Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Dara
They leave me for a few minutes to wrap my head around this new information. I don’t think I will ever be okay after all of this. I might just go insane; they may as well put me into a mental home now as that’s where I am heading.
I shake my head and get the courage to say, “Okay, let’s get into this training shit. No point putting it off any longer.” I need to keep my mind busy and focus on something else. The more I think about it, the crazier it will make me.
“All right, let’s get started then. You will begin off in the gym. Oliver can prepare a workout for you,” Harlan orders.
I follow Oliver into the gym dungeon. I have a feeling I will be killing or fucking him by the end of the session. Either works for me.
Oliver snickers while he walks toward the equipment. “Okay, first things first. Let’s do some exercises to help prevent too many muscle aches. Now I am not saying that you won’t be sore tomorrow because you most definitely will be. But this will help with the recovery.”
I follow Oliver’s moves as he goes through ten stretches. I’m feeling hot—not entirely sure if it’s from the exercises or watching Oliver’s muscles tense with each stretch. My body wants nothing more than to jump him right here right now but the sensible part of me knows I can’t. Oliver watches me with a knowing smirk.
After what seems like forever, we finally finish the stretches. I am already buggered. I head over to the bench that’s in the corner and grab a towel to wipe off the sweat that has formed in places I didn’t think possible.
“That’s it for the day, yeah?” I ask Oliver, walking back over to join him.
He lets out a huge chuckle and shakes his head. “Princess, that was just the warmup …. Stretches don’t even count.”
I stand there dumbfounded, trying to pick up my mouth from the floor. “Argh, this shit sucks balls! Fine. Continue with your instructions, pretty boy.” I huff as I throw my towel to the ground. He just grins and turns around to get ready for the almighty workout that is no doubt about to kill me.
I mean, I am not overweight, but I do have curves as a result of not working out. I am not toned in the slightest. The only exercise I have the time to do is hiking, which helps me stay fit in that way.
I have never done this weightlifting stuff. It’s never interested me—going to the local gym and working out in front of all of the grunting, sweaty men. Girls these days go there and spend the entire time on their phones, telling the world on social media that they are working out, which they totally aren’t.
It is the only reason Kayla ever goes there. I used to tease her about it all the time. Just thinking of her has my heart breaking. I miss her so darn much. It’s not like I can just message her to check in. I left my phone at home when I headed out on my hike, and I’m not even sure if it would work here.
I focus on what Oliver is saying, having missed half the workout by the sounds of it.
“… then you will need to do twenty reps of this one times four.”
I just nod in response as I am too distracted by the way his muscles flex as he pulls the weights up and down. My tongue slides out, wetting my lips.
He slams down the weight, and I jump. “Are you even listening, Dara? This isn’t some sort of game. It’s people’s lives on the line if you don’t shape up and find these stones. Please concentrate. I hate having to yell at you.”
“Okay, sorry. I just got distracted. You are not making it easy to concentrate,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
I walk over to the rowing machine, and he has me going back and forth for twenty minutes straight. I get a short rest between sessions as he explains the next one. I then continue on, following his workout. As I work my way through, he watches me intensely, which has me trying to work as hard as I possibly can.
Finally, after two hours straight, I am done. I let go of the weight I am lifting, and it slams to the ground with a heavy thump. And I couldn’t give two shits—I am too exhausted.
I fall to the floor, throwing my arms and legs out like a starfish. My chest rises and falls at a rapid rate. Oliver appears, standing over me and throwing me my towel to wipe off all the sweat that has appeared literally all over my body.
“You okay, Princess?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond. “Good job. You did really well. I am actually proud of you. I hate to be the one to tell you that you’re not done yet. I am going to teach you some martial arts.”
I let out a huge huff. Fucking hell. I don’t even have the energy to form words right now. I hear Oliver snicker at me as he walks off. I just lie there for another five minutes trying to catch my breath and prepare myself for the next torturing workout. Finally, I pull myself up and make my way into the space that has the big red mat.
Oliver is warming up, doing all sorts of weird moves from kicks to punches. His top has been tossed to the side. Fuck. I stand there gawking at him, watching his abs move with each punch and kick.
He stops as soon as he notices me. “Like what you see, Princess? Stop gawking and come over and join me. Today we will be working on the beginner moves. The proper way to kick and punch your opponent,” he says as I meet him on the mat.
I am scared shitless. I have never punched or kicked anyone. I am way out of my league. I stand in front of him, looking into his crystal blue eyes.
He grabs my hands, pulls them up, and places them in a defensive position, with one behind the other. “Okay, now punch my hands one in front of the other, then alternate.”
I do as I am told for once, without giving him any cheek. I try my hardest to impress Oliver, punching as hard as I can. As I punch out with my right hand, he grabs my fist before I have the chance to pull it back.
“First of all, stop punching me so bloody hard. It hurts. Second, you need to move your thumb to the outside of your fingers. Don’t keep it tucked in under your fingers—you will break a bone if you continue doing it like that. And punch on an angle like this,” he explains as he gently moves my hands into the correct positions. “All right, there you go. Now try and add in a little side kick to my upper leg after the punches.”
I follow Oliver’s orders and land two hard punches into his fists. Then I land a hard-arse kick into his leg. He winces the slightest bit, and I smirk. I haven’t seen this serious side of Oliver before. But it seems that once in the torture chamber, he takes it all very seriously. Which in turn makes me want to try harder to be better.
“Yes. Good. Nice moves. Now again,” he says through clenched teeth.
I try to hide the cheeky grin that threatens to come. But it looks like Oliver caught me and he smirks back. We continue doing this for another hour, but fuck, it feels like hours and hours. By the end my punches are half-arsed, and I can barely lift my leg to kick.
I stop and drop on the mat, not giving a shit what Oliver says. I am done. I am completely exhausted. “Am I dead? Because I sure as hell hope that I am. Actually, come to think of it, death would be much more peaceful than this. I seriously can’t move anything right now,” I complain, shutting my eyes, not even caring if Oliver is still there to hear me moaning.
The air changes around me and someone’s weight straddles me, their legs on either side of my waist. Biting down hard on my lip, I don’t dare open my eyes, as I am enjoying this way too much. A cold washcloth drops on my forehead, and a cool tingle goes through my whole body. The weight over me shifts and I squint my eyes open to find Oliver.
He moves the cloth lower toward my neck.
I swallow past the heavy lump in my throat. “I don’t know what concerns me more. The fact that you’re straddling me, or the fact that you have the cheekiest grin on your face right now. Should I be concerned that you are enjoying this a little too much, Oliver?” I laugh up at him, causing him to grab the washcloth and put it in my mouth as a gag to shut me up.
“Sometimes your mouth is too cheeky for your own good, Miss Dara. Just how am I going to shut it up?” he questions, causing my whole body to shiver.
You can start by bringing that sexy as fuck mouth of yours down to mine.
With the gag in my mouth, I can’t say a word. His eyes change colour to a dark, deep blue, which turns me on even more. He leans so close, to exactly where I want his lips.
He rips out the cloth and crashes his lips onto mine. Electricity zaps through every part of me. With a lot of effort, I lift my hand up and fist it through his hair, holding on tight and moving in motion with our lips. He tastes of fresh mint. Fuck. I have never been so turned on in my entire life. I moan into his lips as his tongue slips in and out, exploring everything.
But all too quickly, he pulls away and grabs my bottom lip between his teeth. He lets go, and I take the opportunity to drag his head down, positioning his ear to my mouth. “If we don’t stop now, I don’t think we ever will. I would love nothing more than to fuck you on every surface in this torture chamber and have you torment me senseless. But after that workout, I don’t think I can even lift my leg up,” I purr.
A huge non-human growl comes from the bottom of his belly. I should fear that sound, but it only makes it ten times harder to not jump him right here. But unfortunately, I can’t even move right now.
He leans on his elbows and looks me dead in the eye. “To be continued, Princess, and trust me, I won’t be letting you get away with talking to me like that again. You have no idea how hard it will be to walk away from you. But I know you won’t be able to handle what I have in store for you with the state that you are in. I’d rather you be as flexible as possible, not stiff from today’s workout. I do have to go and deal with this big hard stick in my pants that you so kindly caused,” he says with a deep growl.
He pokes his cock into my core, showing me what I have triggered. I groan. Oh fuck, he is huge. I better fucking recover quickly from this workout. I want Oliver in ways I haven’t wanted a man before. Oliver gets off me and heads toward the door.
Shit. I am in trouble and instantly feel guilty. I need to keep my feelings in check. For the guys’ sake, I can’t be slutting around with them. That isn’t me, and I can’t stand hurting them.
I lie on the mat for a good twenty minutes, too tired to move a muscle. Finally, I pull myself up and head upstairs. I sneak inside, not wanting to bump into anyone. All I want to do is have a nice hot shower and slip into bed.
I look around the living room and kitchen, and no one is in sight. Thank you. I don’t even have the energy to grab a bite to eat. Since being in Silvia, I haven’t known what the time is. I don’t have my phone anymore and I’m not quite sure how the time works here anyway. It feels like night time right now. It doesn’t matter either way, as I am going to bed.
I am like a robot as I turn on my shower and step inside. I let the hot water run down my back and enjoy the way it feels. My whole body is so sore from today’s torture, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I enjoyed it. No way I would ever admit that to the guys, of course. I’m still completely scared over what lies ahead. I yearn that I will be strong enough. I want to get through all the training and become this so-called super warrior who is going to save Silvia.
I laugh to myself. How and why was I chosen for this job? Out of all the people in the world, it’s plain old me. I don’t want to disappoint the guys, Jolie, Anna, and Albert. I want to make them proud and find these stones before it’s too late.
I better have what it takes.