Chapter 15: Bring It On

Zander barged into my suite. I sat on my bed and stared at my phone while willing a call from Ash to happen. So far, it had not been working.

He came up to me and asked, “Did you get any messages from your fiancé?” He said the last word with a hint of spite.

Was it that obvious? I hoped I wasn’t that easy to figure out.

“No. I haven’t heard from him at all.”

“What a shame,” Zander said in a fake tone of sympathy.

I wondered what he wanted. I set my phone down and looked him in the eyes.

“Is there something you want?”

“You promised that you’d spar with me, remember?”

Oh right. I had said that he could if he helped me. I almost wanted to change my mind because of the close proximity we’d have to be in. I wasn’t sure my heart could handle all that closeness with Zander.

Just looking at him caused me to feel a warmth spread throughout my body. It got harder just to breathe regularly when we were together.

Finally, I said, “Let me get changed first. I’ll meet you in the training room.”

“I look forward to it.”

I took my time looking through my clothes I brought. For some reason, I wanted to look extra attractive while sparring with Zander. I even put on makeup before putting on athletic shorts, sneakers, and a tank top. What was I doing? He wasn’t Ash.

Going over to the sink, I splashed water on my face. I had to stop these feelings for Zander before I did something to jeopardize things with Ash. Though, I’d never think of hurting Ash in that way.

Before leaving my suite, I also brushed my teeth. Not that I would kiss him again. That was definitely not happening. I just didn’t want him to smell my breakfast breath. It was nothing more than that.

When I entered the training room, Zander stood there looking at the wooden staffs. He took my breath away. He had a tank top which showed off his muscular arms. Then he had on athletic shorts that made me realize he had toned legs. I had no idea he was that in shape.

It was easy to hide under his usual outfit choices. I tried not to stare at him too long, because he would tease me again. I wouldn’t let him know just how much he affected me.

I had kept in shape too. I was glad that I made myself work out at least two or three times a week. Zander looked like a hot fitness trainer. Pushing the thought away, I sat on a mat and started stretching.

Zander brought a mat and placed it next to mine before sitting down. I hoped that he wouldn’t want to talk. My mind hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him so easily. I kept reminding myself I was with Ash. Maybe whatever I felt for Zander was because of proximity.

I hoped I could keep my distance from him, despite sparring with him. I didn’t need to be more pulled to him. That would be a disaster.

“Cleo, I’m shocked you aren’t swooning at the sight of me,” Zander said while looking me in the eyes.

“I don’t swoon. If I did, it wouldn’t be over you.”

Zander kept stretching his legs and looked over at me. “Are you sure? It didn’t seem that way when we kissed.” He smirked and added, “You were all over me.”

I hated how he kept bringing up the kiss. He sure liked to rub it in my face. Sometimes I just wanted to hit him upside the head. He needed to just drop the subject and forget.

I stood up and looked down at him, “Can we not talk about this anymore? It was a fake kiss. I was just distracting the elder.”

Zander made an mmhmm noise and smiled at me with a mega-watt smile. It was the kind of smile that made me feel like I’d melt into a puddle. I wished he wouldn’t look at me like that. It wasn’t fair.

He got quiet for a few minutes and started stretching his arms. I watched him off and on. My stomach got that butterfly feel, and I tried to shut it off. He shouldn’t’ have given me those feelings at all.

I continued to stretch and tried to think of what Ash was up to. It was odd he hadn’t tried to contact me, but he was probably doing Alpha training. I trusted him completely, and he told me he loved me often.

Zander’s voice snapped me back to reality. He said, “You ready to lose?”

He sure was confident about winning. I had to knock him off his high horse.

I laughed and said, “I’m not the one who’s losing today. You’re going to get your butt kicked by a girl.”

“You wish that’d happen.”

“Okay wise guy. Why don’t you fight me and find out?”

We finished stretching and stood in the center if the room. I decided to spar hand-to-hand. I wanted to prove I wasn’t all talk.

Zander tried to strike me in the stomach, but I dodged. I tried to kick him in his side, and he jumped away from me in time.

A few minutes later, we were both getting successful punches towards each other. I got him right under the jaw and made him stumble back.

I had never felt so strong or fast before. Being around Zander helped me be a better fighter. There seemed to be a surge of power traveling through my veins. It seemed like his fighting was enhanced too. Zander was even better than the other day if that was possible.

At one point, I knocked him down with a strong kick to the ribs. He didn’t stay down long but seemed a little breathless.

I jumped off to the side when he swung at my jaw. I felt like I could fight anyone with my speed and new strength.
Zander knocked me down and pinned me on the mat. He hovered over me causing my breathing to get faster. My heart was hammering and trying to fly out of me. It was so loud that I thought he’d hear it.

Somehow, I managed to roll him off me and got up. But that was short lived. Zander grabbed my leg and pulled me on top of him. What was he trying to do?

All the air inside of me seemed to leave, and I looked at him. His arms wrapped around my body, and it brought me a sense of safety and warmth.

Every nerve I had felt on fire with the feeling of him on top of me. I looked into his eyes and wondered if he’d kiss me again. I held a breath and waited to see if he’d make a move.