Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty
Zen’s POV
“Fuck, Princess.” I breathed out, letting go of the breath I had been holding. After our dinner and shopping, I decided that we would start our training. It was only 7:30 and I was tired, but I was so fucking paranoid that something would go wrong in the next few days that I needed her to be prepared. I used the unfinished basement to set up some mats and a punching bag. I also picked up a few hunting knives and a taser for Princess. They were laid out on a white fold out table against the far wall, still sheathed of course. I considered setting out my black pistol, but I couldn’t get past the memory of her aiming it at me. The safety was off. She was ready to fucking kill me.
After I had finished setting up, I heard her descending the wooden stairs. She was in one of the exercise outfits that she had picked out, and I silently thanked God for her sense in fashion. She had on the tightest fucking leggings I had ever seen. The black fabric gripped her every curve deliciously and I could feel my cock suffocating beneath my basketball shorts. Her black crop top t-shirt showed the tiniest bit of her flat stomach and I wanted nothing more than to trace her exposed skin with my teeth. I had already gotten laid twice in the last day and a half, but I was ready for more. Her delectable body had turned me into a damned glutton.
“Behave.” She warned, cocking her thin brow at me. I groaned, taking the last three steps to her and gripping her hips, pulling her against my erection. Her body tensed at the contact and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Fine, I’ll behave. As long as you let me peel these off of you when we’re finished.” I purred into her ear, watching as the blush crept up her neck to her cheeks. I loved the way my words affected her. I noticed it even during sex; the way her moans got a little louder, her grip a little tighter after I said something dirty to her. It was sexy as hell.
She pushed against my chest, separating us slowly. I wanted to restrain her wrists so that she couldn’t do shit like that again, but I didn’t want to scare her. So instead, I let her step away from me. My consequential glare must’ve freaked her out, because her eyes immediately shot to the floor and her hands fiddled with the bit of ponytail that was sitting on her right shoulder.
“I-I’m sorry. I just can’t think straight when you touch me like that.” She stuttered, her chest rising and falling quicker than before. She pushed me away because she was horny? Feeling a surge of confidence, I gave her a devilish grin, holding my hands up in surrender.
“Alright, I’m sorry, Princess. We’ll get started now.” She let out a relieved breath, nodding her head with newfound determination. I circled her as I spoke, eyeing every inch of her body and wondering how it would change with my training. I had never taught anyone before, but I knew that I could. I would teach her how to kill the bastards who tried to hurt her. “Your mind will be your greatest asset in every fight. You have to learn how to stay ten steps ahead of your opponent, processing each outcome before you ever land a strike. Learn to predict their movement, and you will come out ahead.” She processed my words carefully before crossing her arms in front of her chest. Damn it, woman, I’m trying to concentrate.
“What if I’m not smart enough to do that? I’ve seen you do it, and I just don’t think I could ever keep up with you.” Her chest deflated, her eyes meeting mine when I stopped in front of her. God, she was beautiful.
“I’ve been doing this for eight years, Princess. Its second nature to me now, but it hasn’t always been that way. I was worse off than you when I started.” I assured her, remembering the broken kid that first stepped into Danny’s training gym almost a decade ago. “Trust me when I say that you are plenty smart enough for it. I’ve seen your mind work. Hell, you’re hands down the smartest woman I have ever met. You freeze when you’re scared, but we can move past that. I’ll teach you to how intimidate, instead of being intimidated.” Her brows furrowed.
“How am I going to do that?” I thought for a second. Mm. I know what to do.
“Do you find me intimidating, Elizabeth?” I asked cooly, dropping my lids and allowing a sadistic smile to play on my lips. She gulped, her eyes wavering slightly. I darkened my gaze even more. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. It was empowering. My predatory nature was surfacing, and I fucking loved it. The new adrenaline flowing through my body excited me, making me want to push it further. I took two painfully slow steps towards her. She flinched, but remained frozen in place. I used one hand to roughly grab her face, leaning my mouth an inch away from hers all while never breaking the hold I had on her translucent blue eyes. “Answer me.” I whispered with sinister authority. I could feel my cock stiffen while her eyes filled with tears. Fuck, I’m a sick bastard.
“Y-yes.” She stammered, her jaw moving beneath my grip. I slid my fingers closer together, deforming her mouth in the process and making her pucker.
“Lesson one: Don’t ever show your fear, Princess. Men like me prey on it.” I growled beneath my breath, frustrated with the accuracy of my words and the fact that she still wasn’t fucking moving. My other hand gripped her body firmly, tracing the outline of her waist, then her hips, on its way to her sweet and covered pussy. I waited for her to squirm or flinch or do anything at all to try to get away from me, but she didn’t. She just stared at me with glistening eyes, her lips trembling slightly between my forefingers. I held my breath as my fingers descended the last couple inches, applying slight pressure to her clit as I continued moving south. Then, I stopped. My eyes turned damn near feral when I felt the moisture accumulating between her thighs. “Fuck, Elizabeth. Is this turning you on?” My voice was hoarse and deep, and my eyes searched hers for an answer. She whimpered against my hand, a single tear falling down her cheek. I lowered my lips to catch it, making her suck in a harsh breath.
I was trying to show her how to stand up to me. I didn’t expect her to fucking enjoy me acting like a lunatic. Damn it! I furrowed my brow in confusion. How was I supposed to teach her how to be intimidating if she liked being intimidated by me? I had to scare her. I had to make her want to push back.
I let out a deep growl, tossing her onto the mat beside us. She hit the padding with a loud thump, her head nearly connecting with the ground. Several more tears poured from her eyes as she scurried onto her back, her knees bent in front of her for protection. I paced in front of her cowering form, eyeing her like the prey she was. This woman brought out my demons, and I wasn’t sure anymore if what I was doing was for the training. Finally, I stopped, taking calculated steps towards her. Her whole body stiffened, but she made no effort to get away.
“Fucking move, Elizabeth!” I barked, making her tremble. With that, I pounced. I gripped her small wrists in my still bandaged hand, hoisting them above her head while I straddled the rest of her body. She cried out in response, tugging against my pull. “That’s it. Fight, baby.” My grip tightened and I locked my calves over her thighs. I could feel them clenching beneath me, and I swore I was losing my fucking mind. She still battled with her hands, but her rubbing thighs showed her want. Her screams were echoing around the small basement, bouncing off of the concrete walls. Just like that morning, I crashed my lips onto hers, eagerly devouring her mouth with every ounce of lust left in my fucking body. She moaned on contact, but quickly sucked in my bottom lip, biting onto it firmly. Son-of-a-bitch! I pulled my mouth away from her, the fleeting taste of iron telling me that she drew blood. I expected to look down and see her glaring, but instead her eyes were hooded and wanting. What was wrong with her? Fuck, what was wrong with me? My free hand moved on its own, gripping firmly onto her slender neck. I could feel her loud pulse through my fingertips as they pressed into her flesh.
I leaned down, close enough that my hair was brushing against her nose but not close enough for her to bite me for a second time. Her eyes were watering again, making my cock want to combust. I was completely gone, surrendering myself to the thrill of the hunt. Maintaining eye contact, I ran my tongue over my bleeding lip.
“Do you want me to fuck you like this, Elizabeth?”