Chapter Thirty-two
The next morning I woke when the sun breached the horizon, and I was glad the night was over. I had slept fitfully, suffering more haunting dreams. In them the wolf was back, on a leash held by Helen, but she had dropped her amenable façade. She wore a face half rotted by death, and the wolf barked and snapped his teeth as he raged against his restraints. Every time I approached, prepared to fight, the wolf lunged and I chickened out.
The dream left me feeling helpless and afraid, and I didn’t want to be that girl anymore. I eased out of bed, careful not to disturb Skyla, who had slept soundlessly beside me through the night. I drew on a pair of clean cotton shorts and a ribbed tank top. I needed a vacation from all this turmoil, but even more I wanted to be a survivor.
He didn’t yet know it, but Chuck—the latex fighting dummy—and I had a date. A few Valkyries often rose early to exercise before breakfast, but when I got to the gym, I had Chuck and the rest of the room all to myself. After loading something loud, fast, and angry into the stereo system, I threw myself into fight mode, careful to keep my form correct so the energy I put into my punches would land with the most effect. Chuck’s head wibbled and wobbled as I worked through the set Inyoni had designed for me. I grunted, and Chuck’s rubbery torso smacked and thunked like a real body. So satisfying.
“Whoever he is and whatever he did, I believe you’ve made him deeply sorry.”
I was lost in concentration, and with the music blaring, I hadn’t heard anyone enter the room. I turned to find Thorin wearing a familiar smirk. I glared at him and then spun and landed a lovely one-two combination. Jab, right cross. Chuck’s head wobbled, but he maintained his stoic expression.
“You show a surprising aptitude for that,” Thorin said.
I turned down the music, went to the towel shelf, picked out a clean one, and dabbed my face. “It helps that he holds very still and doesn’t fight back.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
According to the wall clock over the doorway, I had spent about twenty minutes giving Chuck a workover. I hoped he had enjoyed it as much as I had. “Chuck’s glad you came,” I said, pointing to the dummy. “He was already begging for mercy.”
Thorin stepped forward and grinned. He was dressed for a workout in sweats and a tank that showed every ripple and line of an impressive physique. It exposed some pretty striking scars, too. A thick one ran from his elbow to his shoulder in a ragged line, but I would chew my tongue in half before I asked him about it. “Have you got anything left for me?” he asked.
Flirting? No. I shook the thought away. My head would explode if Thorin started in on me, too. “I don’t stand a chance against you, and you know it.”
“You do if you use your best weapon,” he said.
“I haven’t perfected it yet.”
“I saw Val’s face this morning. I think he’d beg to differ.”
“He pissed me off.”
“So I heard.”
Of course he had. Last night’s argument had taken place in the hallway outside our collection of bedrooms, and Val and I had not been discreet.
“So,” I said. “Now do you believe me when I say there’s nothing between Val and me? No silly games of romance?”
Thorin dropped his gaze and rubbed a hand across his jaw, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry for losing my temper in Vegas. You’re right, I was mad at myself and I was taking it out on you.”
I nearly choked. An apology from Thorin? Sort of like Bigfoot or unicorns, I didn’t quite believe such a thing existed. I mimed snatching something from the air and rubbed it on the hem of my shirt.
“What are you doing?” Thorin asked.
“That was a real gem of an apology,” I said. “I’m polishing it up. Maybe I’ll get a setting made for it and wear it around for others to envy.”
Thorin shook his head and huffed. “You’re stalling, Sunshine. Are we going to fight or not?”
I rolled my head around on my neck and blew a breath out through my teeth. “Okay,” I said, rising to the balls of my feet and spreading my legs to lower my center of gravity. “But don’t laugh too hard when you kick my butt in the first thirty seconds.”
“Have some faith in yourself, Miss Mundy. I’m sure you could last at least a whole minute.”
“Don’t start with that ‘Miss Mundy’ crap again,” I growled.
Thorin stalked around me, and I followed, careful to keep my body turned as Inyoni had taught me, shoulder forward, torso angled to make my attacker’s target as small as possible.
“Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?” Thorin lunged toward me, his foot striking at my knee. I danced aside, and he missed by a hair. He grinned, giving away that he had missed on purpose.
“You’re playing with me,” I said. “You can move faster than that. I’ve seen you.” In the hotel room with Helen, Thorin had yanked me up so fast I barely perceived the motion. And there was something behind his impression of appearing out of nowhere. He made it seem as though he had a command of subtlety and stealth, but there was more to it than that.
“Testing the waters,” Thorin said. “Learning your limitations.”
“I hope you’re a good student, because I have lots and lots of limitations.”
“Sure you do. You’re a woman.”
I rolled my eyes. “But taking cheap bait isn’t one of them.”
Thorin struck out again, an openhanded slice this time, aimed for my ribs. I turned in time to deflect it with my elbow. His hit quaked up and down the bones of my arm. I gasped, and Thorin came in with a combination—a grab for my arm and a punch to my kidney. His grab fell short, but the punch landed home. He was still holding back, but the hit nearly sent me to my knees.
I backed away from him, bent over, and put my hands to my knees. I gritted my teeth and panted through the pain. There was no keeping up with him. Even moving at half speed and pulling his punches, Thorin made short work of kicking my ass, and I had lasted all of a minute against him, just like he’d predicted.
“I told you I wasn’t any kind of match for you,” I said.
“The wolf won’t be merciful. You need to be more offensive.”
“Great advice. Why don’t you fight him?”
Thorin lunged again. I skipped to the side, turned, and kicked at his weight-bearing knee, but it was no good. I was too tired and too much of a novice, and my move had put me directly in Thorin’s path. I tried to duck away, but Thorin shot forward and threw his arms around me, pulling me into a massive bear hug.
