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Like now, I actually get a couple of good hits in his chest during our fight and he even smiles at me with a look of pride on his handsome face. His eyes lock onto mine and, just as I start to feel cared for, he turns and walks away from me as if I'm just another person to him.
"Aella," Gavin says, his back still moving farther away from me as he makes his way toward the weapons wall. It's just the two of us in here today. Kassy and Alexa went shopping with Liam because they were both getting pretty stir crazy. Gavin and I needed to practice fighting anyways so we stayed behind. Kassy doesn’t like watching us spar. She says it feels like she is interrupting something private, which is just ridiculous.
I watch the muscles stir beneath his skin with every slight movement. "Yeah?" I say, just louder than a whisper.
He pauses, as if thinking about what to say next but shakes his head, erasing whatever words never made it out. He reaches for a small black bag sitting on a shelf by the swords. "I uh, was just wondering if you'd tried throwing knives yet?" he says, turning to me with a forced smile.
I know that's not what he was planning on saying but I play along. "No, I'm afraid I'll take an eye out with those things. And seeing as you’re the only other one here, it’ll be your eye."
He chuckles lightly at me. "All present eyes will be just fine. I've seen you with some of the heavier weapons and I've noticed you don't seem exactly comfortable. I've been thinking about what you could use for protection while you're still training, and I remembered that I had these in my room."
Gavin pulls out four short and sleek looking knives. They are shaped into an impossibly sharp point for speed and accuracy with no handle on the other end. He grabs the hilt of one of the knives and turns in a blur before flicking the weapon through the air and imbedding it in a target on the far wall.
I spin in my spot and see the blunt end sticking out of the head of a human shaped target.
My eyes go wide as I turn back to Gavin. "Wow! That was awesome, but uh...I'm not sure I'm capable of that," I say, feeling very unsure of myself.
Gavin shrugs. "Just try it. Not many people are as good as me so don't worry about trying to measure up to the master." He is trying to goad me so that I will want to challenge him. It's what he does when we are fighting so I won't hesitate when hitting him.
I shake my head at him. "You just think you're so cool, don't you, hot shot?" It is too easy to fall into this rhythm with him.
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He grins, flashing his dimple at me. "Well, let's see if you can be cool as well.” He hands me one of the knives and I take it, hoping I'm not about to lose a finger. “It won’t hurt to just try it."
“It could hurt.” I mumble under my breath.
He turns me toward the far wall and the invisible string around my heart does a little tug, wanting me to get closer to him, but I ignore it. I stare down the human target outline, ready for a distraction. I stand up straight and fling the knife with all of my strength toward the target. The small blade flies through the air, making a whooshing sound and impales the floor, maybe two feet in front of the paper man. I slouch over, upset about my failure.
Gavin grunts behind me and I turn to see him rubbing the stubble on his chin. "You know, that actually wasn't too bad for your first try. At least you got it to stick somewhere."
"It looked pretty bad to me. Maybe throwing knives aren't my thing either," I say, ready to give up on weapons altogether.
Gavin shakes his head and takes a step closer, landing just a few inches from me. "If you can just position your body correctly, I promise you will do so much better." He holds his hands out to me. "May I?"
I swallow a lump in my throat and nod my head at him, afraid that my voice will give away just how much I genuinely want him to touch me.
He hands me the third knife and places both of his hands on my bare shoulders, sending me that familiar tingle. He turns me around so that my shoulders are parallel with the wall across the room and then slides his warm hands down my back to my hips. I have to suppress a shiver that wants to escape from the trail of electricity flowing from his fingertips. Firmly, he grips my hips and turns them slightly to the right and then bends down to grab my left leg and points my foot toward the target. He turns my other foot so that it is slightly behind me and pointing off to my right.
Over my shoulder, I see Gavin stand back up. He is standing so close to me that I can feel the heat from his chest against my back. I avoid looking at his face because with him being this close, I could easily lose myself in his eyes and do something stupid. I stare forward at the paper man in front of me and wait for my next instructions.
"Now, hold the knife in your right thumb and index finger with the small groove in the handle." Gavin says
