DANTE’S POV
I woke up early before the light of early morning and my anticipation gnawed at me.
Today would be different.
Camilla had seemed so determined last night, her eyes had flamed with determination when I’d said we’d start training this morning.
She’d had almost a feral aspect to her, one I didn’t recognize.
It wasn’t about survival anymore.
It was about defense and protection of her son.
My son.
I rolled out of bed and padded into the kitchen for a quick coffee.
My phone vibrated on the counter, and I snatched it up, knowing there would be more updates from Alex about John’s men.
Sure enough, the messages confirmed my thoughts: they were still screwing around, no closer to figuring out that it was me.
Definitely had no clue Jasper was mine.
Then, though we were yet in a place of safety, this feeling inside that the time was running out would not go away.
I tossed on a t-shirt and headed to the back of the safe house where I’d set up a small training area.
I reached the door to find Camilla already there, stretching, clad in work-out gear, and looking… determined.
I hitched an eyebrow up, surprised by her punctuality.
Maybe I’d underestimated her.
“Ready for this?” I asked, crossing my arms as I approached.
She gave me a fierce, playful look.
“More than you know.”
The smirk tugged at the corner of my lips.
This was going to be good.
“Alright,” I said, stepping closer.
“We are going to start with some basic hand-to-hand combat. I’m not going to toss you in at the deep end.”
She nodded, her eyes on mine, and hazel was a deep color in this light.
And yeah, impossible not to notice how close we were, or the tension hanging in the air.
I pushed it aside.
Not the time for that now.
“First,” I said, “you need to know how to throw a punch.”
I showed her the stance, going through a slow punch for her to imitate.
To my surprise, she did pretty much near perfect on the first try: steady hands, and sharp movements.
“Good,” I said, not veiling my approval.
“Again.”
She cocked her fist back and punched once more, this time with power.
I caught her fist in my palm, feeling the power of the blow.
I hadn’t expected her to pick this up quite this fast.
“That’s impressive,” I said, stepping back, “but not all is offense; you need to know how to defend yourself when someone comes at you.”
I moved in behind her, shifting her arms and stance into place.
Hard to keep my mind on the explanation with her body suddenly so close to mine.
I knew she could feel it too.
Her breathing hitched and for a moment our eyes held.
“Alright, now, let’s work on blocking,” I said, stepping back so there was some space between us.
I’m going to come at you.
Don’t worry, I won’t go full force.
She smirked.
“You think I can’t handle it?”
I chuckled and shook my head.
“We’ll see.”
I leaned forward again and flicked another slow pitch inside toward her side.
And of course, she blocked it dead on and stepped in with a quick response.
Again, I blinked.
She wasn’t gutsy, she was a natural.
“Nice,” I breathed.
“Let’s keep going.
*********
We continued the training for days.
It seemed: practice runs, blocks, and hits.
Each with her, a little quicker, attempting harder, refused to give an inch.
To say the least, I really hadn’t anticipated this much intensity coming from such a little thing.
She wasn’t only doing this for her; she was doing it for Jasper.
That much was as clear as day.
The more the days wore on, the more impressed I was by every move she made.
And the tension between us… simmering.
Every time our hands touched, or I had to readjust her stance, I felt it.
I don’t think she did, but it was hard for me to ignore.
Later, I pushed her a bit.
“Alright,” I said, backpedaling and making a ‘come on’ gesture.
“Let’s spar.”
For a heartbeat, her eyes flashed wide, then narrowed; her lips curled into a confident smile.
“You think I’m ready?”
“Prove it,” I said, challenging her.
She came at me straight away and in under two seconds threw a punch that was vaguely in the direction of my chest.
I avoided it easily enough, but she was quick and followed through with another blow that brushed my side.
I could feel she went all out and gave it her best shot with any luck catching me off my guard.
We circled each other, her punches more precise, her blocks more sure.
Yet, I wasn’t being an easy touch.
That was not my intention.
I needed her to feel the heat, to see what it was like when someone actually came at her.
She had to be prepared.
In that same instant, she had her leg underneath mine and circularly swept it out; I wasn’t ready for that.
The next thing I knew, I was on my back, and Camilla was standing over me grinning triumphantly.
“Well, well,” she lightly huffed as she stared down at me.
I stared at her, my jaw open for a moment before a slow grin oozed its way onto my face.
“Not bad,” I said.
“Not bad at all.”
She held out a hand and I took it, hauling myself up.
The moment I was standing, I yanked her that fraction closer so the chest near hers pressed against each other, the electricity between them fat and shimmering with the impossibility of denial.
Nobody said a word; the silence raked around something we weren’t ready to acknowledge.
But I wasn’t going to let her get away with having the last say.
“You’re lucky,” I said low, eyes on hers.
“I went easy on you.”
She cocked a brow up at me, smirking.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“You have a long way to go, but you are better than I thought you would be.”
My pocket buzzed, and I really didn’t have time for anything else.
I yanked the phone out, going over the message, just another update from Alex.
John’s men were sniffing around, but they were miles off from us.
Yet with every new second, a building foreboding seemed to grow in me that something big was coming.
It would just be one of those questions of time before things completely escalated.
I turned back to Camilla, still standing, pride and exhaustion etched upon her face.
She had no idea what she was up against.
Strong she was but not quite ready for this kind of danger if you asked me.
“Dante?” she repeated softly.
“What’s going on?”
I pocketed my phone and met her gaze once more.
“Nothing yet. But we need to stay ready and prepared.”
She nodded, her face serious.
“I can handle it.”
I eyed her a beat longer, enjoying the set of her jaw that way.
“I know you can. But this isn’t only about you anymore, Camilla. This is about Jasper too.”
Her eyes dodged to the side, softening when she thought of our son.
“I know.”
I moved closer, my hand reaching out to gently cup her cheek.
“I won’t let anything happen to either of you. I swear it.”
She leaned into my touch, her eyes searching mine for something-assurance, maybe.
“And if they find us?”
I stuttered a second, feeling the weight of what was to spill from my lips.
“If they find us…”, I started, letting my body build up in tension,
“we’re ready for them. If it’s a fight, we make sure they never see us coming.”
She widened her eyes in alarm, and reality kicked in full.
We stood there; the outside world was quiet now, but knowing full well the tempest was brewing.
The silence hung between us a moment longer before she spoke.
“Then let’s make sure we’re ready.”