Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115291 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115291 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
We faced each other on the mat. “Attack me, but try not to cut yourself.”
“Won’t you get a knife too?”
“I don’t need one. I’ll have yours in a minute.” My biggest challenge would be to fight Aria without hurting her. I’d never had to be careful in a fight before, but she was tiny in comparison to me.
Aria was obviously annoyed by my comment, but it was the truth.
“So what am I supposed to do?” she asked, eyeing the knife uncertainly. It was obvious from the way she held it that she’d never fought with one before.
“Try to land a hit. If you manage to cut me, you win. I want to see how you move.”
Aria glanced around us for a moment before she straightened her shoulders. She lunged forward, and I was surprised by how fast she could move, but I sidestepped her unpracticed attack easily. It was harder to grip her wrist without crushing it, and then I whirled her around until her back was pressed enticingly against my front.
“You don’t have my knife yet,” Aria said breathlessly.
I tightened my hold on her wrist ever so slightly then lowered my head to her ear. “I would have to hurt you to get it. I could break your wrist, for example, or just bruise it.” Aria held her breath, her pulse thudding under my fingers. I released her and she quickly dashed out of my reach, whirling around to face me once more.
“Again,” I said.
Fighting Aria was fun, and I could tell that she was growing annoyed by her inability to hit me. I’d never been beaten in a fight, and those men had been Made Men with years of experience and twice Aria’s weight.
When she tried to kick my balls, I snatched up her foot and tugged. I underestimated her momentum and she landed hard on her back, gasping and dropping the knife.
I knelt beside her, touching her belly. “Are you okay?” I murmured, trying to look calm because my soldiers were watching.
Aria’s eyes fluttered open. “Yeah. Just trying to catch my breath.” She glanced behind me toward my men. “Don’t you have a soldier who’s only five foot something and terrified of his own shadow who would be willing to fight me?”
There were definitely a few men around who would be easier opponents for Aria, but I’d never let anyone fight her, not even in jest. “My men aren’t terrified of anything,” I said loudly as I helped Aria to her feet before I faced them. “Anyone willing to fight my wife?”
A few of them laughed, and others quickly shook their head.
“You’ll have to fight me,” I told Aria.
Aria definitely didn’t want to give up, but I could tell that she was tiring. I was holding her against my body once again when a sharp pain in my bicep startled me. I loosened my hold and Aria managed to slip away, but before she could bring the knife down, I grabbed her wrist. My eyes darted to the spot on my upper arm where she had left teeth marks. “Did you bite me?”
“Not hard enough. There isn’t even blood,” she said, her lips twisting with amusement.
My stomach shook, but I held the laughter back. Aria’s eyes shone with pride as she peered up at me. Fuck. I wanted to laugh, but with my men watching, I couldn’t. A few low chuckles escaped anyway. Aria grinned.
I shook my head. “I think you’ve done enough damage for one day.”
Aria had never been more relaxed around me than after our training. It had allowed us to be close physically without her having time to worry about where it might lead. “Let’s get takeout,” I said on our way home. “What are you in the mood for?”
Aria pursed her lips. “I’ve never tried sushi.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Never?”
She shook her head. “But I’d like to give it a try. Maybe I’ll like it.”
There were so many other things she’d definitely like if she gave them a try, but I swallowed the words, not wanting her to get tense again.
I drove past my favorite sushi place and picked a selection of everything so Aria would find something she’d like, before we headed back home and settled outside on the roof terrace with our food and a bottle of wine. Aria tried every piece of sushi eagerly, nodding and humming her approval. I loved watching her.
“I’m surprised,” Aria said as she settled against the backrest. I had my arm thrown over it, close to her bare shoulders. I wasn’t sure what she was referring to. “I didn’t think you’d really try.”
“I told you I would. I keep my word,” I said. I wanted this marriage to work.
“I bet this is hard for you.” Aria motioned at the space between us.
“You have no idea. I want to kiss you really fucking bad.”