Drake knew that he should not. From the very beginning, their interaction had been far outside anything society would deem appropriate. Drake had been unable to prevent it though. The first time she had sneaked over to see him, he had tried to send her back home, but failed. Somehow, he could not bring himself to deny her anything. “Very well,” he finally replied. “If that is your wish.”
Smiling at him, she nodded.
Drake cleared his throat, not certain how he felt about this new level of intimacy between them. Still, he could not help but reciprocate. “Will you call me Drake then?”
“Drake,” she said, testing his name, and a smile came to her face.
A long moment stretched between them as they stood there, looking into each other’s eyes, seeing each other as new people. Somehow, using the other’s given name changed something, and Drake could feel her gaze sweep over him in a most curious manner. He too could not deny that a part of him wished to know more of her, her thoughts, her emotions. She had shared much with him; unfortunately, most of it circled around that one night of her life. Nonetheless, he knew there were other parts of her he knew nothing about, and Drake could not help but regret that.
“Shall we begin?” he asked when the silence began to stretch into something uncomfortable and he found himself searching for words to say.
Leonora nodded most eagerly. She took a step toward him, her wide blue eyes upon his face. “What do I need to do?”
Drake hesitated for a moment, but then simply moved forward and grasped her right arm. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her toward him.
A small gasp of surprise escaped her, and although her eyes widened in surprise, Drake did not see fear in them. As he pulled her closer, she came almost willingly, curiosity in her eyes.
Drake looked down at her. “You have nothing to fear,” he reminded her, waiting until she nodded in acknowledgment. “Now, try to pull your hand free.”
Drawing upon the lessons he had taught her before, Leonora positioned her feet in a way to give herself leverage. She leaned back and jerked on her arm, trying to free her wrist. Still, his grip remained strong about her. No matter how hard she pulled, she could not free herself. “I can’t,” she said out loud, a fresh spark of curiosity in her eyes as she looked up at him for assistance. “What can I do?”
“You spin around until your back is to me,” he explained slowly, watching her soak up every word. “Then you jab your left elbow into my middle before you drop your weight to break my grip upon your wrist. Once you’re free, you roll out of reach and get back onto your feet.” He looked at her, then raised his brows in question.
Holding his gaze, Leonora nodded in understanding. “And then I run.”
“Precisely.” Drake looked her over, wondering about that strange sensation teasing him. He glanced at his hand still wrapped around her wrist, her skin warm against his. “Ready to begin?”
Leonora breathed in deeply, then nodded. She looked at him for a second longer, then suddenly spun on her heel and into his arms, her back to him.
Now, it was Drake who felt the need to breathe in deeply. She was all but resting in his arms, and he felt a sudden urge to embrace her, to pull her closer and to hold her tight. Her back rested against his chest, and his right arm was almost molded to hers, his hand still wrapped around her wrist. He could feel her every breath, her shoulders rising and falling with each, each a tentative brush of her body against his.
Drake was close to forgetting the world around them, close to forgetting why she was here, why he was teaching her this.
And then Leonora jabbed her left elbow into his middle and immediately dropped her weight.
Drake felt the air forced from his lungs. His hand opened as though he possessed no free will, releasing her arm. He bent over in reflex, his left arm wrapping around his midsection as he saw Leonora roll out of reach and then jump back onto her feet. Within two seconds, she was by the door, her hand on the handle when she stopped and turned back to face him, a broad smile coming to her lips. “It worked!” she exclaimed, a triumphant chuckle drifting from her lips. “It truly worked!”
Slowly breathing in and out, Drake began to straighten, his side feeling a bit tender after her attack. Still, he smiled back at her, all but basking in her triumph, her joy. “You did very well.”
Her gaze darted down to where he clutched his left side, and her eyes immediately darkened. “Oh, no! Did I hurt you?” Quick steps carried her to his side, and she reached out to touch him, brushing his hand aside and feeling his ribs through the fabric of his shirt.
Completely caught off guard, Drake tensed at the sensation of her hands upon him. He all but jerked backwards as the sudden urge to reach for her surged through him, catching him equally off guard. “I’m perfectly fine.” The words left his lips like a bullet fired. Another few steps carried him farther away from her as he cleared his throat and searched almost frantically for something to say.
“Is something wrong?” Leonora asked, a puzzled frown upon her face as she followed in his wake. “You seem…flushed. Are you certain I did not hurt you?”
Drake gritted his teeth, battling contradicting emotions as he struggled to clear his thoughts and find a reasonable reply to her question. “Yes, I am perfectly fine,” he finally ended up repeating himself. “You did remarkably well. I have no doubt that should you ever find yourself in the company of a less than respectful gentleman, you will have no trouble freeing yourself of said company.”
At his words, her face darkened a bit, but she nodded. “I pray you’re right.” She breathed in deeply, and he could see that she was forcing her thoughts into a more reassuring direction. “I must admit I do feel better since we started this training. I feel stronger and more capable.” Her gaze dropped from his for a brief moment before it returned. “Perhaps one day. I will no longer relive that moment.” A tentative smile came to her face. “And I have you to thank for that.”
Drake swallowed the lump in his throat, unable to accept her gratitude. After all, he was only doing what was right, and yet, lately, he found himself thinking thoughts that might potentially send her running from his house if she knew.
Unbidden, his thoughts returned to the morning he had walked into his mother’s chambers and found her dead, her sheet stained with blood. He remembered his confusion and sadness and how these emotions had turned to rage and shame upon finding her diaries. He had not meant to read them, but the question over her passing had pushed him to seek answers.
Drake blinked as he felt a soft touch descend upon his arm. Before him, he saw Leonora’s wide blue eyes looking into his, and then she spoke, upending his world yet again. “Will you tell me of the moment that you find yourself reliving again and again?”
Chapter Twenty
A Mother’s Loss
Her words shook him to the core of his being. Leonora could see it plainly upon his face. His gray eyes widened in utter shock, and the blood seemed to drain from his face. He stared at her in a way she had never seen before, his jaw tensing as fresh pain gripped him.
For a while now, Leonora had found herself wondering about his past, about what had happened to him to make him so observant and perceptive. From her own observations, she had concluded that happy people were often confused by sadness and pain, never having experienced these emotions in true depth. Indeed, Drake had only needed a single glimpse to know how deeply she was hurting. At first, it had not made any sense to Leonora. She had feared that her thoughts had been painted all over her face, for everyone to see.