Protecting Shaylee (The Fae Guard Book 1) (14 page)

My lungs are choked with emotion at his words. I want to let go and fall into him completely, but my wounds are still a little raw and I need time for them to heal. I lift my eyes and contemplate what I see in the green jade staring down at me.

“I’m not ready, Aden. I’ll stay close and let you protect me. But, I’m not ready to open up my heart and soul to you. I don’t think I can survive having it broken again.” I place my finger on his lips to keep him from protesting. “Give me time.”

He studies me, searching my face for something, and I know he wants to continue the discussion. My insides uncoil with relief when he brushes his nose against mine and releases me. “Go, baby. Get inside before I throw you over my shoulder and spend the night convincing you. I’ll meet you in the training room around ten in the morning.” He nods toward the door. I back away slowly, open my door, and duck inside. As I close it, I look out again and see Aden watching me longingly. “I’m serious, baby, shut that door right now or you’ll be spending the night without any sleep.” I shake my head in mock exasperation, but grin at him as I shut the door. I lean heavily back on it and my body slides languidly down to the floor. I hear a thump and the sound of fabric rustling. My lips curl up when I realize that Aden is sitting as I am, on the other side of my door.

Aden’s voice is muffled when he groans, “You’d better lock the fucking door, Shaylee.” A giggle escapes my mouth as I stand and flip the lock before I walk away.

MY LUNGS ARE BURNING, my legs are screaming, and every inch of my body is dripping with sweat. But no matter how many miles I run, I can’t wipe Shaylee from my mind. She consumes me, day and night. I’ve never wanted anything in the last seventy-six years like I want her. I don’t just crave her body either, although I’ve had a permanent semi since the moment I saw her again. I want it all. I want her to give me her body, her heart, her perfect soul.

No matter how many miles I run, I can’t get away from the fact that I’ve already given her all of those things. She fucking owns me, and I can’t out run the reality of it. So, it’s time for a game plan. I meant what I told her yesterday, she’s got until Friday. If she thinks I’m going to give her space, she’s out of her mind. I’m going to do everything I can to sweep her off her feet, and bring her to the brink of desire, so she is begging me to satisfy her need.

I hit the cool down button and take my speed down to a slow jog. Brannon hops onto the machine next to me and looks me up and down.

“You look frustrated.” His voice is anything but sympathetic. A knowing look enters his eyes and I can see that he is fighting a smile.
Asshole.
“Shaylee must be living in the other apartment.” I know he’s being a prick on purpose, so I just grunt a response, refusing to take the bait. Brannon gives in to his laughter, but wisely turns to his treadmill without comment and begins his workout. I slow down to a walk, and then hop off the machine after five minutes. Grabbing a towel, I give in to my childish side and whip it right at Brannon’s ass. He yelps (like a little girl) and stumbles, making me double over with laughter, before I give him a jaunty salute and make my way to the locker room and the showers.

At a quarter to ten, I head to the training room and get out the necessary items to begin Shaylee’s training. Out of the window, I can see others training on the fields, and I’m grateful that this space is almost empty. Laila is coaching a sparring match between two teenage boys, at the other end of the room, and gives me a wave before focusing back on her students.

Laila chose to become an instructor after a decade or so in the Mie’Lorvor. She wanted the real world experience, but decided quickly that she preferred to “get to the good part,” as she puts it. Most people underestimate her because of her size and short time in the field, but that just means they’ll get their asses handed to them that much harder. She’s one of the most powerful instructors at the facility and uses their ignorance to gain respect. Watching her take down an arrogant, know-it-all student is one of my favorite spectator sports. If I could sell tickets and popcorn, I’d make a fortune.

As I’m laying down footwork tape, I hear Laila call out a greeting. Setting the tape aside, I stand and turn toward the entrance, noticing that the boys have stopped practicing and are gawking at the door. I roll my eyes at their lack of focus and move my gaze to see what has their attention and stop dead in my tracks.

Oh, fuck no.

Shaylee is striding toward me, dressed in tight black running pants, molded to every muscle in her legs and showing off her spectacular ass. The straps of her purple top cross at the back of her neck, come down from behind and wrap around the front, just below her tits, before hooking in the back. The straps and support from the sports bra lift her generous tits up high and show off just enough cleavage to have every male mouth in the room filling with saliva. Way too much of her smooth, creamy skin is exposed. Before she reaches me, I hurry over, grab her arm, and lead her back out the door.

“Change. Now.” I demand tightly, my jaw grinding. She was startled by my reaction a moment ago, but at my words, her eyes narrow and her lips pinch in defiance.

“No.” She raises an eyebrow, waiting for my response, but when she folds her arms under her chest, I’m distracted by the plump flesh on display. The distraction just makes me that much more determined to get my way. Not to mention how difficult it would be to train her with a fucking hard on.

“Shaylee, don’t push me.” I warn. “Now get your ass upstairs and put on some clothes.”

She inhales sharply and her blue eyes turn stormy, fury swirling in their depths. She can get as angry as she wants; I’m not going to budge a fucking inch. She must see the determination in my eyes because eventually she lets out a huff before spinning around and stomping down the hall.

“Hurry it up.” I call. “And, leave the pout at the door, Buttercup.” I hear a higher pitched shriek of frustration from around the corner and her clomping gets louder. That’s when I notice ground trembling in time with each of her irritated little steps. Holy fuck, that girl needs to learn to control her power or every time she has a snit, we’ll be staring down world destruction. I shake my head in exasperation and almost laugh at her childish attitude.
Almost.
I’m too busy trying to lose the damn tent in my shorts to think about anything else.

When Shaylee returns to the training room, she still has on the pants that fit like a second skin, which I’m not overly happy about. However, she’d put on a grey t-shirt with a Tinkerbell graphic on the front and, as she walks by me, I see that it says, “
I’m the happiness fairy. I just sprinkled happy dust on you. Now smile. This shits
expensive.” My head flies back as I laugh so hard, my stomach begins to ache. I pass by her and give her a light swat on the ass, “That’s more like it.”

Shaylee halts and gets up in my face, “Did it occur to you that I didn’t’t pack my bags, Aden?” she hisses as her cheeks turn a little pink. “Most of my workout clothes are ridiculously skimpy.”

This time, when I start laughing, I double over, barely able to stay on my feet. Her mother packed those clothes? Damn, Shaylee comes by her sassiness honestly. Shaking my head, I refrain from comment and just take her hand, leading her to the room with the cardio machines. At least, I’ll be able to focus a little more with her new attire.

I start her off with a warm up on the treadmill and am pleasantly surprised to see that she’s in good shape; her endurance is pretty strong. While she runs, I start off with the typical lectures on defensive techniques. It turns out, she has taken self-defense classes, which means, I don’t have to start from the beginning and we can move faster. I also explain how we are going to train, spending the majority of our time on the physical aspects right now, but then, we’ll incorporate her abilities more and more.

“You’ve got to pay a little more attention to your emotions, babe,” I warn, remembering her little fit in the hallway. Defense is about awareness, knowing what options your opponent has and what you need to do to protect yourself. Your magic is a tool and inadvertently using your abilities without control could get us both hurt.

Hopping off the treadmill, she nods, “I’ll try.” Then she shrugs, “Just try not to piss me off.”

Choosing to ignore her barb, we make our way back into the training room. For the next several hours, we concentrate on reviewing her knowledge of footwork and self-defense moves. I’m impressed with how fast she picks it up, and even more with her focus and determination to learn. She left the smartass in the other room and is genuinely open to what I’m teaching her.
Mostly.

“Shaylee, keep your hands up,” I chide for, at least, the twentieth time. Her eyes shoot daggers at me but she lifts her hands to her face once again. Sweat is dripping off her skin and I’m amazed that I’m able to keep my mind off of the way it molds her clothes to her every curve.

I’ve kept her in constant movement since the moment we began and I can see she is getting tired. But, I want to find her limits, to see just how hard I can push her. So far, my girl is already proving herself a force to be reckoned with. I’ve got her running footwork drills along tape lines, when her concentration is interrupted by the presence of someone behind me.

“Shaylee, concentrate! “ I bark at her. She rolls her eyes and stops the drill to walk forward, smiling at whomever has arrived. I turn to glower at the person and see its Hayleigh. She’s covered in sweat and mud; she must have been training out in the field. She nods a greeting at me, but turns to Shaylee with a full smile. Some of my irritation eases at the sight. I want Shaylee to be comfortable here and honestly, it’s nice to see Hayleigh look a little less serious for a change. She transferred here from another city a couple of years ago and it was immediately clear that she was jaded by her past and looking for a fresh start. She’s softened over the years, but she still wears a cynical shell that keeps her wary. Brannon was taken with her from the moment he met her, but damn, she is leading him on a not-so-merry chase.

Shaylee pulls her into a hug and she stiffens but to my complete astonishment, she doesn’t pull away and after a moment, returns the embrace. I guess I shouldn’t have been shocked; Shaylee has always had the ability to draw people to her.

Pulling back, Shaylee grabs Hayleigh’s hands, “Please tell me you’re here to save me from this torture,” she pleads. Hayleigh laughs and I roll my eyes at her exaggerated description.

“Unfortunately, I just stopped by to see if you’re free Friday night. Laila and I are vegging out with junk food and chick flicks.” I open my mouth to tell her that Shaylee will be with me, but shut it just as quickly. I want her to find her rhythm here, so I’ll give her the evening with the girls. I watch her face and see the tiny, but triumphant, smile when she steals a glance at me out of the corner of her eye. She thinks she’s beat me at my game, and I let her, keeping my face carefully blank.
Yeah, we’ll see who wins on Friday night.

“Since you’re not here to spring me, I’ll take you up on it and demand that our night include boat loads of chocolate.” They both giggle and Hayleigh agrees to her terms. She takes off for the showers and Shaylee turns to me with a beseeching pout on her face. “Let’s take a break, Aden.” She falls to her knees and then down on to her back, sprawling across the floor.