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“Today isthe last day of the year,” Kingston said and pulled the covers over us. “I don’t want it to end, I want to stay here with you forever.”
“Don’t hog the princess,” Ryker grumbled and pulled me closer to him. We were all still in bed, having one of those late lazy mornings I loved so much.
“Save some room for me, assholes,” Valen complained and reached over to take my hand in his.
“Come on, dudes, you’re being unreasonable here,” Archer said and I felt his leg drape over Ryker’s so he could rest it on mine.
“You guys are seriously going to fistfight for me one of these days,” I laughed. “And I don’t mean that ridiculous display of wrestling you do every chance there’s a moment to relax. I mean like an actual fight in bed overtop of me.”
“Let these young buck smash their antlers into each other,” Ryker said, stubbornly holding me against his muscled, tattooed chest. “I’ll run off with you while they work it out amongst themselves.”
“Bastard,” Kingston said with good nature humor. “I’ll kick your ass before that happens.”
Archer and Valen, as if coordinated, came over Kinston and Ryker to push their ways in between. To take their spots closest to me on the bed.
“You guys are hilarious,” I said and stretched, letting my bones and tendons pop and crack until they loosened up. “I might have to implement a ticket system of some sort to keep you on your best behavior.”
I laughed again, closed my eyes and let Valen and Archer have their time with me. I was so relaxed when I was with them; it was the best thing I could do for my mental and physical health. And spiritual health, if I was being flaky and thinking the way my mom did sometimes. If I kept down that line of thinking for much longer, I’d need an embroidered couch cushion that said, “Live, Laugh, Fuck,” or something.
After a while, I realized I couldn’t live in there forever. I had to pee, for one, and secondly, I was starving. I could have demanded breakfast in bed, but I wanted bacon and eggs with waffles and lots of syrup. Last night’s activities worked up my appetite, and I wasn’t about to dive into that kind of mess in the middle of my new bedding.
Every one of them groaned with annoyance when I mentioned the fact that it was almost eleven and Amara would be waiting to kick our asses by noon.
“She’s going to go extra hard on us for sleeping in, you all know that,” I said and I slipped off the bed. I turned around and none of them were moving. “You’re going to regret these extra ten minutes of rest when she has us running laps.”
I heard them grumble and groan but they got up and headed off to their rooms to get ready. I smiled at their reluctance, but knew we’d all feel better once we were going.
After my shower, I went downstairs and they had all beat me to the kitchen breakfast nook. My plate was ready, the cook that Ivan hired knew exactly how I liked everything. I wondered if she had talked to mom, actually, but just then I didn’t care. I devoured every bite in front of me and fought the urge to lick my plate when I was done.
We somehow managed to tumble out the door and meet Amara on the lawn at noon on the dot.
“Impressive,” she said, arching a perfectly sculpted brow. She was better suited to cruising the streets of Paris shopping high end stores for the latest in fashion than teaching a rag tag band of teenagers how to fight. “I saw you scrambling down to eat about half an hour ago. I’m amazed you got out here on time.”
I was wearing yoga pants, soft soled shoes, and a tee shirt. It was cold, really cold. I could almost feel snow in the air and wouldn’t be surprised to see flakes floating down around us at any moment.
I exhaled and watched my breath crystalize and extend out of my lungs in beautiful, sensual curls before it dissipated into the air.
“We made it through,” I said. “I think that’s the important thing.”
“The man who trained me would say you were late,” she told us with a stern expression. “He found me, half starved, on the streets of some overcrowded city filled with tourists and filth. I’d been left there after being abandoned by some white western religious group had closed up their orphanage and fled the country with their pockets full. Did you know that?”
“No, none of that,” I said, trying to picture Amara as anything but cool, calmed, and poised to knock some head together.
“He was strict. You thinkI’mstrict? He would beat the soles of your feet with a bo staff if you showed up on time. He expected you to be early.”
“Then I count ourselves as lucky that we have you and not him,” I said, and I looked her in the eye as I fought the quiver in my lip that wanted to give in and let me laugh. She was being melodramatic today and I didn’t know why. Maybe Ivan hadn’t gotten her enough for Christmas. I couldn’t say.
She stared back at me and for a moment I worried that I had crossed a line with my flippant remark. But she squinted her eyes like she did when she was about to laugh, and at last she exhaled a long, barking guffaw.
“Yes, you are lucky,” she said and clapped me on the back. “Now let’s get you prepared for an attack.”
I noticed how much my guys stood at attention around Amara, and it made me smile. They were so respectful of her that they were almost reverent to her authority.
We dove right into sparring, where we’d been the day before. I punched and kicked and hoped I would land one of two when the time came for me to fight for myself.
I hoped I could make her proud of me if I ever needed to.
Afterwards, we headed back inside and hit the sauna.
