt into Finn’s warmth and do as he’s told. The urge to do anything to please Finn has Jamie’s head spinning. He doesn’t know this side of himself, but being at Finn’s mercy and being physically defeated is an unexpected turn-on.
“We can spar to your heart’s content, and if you want to wrestle, fine. But you don’t attack without asking your training partner for permission. And you don’t attempt any maneuvers that you haven’t mastered yet without discussing them with me first. I will not let you hurt yourself or anyone else just to prove something. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” slips out of Jamie’s mouth before he can think better of it.
Finn tenses behind him, his whole body going rigid.
“Don’t play games with me. This is a serious subject.” Finn’s voice sounds strained and Jamie has no idea what he has done wrong.
“I’m not playing games. I’ll do what you asked. Why aren’t you satisfied with that?”
“Good.” Finn's voice is still more gravelly than usual. He releases his grip on Jamie and all but jumps to his feet, turning and busying himself with their discarded swords.
Jamie feels a pang of disappointment at the loss of body contact. Is Finn really that angry with him?
“Come on, I’m sorry. I already told you I won’t do it again. What else do you want?”