Completed Learning while Slipping (Kaie)

[Matthew]

Figuring out that he had been caught by the quick-thinking Myrian, he windmilled his arms even faster, desperately working his core in order to regain his balance. After a few more seconds of this, he somehow managed to twist himself at the waist and get back up straight. He did wobble around a little bit, but he was quick to regain his balance once more, blue eyes focused and intent as he tried to keep himself from looking like a complete fool. After a few more seconds of his little dance, the harlot was finally still, staring at the warrior expectantly. Listening closely, he drew himself back into the stance that she had shown him before. He was crouched at the knee just a little, hips squared to hers, arms held up in the guarding position. He continued to make little adjustments here and there as she spoke, attempting to perfectly mirror what he could remember of her stance before. All the while, his mind processed what she had to say. He would have to step into it? That was going to be difficult, with the slipperiness of the surrounding stones. Step into it and rotate his wrist, and make sure his other hand stayed back. He repeated the instructions in his head, over and over, squinting at her as she showed him her own sharp blow. He continued to stare at the place her fist had occupied even after she had pulled back the blow, eyes distant at the gears worked within his head. At her order to try out the same exact thing, he gave a slow nod and took a breath. Glancing around, he quickly checked for a nearby rock to step on. There were multiples between the two of them, so he would just have to figure out which one would actually hold him. Taking a deep breath, he took a slow and graceful step forward, reminding himself of the movements he had practiced through his years. Slow and steady, confident and alluring. His body rippled with the slow motion, and his foot gently reached out to step firmly onto a stone in front of him. He didn't slip, and a small sigh of relief nearly escaped his lips. Focusing once more, he tried a few more times, each step forward becoming quicker and quicker as he slowly figured out everything he needed to do in order to keep his balance. He was very methodical with his way of training and focus, that much was completely and totally obvious. Recalling the way her fist and arm had moved, he slowly reached out with his own and threw a slow punch. He repeated again and again, though the progression of the movement was definitely quicker than his steps forward had been. He made sure to twist at the wrist, obeying her lesson like a good little student would. After a bit longer, he was finally ready to combine everything. Setting his jaw, he glanced blue eyes into her own. He went back to his guard and rooted his feet on his home stones, making little adjustments on the fly. After a second or two, he finally struck out. Stepping forward firmly and smoothly, he flowed into the punch, more of a grace than a show of power. Having to move, twist his wrist, and keep his balance proved to be a bit too much, and the harlot wobbled as he struck out. Catching himself, his strike flew wide, though she might notice that he had his knuckles extended almost exactly how he did. He was a stickler for the details. Wobbling a bit more, he eventually regained his balance and reset himself. Taking a small breath, he cleared his thoughts, trying to stop himself from over-thinking it a little too much. He emptied his head, focused on his breathing, and focused on the feel of his body. Remembering her instructions, he forced himself not to analyze them, and instead just followed them. He struck out again, straight for her throat, on point this time. He actually varied his blow a bit, waiting until he was almost sure that he was still on target before stepping forward and twisting his wrist in a sudden silky movement.

[Kaie]

Kaie watched him carefully, eyeing each part of his body as it moved. More importantly she noticed the quality of his movements. The Myrian watched him critically. Her expression was neither kind nor hostile. Simply aggressively neutral and meanly subjective. She was back in the jungles again wearing different eyes. The eyes of an instructor hounding a student. Kaie was seeing how Yitmah once had when she was young and just learning to do battle. In her mind she was pacing like he had across the floor, circling her student and growling beneath her breath. Always waiting to correct the eminent mistake. Yet when he was finished with practice and the real thing began, Yitmah's eyes went away and Kaie had returned to herself. Seeing as Kaie did and reacting just how she should.

The punch came in a single, flowing motion. It was artistic, really, the way the fist floated toward her like it had done it half a hundred times. Of course Kaie knew that to be untrue. It wasn't because he told her that fact but rather she could just tell. He had listened and absorbed all she said but neglected one important piece. A piece he had utilized even before she instructed him. A scowl clouded her expression immediately. Before he could make that intended throat strike, her own arm knocked his fist away brutally.

"Don't forget to rotate hips for power either! Step comes first before fist," She scolded him no differently than an instructor at the Taloba training yards would've. Well maybe she was a bit nicer than they, but that was beside the point.

The Myrian sighed but then resorted to nodding her head slowly at him. Hips aside, his motions were fluid and he had remembered all else. She was confident he would remember to put it all together the next time around, but for now there was much more to teach. So much more.

"There are many different kinds of punches, Matthew. All intended for different things," She began almost immediately, introducing her next step of the punching lesson. Naturally she hoped she could recall most of what she herself had learned for his benefit. Words sometimes became lost from the past, long replaced with muscle memory. With luck she could at least teach him the concept of each.

"You just learned the basics in executing each. There's jabs, hooks, upper cuts, and what you would call...Hammer fist," She continued from memory though she struggled to find the correct phrase barbarians associated with the latter of the four. Naturally she was going over the most basic and most popular punches. No sense in hurling obscure moves at him he'd probably never come into contact with.

"Jab is quick. Just like what you learned. Hook is just like it sounds. Punch comes across body and usually aims for the side of the head or body," Kaie elaborated the first two, swinging a hook shot at him but never making contact. Her back hand swung horizontally forward toward his ribs, the front fist mirroring the motion and coming to the head. When she was finished with her performance, she moved on.

"Upper comes from below. And hammer...Well. Looks like using a hammer," The Myrian sent her fist straight up toward her target, stopping when she was just as the fleshy part under his chin. Then she smiled sheepishly and shrugged at him, assuming he knew how a hammer fist might look by her explanation. After all she didn't want to insult his intelligent that much.

[Matthew]

He squinted his eyes down at her, then down to his hips. So, all in all, he had to step forward and rotate his hips forward, twist at the wrist, and throw the blow out. And he also had to keep his guard up. It was a lot of things to focus on at once. Not that this really discouraged him or anything. He had come into it expecting to have a hard time getting his body to do what he instructed. It was quite odd, really. He had trained himself to do many a thing in the bedroom, and could easily keep control of all of his senses at once. Moving his body in multiple ways and doing it all at the same time came naturally to him in that setting, but here? It was completely different. He had trained for one though, and hadn't even touched the other. He would just need training. As she spoke and explained, he nodded, blue eyes still intense in their curious stare. He would twist at the hips a few times while he listened, trying to mimic the movement and commit at least a little bit of it to memory. He would want to practice his form later. His brow crinkled even more as she went through the names of the different blows, and then their explainations. It was a lot to absorb and so very new, but he was trying what he could. His reaction time was laughably slow whenever she swung at him, and his response was perhaps even more amusing. He flinched away about a second too late and then craned his head to give the fist this irritated look, as if he was mad at it for surprising him. Each of her blows got the treatment, with the clueless harlot practically dancing around in little flinches back and forth that were all much too late to avoid any sort of actual contact. Thankfully though, she wasn't trying to hit him. When she had finished showing the hammer strike, he nodded again, and went about giving them each a shot. First there was a jab, graceful just like before. He whipped it out and then back, twisting at both the waist and the wrist, though the blow went in a completely different direction than what he had intended. He kept on focusing too much on the twist and stance, and ended up not paying any attention to where his hand was actually going. The hook was actually a bit easier for some reason, since the motion of the arm complimented the twist of his hips. He hooked the air in front of her a few times, and then tried out the hammer strike. He had noticed she didn't seem to twist her wrist at that one, so he tried to follow suit. That particular blow seemed to require quite a bit of power to take advantage of, and he wasn't so sure if he had it. He was most definitely defined, but it hadn't been formed for power. Just grace. He wasn't even so sure if it gave him speed. Was it all surface? He supposed he was more fit than most, which was probably a good thing. He had seen one or two obese people in the walls of Syliras, and it baffled him how they could get to that point. They didn't even have that much food available to eat, or so he thought. Jabbing and hooking a few more times, he then finished it off with a slow uppercut. All of the moves were slow, the harlot giving a lot more consideration to his form. As someone who had practiced medicine, he knew form was important. Throwing the body around in stressful ways could lead to all sorts of damage, and he didn't want to do that to himself. He stepped lightly to another stone, and then another, hips and stomach working to help him keep his balance. He could feel the muscles in his legs straining, and quietly noted that he should continue these sorts of practices. He enjoyed working on his balance. Glancing up at Kaie, he tilted his head, voice soft and polite in that well-pronounced way of speaking. "Should I simply practice those forms over and over again until it helps it become natural?" If he was going to practice alone, he wanted to make sure he practiced the right thing.

[Kaie]

He was always moving. Mimicking whatever she taught him, mirroring her during a demonstration. He was like a sponge soaking in all the knowledge she had to offer. With all there was to absorb, she wondered how much he'd actually retain. Naturally he might've understood this was an introductory rather than any sort of true lesson. The best lessons, in her opinion, were those offered through experience. It was odd how some of her most painful experiences were actually the most illuminating. Learning from her mistake had actually saved her own skin once or twice. Nonetheless for a beginner, Matthew wasn't half bad.

Sure the harlot was jerking this way and that, spazzing each time her fist came near him. Such a reaction was natural but his was actually rather comical to the Myrian. Kaie had to struggle to keep the stupid grin off her face again. There was no doubt that Matthew wouldn't last a second in her City of Bones...

All in all his actions were slow and smooth. Not yet fluid and perfect, but decent enough for his skill level. All he needed was a bit more practice and something worthy of striking. She admired him, the way he presented himself with new challenges. Just when he has figured out the mystery of balance, the harlot ventured out further on new slippery rocks. Kaie watched him with amusement as he navigated. All that straining of his body...Was drawing a lot of unnecessary attention considering the nature of their lesson. They were here to learn how to kill with their bare hands and there he was. Abs flexing and straining his core to remain on his feet. It brought that fire back to her eyes, lashing it out toward him brutally at first. When she had become serious she almost forgot he was naked. There was little to stop her from forcing him upon her that instant. This time distance was his ally.

The man's voice came through to subdue the brightened flames rising within her. Eyes snapped back to a solid glare as he inquired, professionalism back in her own demeanor as it always appeared in his. The softness of his voice almost brought her back to her lustful animosity, but focus and discipline intervened. Kaie wouldn't lose sight of what was at hand...Let alone what could be.

"Yeah. That's a really dull way to learn though. Won't do much good in long run. Need target. Something to really hit so you can feel. You can feel a good punch. Air not very good sparring partner," Kaie said realistically with a shrug of her narrow shoulders. Her voice was neutral and matter of fact in nature. She knew Matthew was not the type to get down and dirty outside the bedroom, but she had to tell him the truth. Better let him know ahead of time before he goes after someone and realizes all his training was useless. Whether he took her advice or not was his business.

"Go to the Anthonius Pit and find someone to pummel. If you not into getting that dirty, I'd buy something worth hitting," She continued although she wasn't too sure what he could substitute. Obviously it would have to be something kind of soft. Something stuffed maybe. Kaie had used a skinned cattle carcass before and it had worked out. Maybe Matthew could find something similiar.

[Matthew]

He considered her words for a moment, and then once again spoke softly. For all that the subject matter was, his voice was still painfully apathetic. "I want to mainly focus on killing or disabling my opponent in as few blows as possible. Will this pit allow me to get away with that, or is it still considered killing as opposed to killing practice?" He paused for a moment, pondering a little bit, the intellect flickering behind his blue eyes as he strained to keep himself balanced. "Though, I suppose a knock-out would be just as good of a blow. I will look into this Pit, then. It is a fine line I have to draw. I want to be able to physically defend myself, but I don't want it to turn into a brawl. But it appears I may have to brawl a little bit to effectively learn." He chewed his lower lip, casting his eyes to the side and at the crystal waters of the springs. "Perhaps I could purchase a corpse and string it up to practice vital strikes. I am not so sure if that will work either. Perhaps just mark the spots on a dummy and do my best to attack those..." He continued to ponder, slowly stepping his way back towards his position before her. He wobbled and bobbed a bit, but eventually managed to somehow get over to her. Once he was in front of her again, he paused. "You are Myrian, aren't you?" His eyes rose from the waters again, staring back at her glaring gaze. Opening his mouth hesitantly, he stumbled slowly over the only Myrian words he knew. "Tiger woman." The uncertainty in his eyes was obvious. "The only words I know, though hopefully I can learn more. What are you doing so far away from home?" It was none of his business, but he spoke the question plainly and easily. His head tilted in that curious look, eyes never wavering. Tightening his core and letting his hips bob back and forth to keep his wavering balance, he slowly set himself in the stance that she had shown him. Arms up in a guard, knees slightly bent. His understanding of medicine actually helped him with this, if only a little. The twist of the wrist and the hips was to transfer power, if he wasn't mistaken. It pushed momentum into the blow. That would explain why her hook had put more emphasis on the twist, and why the jab had put more emphasis on the wrist. The first actually had a good amount of power behind it, but commitment as well. The jab could be pulled back quickly, but would still cause a bit of pain because of the wrist twist. Which one was better for him? One knuckle on his left fist extended just a bit, a tell that he didn't even notice. He barely knew anything, so this was the prime time to experiment. His left arm dropped low, another tell. Then, he struck out with it, lightly twisting at the hips to send it outward. His feet slipped a bit but he corrected, stomach tightening to help with his balance. The blow arched out, but was coming all sorts of wrong. It was like he was holding a towel, and trying to snap at her with it. There was no twist, or anything. At the very end of the odd strike, he added a snap to his wrist and elbow. He lashed with his arm, popping it at the wrist just like a whip, the knuckle slashing out in almost a cutting motion. There was no accuracy at all, just the snap. He still couldn't figure out how he was supposed to do all of this at once. *Myrian

[Kaie]

Kaie couldn't help but grin when he brought up the Pit. Did he really not know the answer to his own question? Oh, she could see it now. This harlot strolling to the arena, bare ass naked and fresh from his first ever lesson. Imagining him attempting to murder someone right off the bat in the City of Peace? Now that morbid joke couldn't do much else than bring her sheer amusement. The knights would be on him like flies on Tskanna shyke. The punishment would be classical and swift. And there would be the end of Matthew.

"If you wanna try pulling that one over the Order, be my guest," Kaie joked with a small laugh, shaking her head at the man. She shrugged her shoulders then returning to his actual muses. Might as well do her best to entertain each idea and see how it goes.

"If I were here for coin, I might agree with you just for pay. Since I'm not I'll tell you this. You cannot kill easy without experience. You can swing powerful fist however you want on dummy. But with all fighting you've done? As soon as a good fighter challenges you, you'll be finished. In real life, enemies move. They fight back. By the time you try for obvious kill, they've already lit you up. Sometimes you need to struggle for a while. Sooner or later they mess up, they open up for you," Kaie tried to reason, speaking without regret. She knew she was correct. Any soldier knew that many victories were born from many defeats in a training arena. It was only the youngest and most naive in combat that were killed easily. Many of her own killing blows came right off counters. Her opponents had been tough and well versed in weapons. All she had were her hands and a dagger when she was lucky. A lot of time was spent in battle before she could really do damage on them.

Kaie was silent then for a some time, moving her feet around on the slippery slope. She liked how the wet surface caused her to question her balance. The way it caused both of them to wobble haphazardly. It was a new challenge and though she usually was forced to balance on limbs, this was different. Suddenly Matthew threw an accusation at her that caught her off guard. It didn't anger her that he had guessed her race. She was proud of her people and her culture. Proud of her Goddess Queen. Her head shot up to stare at him, quirking a brow in his direction. Then came the words. Sure, he butchered them brutally, but they were in her native tongue more or less. That guttural noise that was spoken only in Taloba. Tiger woman...

She blinked several times, unsure whether it was his Myrian or his question that struck her just so. Not a word was spoken from her. All she did was stare blankly. Kaie watched the man return to his stance and hurl a few punches. Despite the small tweaks she should be making to his execution, she could hardly bring herself to pay attention. She was completely lost from their encounter entirely. Gone. Behind her empty stare she did see though. She saw the ship that carried them oh so far away, just like she asked. No, begged was better description there. And then there was grass. So much of it that it was like a dry sea. Kaie could hear the hiss of the blades dancing upon each other's backs in the wind and pounding of hooves. Then there were wings, weapons, blood, and a gladius. Leaving her alone to walk alone through the city gates.

All of these memories, these tidbits of mental recollection, were the answer to his question. She had been asked the question about a hundred times now. All answers vague or unspoken. Yet as she stood there with memories of home fresh on her mind, this time was different. The answer was still the same: Silence.

"You don't need to go so quickly. Slow first to learn. Soon it become natural. And don't be so obvious with your strike. Goddess, you'll tell what you about to do more than should," She teased instead with a hint of exasperation. Of course she shouldn't have assumed teaching a barbarian would as easy as instructing a Myrian.

[Matthew]

His face fell, the moment betraying his incredible naiveity when it came to the ways of the world. He was the prime definition of someone who was brilliant with book smarts, but absolutely and incredibly stupid when it came to street smarts. When it came to common sense, even. He had thought his idea was a good one, or at least at first. Her quick and smart words had put him in his place though, and he noted his understanding with a small and meek nod. Of course he would be finished, and even if he did manage to kill someone, then that someone would probably have fellows that wanted revenge. People didn't see the world in the shades that he did. They definitely didn't see a life the way he did. He would have to figure out the best way to train on his own. It would be a hard balance to find. People would laugh at him, much like Kaie just had, if he claimed that he wanted to learn how to fight but not hurt his pretty little features. He could definitely imagine that going incredibly well. His morals were yet again silently displayed when he didn't even flinch at her mention that she would dupe him if she would have gained anything from it. It would have been a smart move, really. Noticing her quirked brow, he rose his downcast and thoughtful eyes, matching her stare with a now-blank one. He had probably surprised her with his words, though he hadn't meant to. Now that he thought about it, he never heard the Myrian tongue being used, so it was probably a surprise for her to hear it. Did it make her feel good inside, he wondered? Did it remind her of home? Did she not want to be reminded of home? He watched her closely, familiar with the blank look in her face and eyes. He often assumed that same look, although it was usually because he was too busy thinking to worry about outer facial expressions. Perhaps she was the same way as well. Eventually he slowed his punches and crossed his long arms, watching her as she continued to look somewhere beyond him. He had triggered something, but he had no idea what. He let her mind mull through what it needed, studying her carefully for any signs of life. Then she changed the subject and moved on. He tilted his head for a moment, opening his mouth as if to press it... and then decided against it, closing his jaw and nodding carefully. "Alright. Slow it is. I will practice more at home. I struggle with getting everything to go at once, so hopefully I will be able to do that by the time you see me next. Have you tried to seduce anyone since we last talked?" His body rippled yet again, as if showing off for the simple act of it. He didn't even looked like he noticed. He didn't notice, really. He had just ingrained it into himself to constantly show off a little bit when it was him and another woman. Nipping his lower lip, he tugged his eyes away from hers and glanced around, spotting another rock he hadn't been to yet. With a graceful little hop, he fluidly landed on it and balanced without much of a wobble. He was getting used to the rocks. Hopefully it would help him get used to acrobatics as a whole.

[Kaie]

Now he had her really grinning. Not because she was guilty, but because it brought back memories. Memories of before him as well as their night at the Stallion. She could still feel it, their twining fires wrapping like wrestling bodies fighting for dominance. The touch of skin on skin and the hot breath crossing the space between. His voice touched her much like it did then, though it wasn't the same. He had that way of being captivating even when he wasn't necessarily trying to seduce her.

Wait...Is he?

Kaie could never tell the man's intentions behind his professional, sultry visage. Considering he hadn't an ounce of clothing on him, it was hard not to think of Matthew in that way. She didn't beat herself up about it too much. He had the body, the skill, and experience. He was an attractive guy who could reel in anyone like a fish on a hook. He was a harlot after all. Impulsively she followed him in the direction he hopped. Bronzed feet tread slowly across the slipper stones, choosing her footing wisely. She wobbled only once before she found her way to him.

She cast her eyes down suddenly in a way that would keep him guessing as to where exactly she was looking. The Myrian stepped gingerly toward his side then, slowly. Taking her sweet time. With her hips directed at the outside of his, she made her move. Kaie lifted a finger to gently touch the spot just below his shoulder blade, trailing it down light as a feather to his lower back. Hoping to give the illusion she might not have even stroked the skin at all.

"You know...I do think there was a part of your lesson you promised to get to but forgot," She informed him coyly, fingers tapping his lower back in thought. She left them there and began to step back to his front, letting them trail once again. This time horizontal with a specific target in mind. Kaie spun around suddenly, just barely holding her balance like she had forgotten all about the rocks. She didn't know her moment of uncertain balance of course.

"Touch," The Myrian woman clarified with eyes flickering up like some sort of animal, fingers finding their mark. They pressed harder than they had on his back in a sharp contrast. A refreshing one she hoped. That target was The Mons.

[Matthew]

If he had known he was drawing her in, he wouldn't fault her for it. He never considered anyone weak or easy, and found it confusing when people used those sort of labels. The need for touch and physical intimacy was something that even simple beasts possessed. Why was it a bad thing if some people were more open about their needs than other people who were closed up and haughty about them? It made sense that people would be straight forward about what they wanted from someone they found attractive. Wasn't most initial attraction based off of physical features anyway? Almost all relationships are based off of simple and basic lust, at least in the very first moments of two people seeing one another. That is usually what generated interest, and led to deeper connections. He didn't find it shallow, he simply found it natural. Logical. When she stepped toward him though, then he sensed something was up. He wasn't exactly sure what, but the hairs on his flesh stood on end. He glanced over to her, wobbling a bit on his foothold, eyeing her a bit suspiciously as she took her time approaching. She was moving so slowly and staring at the stones so intently that he actually let down his guard, glancing away in the assumption that she was just trying to get used to the odd footing. Then she touched him, the muscles in his shoulders and back automatically twitching and flexing out against the edge of her nail. His blue eyes shot back towards her, narrowed and intense as he judged her expression. If he focused, he could taste a bit of her fire. Just a little bit. She was holding it in, being slightly coy. Was she even touching him still? Yes, yes she was. "I feel like I covered all the requested basics quite well." He shot back his defense, her touch confirmed as she tapped his back. He kept on watching her as she slowly circled him, moving much better than he could. He briefly considered darting away, though he wasn't so sure why. This was the battlefield he was most experienced with, so why should he be scared on it? He held his ground, hips bobbing just a bit as he constantly shifted to keep his balance. Then, she pressed her fingertips exactly where she had taught him. He gurgled out a growl, his hips automatically bucking forward a bit, the immensely erotic sound of wet flesh slapping to bare flesh echoing out around the hot springs in a sultry popping sound. It didn't help that he had to wobble his way back to being balanced, causing his hips to wiggle back and forth agaisnt hers for a brief moment. The V of the hip definition was painfully easy to feel. He glared at her, eyes flashing darkly, torn between scolding her and complimenting her on remembering what he had taught. After a few moments of contemplation, he figured he might as well just capitalize on this to teach her a bit more. He leaned forward a bit, as well as downwards, eyes locked on hers. His own hand was slow and lazy as it slipped over her toned hip, fingertips tracing the lines that he found until he had his arm gently wrapped around her. His fingertips found her own Mons, and he slowly traced around it in circles, building anticipation to when he would actually stop the playing and touch the stupid thing. "Remember that it effects men differently. It has nerves in it that spread a bolt of lightning in a small circle to the flesh and muscles around. A single spark can arch up the spine as well, causing a shudder or a buck of the body. For a woman, however?" He suddenly pressed his fingers home in a sharp circular motion, massaging into the pressure point, actually pushing her hips forward a bit with the level of firmness he put into it. It would be like he had found a well of warmth and then somehow shot that warmth forward in sizzling strikes of heat. "It goes forward, arcing through the nerves that connect to your core. You would be surprised-" He paused for effect, twisting at the wrist, his fingers somehow finding another angle at which to pleasure the point and send more heat through her veins. "-at how quickly I could bring you to..." He trailed off, eyes glinting in that trademark fire. Then he shrugged, shoulders rippling again, his fingers trailing off lower on her back. "Well, I suppose that is a completely different sort of service." The corner of his lip twitched, a display of confidence even as his mind raced. She was probably liking this. With her predator-like aura, she probably thrived on this.

[Kaie]

Eyes never left her target at his core. All her earned from her with a slight muse of a smile. Weak and distracted as a result of her attention being sharply divided as his V line had become more prominent. He was right that he had taught her valuable tips surrounding the subject of touch. After all he was a master at it himself. Even he built off the tiny tid bits of advice he granted her.

"Yes...You did cover the basics," She reasoned with a shrug just as he was slipping his arm toward her. Still there was a hint of suggestion in her voice that he could surely read. When his fingertips reached her she felt the nerves react immediately. It was like a pleasant jolt of energy through her veins. The best sort of panic response her brain could've received. It was almost hard for her to listen to him. What with all the only things he was busily doing.

His hardly subtle suggestion let her know exactly how easy it was to make woman fall under his spell. Just with that touch alone, too. She was almost forced to stare up into his eyes then. Kaie would have never dreamed of dishing off a single coin to pay for a good time with a male. The idea seemed blasphemous and almost insulting. Though the way his nails teased down her back, the sound of his voice, and the manner in which he stares at her, the thought almost became feasible. Logical even.

Her right hand slipped to race up the inside of his V line, up along his torso until she reached his cheekbone. Simultaneously she stepped her inner leg beside his coyly. A casual touch that alluded to the idea she wanted to be closer. Nearer in every way. And then she smiled. The kind of genuine grin that reached her eyes. Her thumb caressed his flesh almost lovingly. That was when the mischievousness finally appeared in that soft grin.

With a swift twist of her hips and a shove from her raised hand, Kaie was forcing her lover down over her leg. Free hand lashed out to grip his close wrist and handle it. The hand on his cheek slipped mid twist to wrap behind his skull. A way to protect his head from the fall. Knees bending with her movement, she worked to control his fall.

It wasn't too remarkably fast or as quick as might've done in true combat. The reason for that was simply she didn't feel like breaking Matthew's skull open that day. Besides, she almost went down herself when her feet shifted upon the wet rocks. If she succeeded in bringing him down, she would have him sprawled along the incline of the smooth stone. Hand would slip from behind his head to trail past his collarbones. The grin would be devilish in nature and she'd pin his most dangerous hand to the ground.

"Distractions you find in the bedroom can be just as fatal as the ones on the battlefield, Matthew."