Page 39 of The Beast Who Begged Me

He’s dressed in the sleeveless tank and sweatpants I asked the Benedettis to get for him, the material clinging to his lean frame. And he’s watching me in the mirrored wall as I lay out the mats, then show him a simple wrist break, explaining the leverage points.

I don’t want to touch him. I don’t want to put my hands on him again, remind him of when I was his jailer. So I ask him to demonstrate on me instead, and I break his grip easily.

But there’s no point just showing him. He needs to do it. To practice until it’s second nature.

“Can I…” I ask, gesturing to his arm.

He nods. I wrap a hand around his wrist.

And he stands there looking up at me.

“Break free,” I remind him.

He’s clumsy. Can’t find the angle, can’t make my grip give.

“You’re not trying,” I tell him.

That earns me a flash of temper in the golden eyes. “Of course I am. But you’re much stronger than I am. That’s why this whole thing is pointless.”

“You need to learn,” I tell him. “You need to be able to break away from me.”

He’s watching me again, my hand wrapped around his wrist, and I swear I feel his pulse quicken. “Break away from you, Dami?”

“From someone like me,” I amend. “You can do it. Try again.” He twists half-heartedly and gives up.

He doesn’t want to be down here at all, I bet, with my hands on him.

“Try again. And remember, the person grabbing you like this? They’re going to kill you.” I hear his sharp intake of breath, and for the first time, he breaks my hold. I step back as soon as I see his face, the wary look in his eyes. He rubs his wrist. “Did I hurt you?”

He looks down at his wrist as though he wasn’t even thinking about it. “No,” he says at last. “Show me again.” He holds out his arm and I grip it. “Tighter,” he says. “Hold me tighter.” At the look I give him, he says innocently, “No point pretending the person about to kill me is going to be careful of my wrist, Dami. Right?”

I tighten my grip. And he breaks my hold.

“Okay,” he says after three more breaks. “I think I got it. But they’re not going to be polite and let me know they’re attacking me, right? Let’s try from a hold from behind.”

I walk cautiously around him, because something is building between us, something charged, and it’s dangerous. As dangerous as it always is. And then I wrap my arms around him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. I’m hyperaware of the way his ass fits against my dick, my cock stirring treacherously.

“Okay,” I say, my voice sounding too tight. “What do you do?”

He doesn’t answer. Just leans back into me, a slight, deliberate movement, until his head is tilted back on my shoulder, exposing the pale line of his throat. I want to bite him there, leave a mark, claim him all over again, even though I have no right.

“What I do, Dami, is rely on my protector to take care of me.”

I let him go at once and take a step back. “You’re not taking this seriously.”

“You’re the one not taking it seriously,” he says back. “My enemies are not going to come up behind me and hug me, Orsini. They want me dead.”

He has a point, I’m annoyed to admit. But… “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“That’s never bothered you before.”

I run my good hand over my face. “I think we’re done for now.”

“We are not,” he snaps. “You’re the one who wanted to do this. If you want me to defend myself, come at me like you mean it. Otherwise it’s just theater.” He lowers his voice, and his smile is vicious. “Or is it just an excuse to get your hands on me again?”

I feel the blood draining from my face, even though I know what he’s doing. It’s the same thing he always does. He’s pushing. Pushing until he gets a reaction from me. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“God forbid you do anything that makes you uncomfortable. You’d prefer that I die.”