Destined Love

Destined Love - Chapter Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty Five:

With ease—and slowly for Ariella's sake—I lean over her and position both of my legs on each side of her hips. I watch her the entire time, noticing how tight her face remains and her cheeks cloud with a dim shade of fuchsia. Her eyes, now coruscating with vibrant greens, continue to gaze up at the sky past my shoulders.

One of my ankles knocks against the side of her hip bone and she sends me a fierce scowl. I let out a chuckle as I move further down, now beside her thighs. A moment later, I'm ready to level myself down towards her body; I look at her for approval. The lines of her face stiffen and then relax as she lets out a captive sigh. She gives me a rigid nod, and that's all it takes for me to crouch down to her level and lower my weight across her thighs.

Her skin is warm to the touch, I can feel the heat through my jeans. As her scent invades my nose for the second time this evening, I feel my breath hitch. It's the water slashing against the grass that keeps me in focus; but that doesn't stop the muscles in my back from constricting and a fiery need inside me to start boiling through my veins. The importance of the situation keeps me in check and the urge to react to her touch at bay.

I swallow, trying to moisten the back of my throat.

"Usually an attacker is going to either mount your chest or your thighs, in this case, I'll tighten myself against your thighs, and I want you to follow my instructions. Got it?"

Ariella frowns. "I thought you said minimal physical contact?"

"As much as this technique will allow," I repeat my earlier comment. "Just relax, I'm not gonna be forceful against you, but I can't instruct you with just words."

She nods, a determined line now shaping her lips.

Leaning forward, I shuffle my body down a little further so that I can tighten my legs against the side of her thighs, just below her hips. The movement is almost intimate—in fact, it is intimate—and it takes another bite on the inside of my cheek to contain the itch to react. Those soft, moist lips of hers straighten into a line once again as the muscles of my legs hold her body in place. Her magnetic eyes, the colour of the Caribbean sea, stare up at me—wide and attentive.

The alluring, honey-vanilla scent of her skin—intoxicating.

The smooth touch of her skin—exhilarating.

For once, I wonder if the affects of our close proximity is mutual...

"Kade?" The short moment of disconnection is broken. "Are you okay?"

"Sí." I blink down at her. "Ya ready?"

"I've been ready for the last ten minutes."

My lips curve. "Fine, let's get on with it."

After a lick of my sandpaper-dry lips, I start on the first step.

"An attacker who is above you and holdin' you down has more force through momentum than you do. He has gravity on his side to strike, whereas you clearly have the disadvantage; you'll be fighting gravity—it's close to impossible to have enough momentum laying on your back to defend yourself."

Taking a breath, Ariella remains focused.

"There's a chance he could pin your arms to the ground, but then he'd have a harder time beatin' on you. And, since that's obviously his goal, he'll want all the advantage he can get. Instinctively, you'd likely try to protect or cover the part of your body being attacked with your arms, but it'll only cause you more damage.

"This leaves the option of strikin' back with your fists, or using your lower body strength to gain an edge over your attacker."

She chooses that moment to interrupt. "Punching back doesn't work for me."