Chapter 18 Duel with my captor
We left the training room side by side, and I couldn't help the smug grin spreading across my face.
"I believe that last takedown was particularly impressive," I said, wiping my face with the towel Enzo had tossed me. "You know, when I had you flat on your back-"
"I let you win," Enzo cut in smoothly, though there was a tightness around his mouth that suggested otherwise.
"Sure you did." I snorted.
He shrugged. “I took pity on you. You're new here, and I didn't want to bruise that fragile ego of yours."
I huffed and rolled my eyes. "My ego is just fine, thanks. Unlike yours, which seems to be bleeding out all over this hallway-"
I stopped mid-sentence.
We’d entered an open corridor, wider than the others, with tall arched windows on one side that let in streams of morning light.
But it wasn't the architecture that caught my attention. It was the sound of the sharp crack of fists hitting flesh, the grunts of effort, and the heavy breathing of men locked in combat.
My feet slowed, then stopped entirely.
Through an open archway to my left, I could see a large courtyard. It was training yard andin the center of it, surrounded by at least four guards, was Giovanni.
"Don't even think about it," Enzo warned, noting the shift in my attention.
But I was already moving toward the archway, drawn by curiosity.
Or maybe it was the strange pull I’d felt since the moment I’d first seen Giovanni, a pull I absolutely refused to acknowledge as anything other than irritation.
"Arya-"
I ignored him, stepping closer to the edge of the courtyard, my fingers curling around the stone pillar as I watched.
Giovanni moved like violence personified.
He ducked under a guard's swing, drove his elbow into another's ribs, spun and caught a third with a kick that sent the man staggering backward.
Sweat gleamed on his skin, catching the morning light, and my eyes traced the hard lines of his body almost involuntarily.
I swallowed at the defined muscles of his chest and abdomen, the dark tattoos that curved over his entire body and then I saw it.
The white bandage on his torso, just above his hip. The one I’d put there myself and the dark red stain blooming through it.
He must’ve torn through the stitches will all of that movement.
"That idiot," I breathed.
Before Enzo could grab me, I was moving. I ducked under the archway and strode into the courtyard, my footsteps echoing across the stone.
"Stop!" I called out.
The guards froze instantly, their heads whipping toward me. The courtyard went silent except for heavy breathing and the distant sound of water from a fountain.
Giovanni's back was to me, his shoulders rising and falling with exertion. He hadn't noticed me yet.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded, marching straight toward him.
He turned then, and those hard eyes locked onto mine. But I was too furious to care.
"You reopened your stitches!" I closed the distance between us, my voice rising. "I spent almost an hour working on that wound, and you're out here playing gladiator like an absolute-"
I gestured wildly at his side. "It's bleeding! Do you have any idea how easily that could get infected? How stupid do you have to be to-"
I was on a roll now, my hands moving with each word, my face flushed with anger. Giovanni just stood there, watching me with an expression that might have been amusement if it weren't so carefully controlled.
“…. and another thing, if you think I'm going to spend every morning re-stitching you because you can't sit still for five minutes, you've got another thing coming, because I didn't sign up to be your personal-"
I finally ran out of steam and looked up at him properly.
He was staring at me. His gaze was fixed on my face with an intensity that made my skin prickle, his dark eyes tracing over my features like he was seeing something unexpected.
"What?" I snapped, suddenly breathless.
That's when I noticed it.
Every guard, every person in the courtyard was frozen, staring at her with expressions ranging from shock to something that looked almost like fear.
Even Enzo, still standing at the archway, had his hand over his face.
Oh.
Oh no.
I’d just stormed into Giovanni's training session. I’d just yelled at the boss in front of everyone.
My mouth went dry. "I… I mean-" I stumbled over my words, my earlier confidence evaporating. "It's not that I care or anything. I just… this is my work, and if you ruin it, it reflects poorly on my skills, so really I'm just protecting my professional reputation-"
Giovanni moved faster than I had anticipated. His hand came up, rough fingers catching my chin, and tilting my face up to meet his eyes.
He leaned down, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his skin, and smell the salt of his sweat mixed with something more masculine.
"Caring isn't a good look on you, dolcezza," he murmured.
There was a challenge in his eyes, something that dared me to admit what we both knew I was feeling.
Anger flared hot in my chest at the way my heart was hammering against my ribs.
"I don't care," I hissed, shoving his hand away from my face. I took a step back, needing the distance. "I don't care about you or your stupid death wish."
Giovanni straightened, and just like that, his attention shifted away from me. He turned back to his guards, dismissing me entirely, as if I were nothing more than an interruption in his morning routine.
Something in me snapped.
"Spar with me."
The words were out before I could stop them. The courtyard went still again, the silence somehow even more profound than before.
Giovanni didn't turn around. "I’m not going to waste my time sparring with you."
"Why not?" I moved to stand in front of him, forcing him to acknowledge me. "Afraid I'll make you look bad in front of your men?"
I had no idea what I was doing. He could probably kill me right there, but I couldn’t stop myself either.
If there was anything I detested, it was people looking down on me. Even if that person was my captor and the sole reason my freedom was taken away for good.