The Recruit: Book One (6 page)

“That’s great, Hannah!”  Selena cheered as
Hannah pinned Jeremy to the mat.  She held him down for a moment, panting and
grinning happily at him.

Four more weeks of training had passed and
with each passing day, Hannah had grown stronger and faster.  She no longer vomited
after their daily runs, she had surpassed all of her fellow recruits in both
push-ups and sit-ups, and only Jeremy could beat her in pull-ups.  She had
continued her secret exercise training in the evenings and it had finally paid
off.

Her only weakness was the hand-to-hand
combat, and even that was improving if tonight’s practice was any indication.

Lost in her thoughts, she relaxed her grip
and Jeremy quickly flipped her over and straddled her, pinning her arms down.  He
wiggled his eyebrows at her.  “Never let your guard down, Hannah Banana.”

“Get off me, you lug.”  Hannah laughed and tried
to head-butt him. 

He whipped his head back before she could
connect and grinned at her.  “You gotta be faster than that, baby.”

She gave him a mock glare and then heaved
her body upwards and tried to buck him off of her.  He laughed and pressed his
body down against hers before leaning down and kissing the tip of her nose.  “You’re
so cute when you’re angry, HB.”

“I’m going to kick your ass, Jeremy.”  She
scowled at him as he leaned in to kiss her nose again.

“What the hell is going on here?”  Will’s
angry voice filled the small training room, and Selena gave a small squeak of
fear and twisted around.

“It’s late.  You should be in your dorms.”  Will
snarled. 

He was dressed in his usual attire of jeans
and a t-shirt.  He had obviously just come from the shower.  His dark, thick
hair was damp looking and he was freshly shaven.  His smooth cheeks and chin
was something Hannah had never seen on him before, and she was captivated by
the small scar that ran across his chin.

“We were just practicing, sir.  We were working
on our combat skills.”  Selena whispered.

“Get off of her – now!”  Will barked at Jeremy
who was still straddling Hannah.

Jeremy jumped to his feet before offering
his hand to Hannah.  He pulled her to her feet and they stood quietly on the
mat.

“You’re breaking the rules.”  Will
growled.  “I could have you all kicked out for this.”

Selena gave a gasp of dismay and Jeremy’s
face reddened.

“It was my idea.”  Hannah said quickly.  “I
needed practice on my hand-to-hand skills and I asked Jeremy and Selena to help
me.  They shouldn’t be punished for agreeing to help me.”

Will stared at her, his nostrils flaring.  “Your
testing is tomorrow.  These tests will determine whether you are allowed to
continue in the program or not.  I would suggest that you retire to your beds. 
It’s late and based on your exercise drills, all of you are going to need to be
as sharp as possible tomorrow.”

“Yes sir.”  Selena said quietly.

The three of them started for the door. 
“Not you, Ms. Torrington.  You stay right where you are.”

Hannah’s stomach dropped but she stopped
obediently, giving Selena a reassuring smile as her and Jeremy left the room.  Two
days after she had slept with Will, she had found a folded-up piece of paper
under her pillow in the dorm.  It was a copy of Will’s medical records, and she
had scanned it briefly before burning it in the bathroom sink.  She was
surprised he had kept his promise to give her a copy.  He was obviously still
furious with her and, if it was even possible, had been even more miserable to
her since the night they slept together.  He yelled at her during every training
session, and he had punished her with so many extra push-up’s she could easily
do over a hundred now without breaking a sweat. 

It was so bad that the others had started
to talk openly about his obvious hatred for her.  Jeremy had even asked her
bluntly what the hell she had done to him.  She had laughed it off, saying
something about Will being tough on them all, but none of the other recruits
were buying it.  Selena had suggested she go to Richard and complain but she
refused.  Will was trying to break her and she wouldn’t allow him that
satisfaction.  She focused on Sara, brought her sweet face to her mind every
time Will shouted at her or demanded she give him fifty extra push-ups, and
carried grimly on.

Will stared silently at Hannah.  The two months
of daily exercise had firmed her body.  She was wearing tight yoga pants and
they clung enticingly to her.  Although still curvy, her entire body had leaned
out and he could see the hardness of her thighs through the tight pants.  He
let his eyes drift up her body, taking in the thin white tank top she was
wearing over her blue sports bra.  Her arms were folded protectively across her
torso and they were taut with muscle.  His eyes settled on her breasts.  They
were smaller than they used to be but still temptingly full.  He felt his groin
stirring as the memory of touching them, of kissing them while she moaned
softly under him, flooded through him.

He was immediately angry with himself.  Sleeping
with Hannah had been a very bad mistake.  He had been propositioned plenty by
other recruits, but had never once considered sleeping with one.  They were
there to learn how to kill vampires, not to have sex with the instructors.  He
wouldn’t deny that he was attracted to Hannah and that he had briefly considered
seducing her until, that was, she had asked to join the program.  He thought he
had squashed his initial attraction.  And then she had kissed him.

The soft, innocent pressure of her lips on
his had sent an immediate arrow of desire straight to his groin.  He had been
filled with an instant and undeniable urge to make her his.  He sighed
harshly.  The wolf inside of him had demanded to mate and, for the first time
in his life, he had failed to control it. 

Hannah was still staring at him,
apprehension mixed with desire on her face, and it sent an answering call of
need through him.  He groaned to himself.  He had spent the last four weeks
pushing the memory of being inside of her, out of his head.  Up until tonight
he had done an admirable job of it.  Seeing Jeremy on top of her and the way
she was smiling at him had filled him with anger and, he admitted grudgingly,
jealousy and he kept his hands clenched in tight fists as he approached her.

“It isn’t enough to put yourself into a
position to be kicked out?  You have to drag Jeremy and Selena down with you?”  He
asked quietly.

Her nostrils flared but she didn’t answer. 
He stood next to her, inhaling her familiar scent of strawberries, and stared
at the side of her head.

“Look at me, Ms. Torrington.”

Scowling, she turned to face him, her brown
eyes glaring into his blue ones.  “Are you kicking me out or not, sir?”  She
asked quietly.

“Perhaps I should kick all three of you
out.  This is the second time I’ve caught you out of the dorms after hours, and
this time you brought friends.”

“It’s not their fault!”  She said hotly. 
“They were being nice and helping me out.  It’s what people do when they’re
friends, Will.  They help each other.”

He shrugged.  “So you’re a bad influence on
them.”

She rolled her eyes, not caring that it
made his face tighten and his eyes narrow with anger.  “It’s late and I’m
tired.  Should I be packing my bags or not?”

“What you don’t seem to understand, Ms. Torrington,
is that this training isn’t just about the physical changes you need to make. 
You need to listen, to understand the rules and obey them.  Doing exactly what
I tell you to do could save your life someday.”

“I understand that perfectly, sir.”  She
said icily.

“Do you?”  He stepped closer but she
refused to step back.  “As I mentioned before, this is the second time I’ve
busted you for breaking the rules.  And don’t think I am unaware of your continued
midnight trips to the gym the last few weeks.  I’ve chosen to turn a blind eye
to your rule-breaking because for some crazy reason Richard has faith in you. 
Those late-night exercise trips have been the only thing that’s allowed you to
keep up with the others.”

“I’ve been working my ass off for the last two months.”  She
hissed at him angrily.  “I deserve to be here just as much as the others.”

He shrugged and then said something so unexpected she blinked
at him in surprise.  

“Are you sleeping with Jeremy?”

“What?”

“I asked if you’re sleeping with Jeremy.”

“That’s none of your business!”  She snapped.

“Actually it is.  Recruits sleeping with each other is
strictly forbidden, and a reason for immediate dismissal.”

She gaped at him.  “Why on earth would you think I was
sleeping with Jeremy?  We’re friends.”

He shrugged again.  “You obviously have no problem sleeping
with someone to get what you want.  You need help with your training, and Jeremy
seems more than eager to help.  I saw him kissing you when I came in.”

“You son of a bitch!”  She tried to punch him in the face
but he pulled his head back and she missed.  She stumbled but kept her balance
and stared at him furiously.

“Are you sleeping with Jeremy?”  He repeated softly.

“If you want to kick me out of the program for failing the
physical requirements, go ahead.  I won’t contest it.  But if you even dare try
to kick me out just because you think I’m sleeping with Jeremy, I swear to God
you’ll be in for a fight.”  She said, her voice seething with anger.

“Tell me if you’re sleeping with Jeremy or not!”  He
suddenly shouted.

“Make me.”  She retorted childishly.

His nostrils flared angrily.  She took a step backwards, but
then forced herself to stand still as he moved closer and she could feel his
breath on her face.  She would be damned if she would show any fear around him.

He was standing directly in front of her now with his chest
rising and falling rapidly.  She could almost see the steam leaking from his
ears.

She didn’t flinch when he reached out and gripped the back
of her head, pulling her forward until the tips of her breasts brushed against
his chest.

“I could make you tell me.”  He whispered.

She didn’t reply.  She hadn’t been this close to Will since
the night in the gym, and her senses were being flooded with the memories of
his mouth, his hard body and the incredible orgasm he had given her. 

“You’re standing too close.”  She whispered weakly.  She had
spent the last four weeks trying to forget what it was like being with Will. 
With his terrible treatment of her, she had found it surprisingly easy and thought
she had lost all of her attraction to him.  But now, after only a few seconds
of him touching her, of looking at her, she was right back to that night in the
gym.  Minutes ago she had been so angry with him she had wanted to strangle him,
and now it was all she could do to stop herself from throwing him on the ground
and having her way with him.

“Am I in your personal space?”  He asked silkily.  His anger
seemed to have dissipated completely, and he was staring at her in a way that
was all too familiar.  He cupped her jaw and rubbed his thumb across her mouth,
smiling a little at her soft moan.

She swallowed thickly and nodded, staring into Will’s eyes. 
The blue was fading, becoming lighter and lighter until they were a golden
yellow.  She frowned but before she could ask him about it, he bent his head
until his mouth was almost touching hers.

“I like being in your personal space.”  He whispered, his
breath puffing against her lips.  Still cupping her face, he reached down with
his other hand and gripped her ass.  He squeezed it roughly, making her gasp,
and pulled her body flush against his.  His hand drifted down her thigh and to
the back of her knee, and she made no move to stop him when he pulled her leg
up and hooked it around his hips.  He used his leg to push against her other
one, forcing her to widen her stance until he could fit himself between her
legs.  She moaned at the feel of his erection against her and tightened her leg
around his hips, pressing her crotch against him. 

With a low groan he kissed her hard.  Her mouth opened to
his insistent tongue, and she gave another moan of pleasure as they kissed deeply.

He cupped her breast, kneading and squeezing it through her
tank top and sports bra.  She ran her fingers up his skull and tangled them
into his damp hair, holding on tightly as he kissed his way down her neck.  His
beard tickled lightly and she giggled softly.  He growled and nipped her
throat.

“Find something funny, Ms. Torrington?”

“No.”  She moaned as he licked his way across her
collarbone.

He was reaching for her shirt when he suddenly froze.  He
stood with his head cocked to the side, an intent look on his face.

“What?”  She asked hoarsely.

“Someone’s coming.”  He muttered.  He stepped away from her
and she straightened her clothing as seconds later, voices were heard outside
the training room.  She held her breath and then released it in a harsh rush
when the voices continued past the door and faded down the hallway.

“Come back to my room with me.”  He held out his hand.

She laughed shakily.  “I don’t think that’s a very good idea,
Will.”

“I think it’s an excellent idea.  In fact,” he stepped
closer and snaked an arm around her waist, “it’s the best idea I’ve had in
weeks.”