“This is ridiculous, Daemon!” I was embarrassed and humbled by the fact that I couldn’t get in a single strike against him. Daemon’s face was overtaken by a smug grin, which pissed me off.
“Paige, the more we practice, the faster you will become. We also need to work on your leg strength and I have something fun in mind for that.” His eyebrow arched wickedly on his face. “Let’s work on some escape moves before calling it quits for the day.”
He reached out, taking my arms before spinning me and holding me to his chest. After crossing and pinning my arms across my chest, he leaned down to speak in my ear. “Lucky for you, Damsel, you are a tall girl, so nine times out of ten, you will be close to the same height as most men. That puts you at an advantage if taken from behind and held. Let’s pretend I’m your attacker and this is the manner in which I’ve caught you. How are you going to break free?”
I pondered Daemon’s question and considered the times in which I’d been grabbed from behind, or really, any time that I’ve been forced to fight. Although the precise memories were blurry, I remembered that I acted on instinct, rather than thinking out my actions. I decided to employ that technique against Daemon, using my body to buck back at him as I forced my weight against his arms. My efforts were about as useless as pushing against concrete. He didn’t budge.
“Remember what I told you, Paige. You’re most likely NOT going to be able to overpower a man who’s using his arms and chest to hold you. You need to think and figure out what his weakest point is in every position in which you are held. In this instance, my weakest point is my nose and face. Your advantage in this position is the back of that hard head of yours. Due to your height, if you were to throw your head back suddenly, there’s a good chance you would catch your opponent in the nose. If you hit hard enough, you will gain a few seconds where he is stunned enough to release his grip. Let’s try it.”
Daemon stilled while holding me to him. I threw my head back, but he moved his head to lessen the blow. He simulated having been caught off guard and loosened his grip giving me seconds to wriggle down out of his grasp and turn around to face him. “Good. Obviously, Paige, I knew what was coming and was able to move out of the way, but in the instance of an actual attack, your opponent may not anticipate that move. If he does, then you need to follow it with another advantage you have…your legs and feet.” Daemon took me back into the hold. “If your opponent is able to protect himself from the initial attempt you make with your head, follow with your foot. You’ll need to step back with your heel and attempt to catch the top or arch of his foot with yours. Once you make contact with your foot, instantly bring your head back up and try to catch him off guard.”
Having gone through that maneuver four or five times, Daemon grabbed me again, this time holding me to his chest facing towards him, with my arms secured between us. “Now, if a man is holding you so that you are facing him, the head trick will still work. However, if a man is taller than you, you may not get the opportunity to hit his nose. If that is the case, your next target will be a man’s throat.”
I looked up him questioningly. “What am I supposed to do to your throat?”
Daemon smiled. “This is going to sound gross, but when it’s a matter of life or death, you have to be willing to get past being squeamish. If a man holds you in this manner, your teeth and legs become your best advantage. Use your feet similar to the way you did in the other hold, but this time, when your opponent is busy protecting himself from that attack, use your teeth to catch his Adam’s apple. If you’re able to catch it between your teeth, bite down as hard as you can, Paige. You may be lucky enough to crush it, giving you the opportunity to break free and run. I want to run through that move with you a few times, but do me a favor, and don’t bite down all the way. I enjoy the ability to talk.”
I mused over his request and momentarily considered teaching him a lesson by biting down. However, I decided against it when I remembered that it would upset me if he was mute and all.
We went through the move several times and finally took a break when Daemon felt I’d mastered at least the basic maneuvers. Stepping back from me, Daemon’s chest heaved slightly from our activities. A small, smidgeon of pride welled up inside me at having at least started the process of tiring him out. That pride was instantly banished as soon as he grabbed me again, holding me backwards to his chest, but this time, leaving my arms free. “If your opponent is smart, Paige, he…or she…will always bind your arms in some manner. However, in moments of actual combat, and if you are dealing with someone inexperienced, you might be lucky enough to have use of your hands. If this occurs, it doesn’t matter if you are being held to face your opponent, or not. Use your hands to once again go for their weakest point…their face. In an instance such as this, go for their eyes, Paige. Use your thumbs to jab at the inside corners of their eyes and push with all the strength you have. Hold your thumbs there until they release you and then use their momentary blindness to run like hell. Let’s practice a few times, however, please be careful not to blind me.” His head moved down so he could whisper in my ear. “Life wouldn’t be worth living if I lost my sight and couldn’t devour you with my eyes any time I please.” Goosebumps broke out over my arms at his remark and I felt Daemon chuckle at their appearance.
After giving me a few more pointers on self-defense tactics, an older gentleman and three other men, roughly my age or younger, came inside the gym. The older man’s eyes flicked to Daemon as a wide smile spread itself across his face. “Daemon! Holy shit, son! I haven’t seen you around this old place in a while!” The man made his way to the ring as Daemon climbed through the ropes to jump down and greet them. Upon their approach, the man took Daemon into a strong hug before pulling away. “You’re looking good, kid! Where the hell have you been?”
I remained standing in the ring as Daemon spoke with the older man. My eyes eventually shot over to the three younger men. Each set of their eyes looked back on me with expressions ranging from lust to confusion. The oldest one’s eyes darted between Daemon and I making it apparent, he was interested to know why were in the ring together. I didn’t want to appear stupid in front of my new audience, so I attempted to pull up on the rope nonchalantly to let myself out of the ring. When the rope didn’t budge, I groaned and stood there patiently waiting for Daemon to assist.
“Man, I saw what happened to Tomb in the news. What the hell was that all about? They’re saying it’s arson.”
Daemon shrugged before answering. “The asshole who did that has a sick obsession with my girl up there.” He turned to indicate to me before continuing. “That’s why I have her here today. I’m trying to teach her a thing or two about defending herself.”
“Well, with a body like that, I’m not surprised. Your girl’s definitely got something going for her.” My jaw dropped and Daemon’s eyes narrowed when the youngest of the three men spoke out. “Tell you what, sweetheart, if you ever get tired of your man, there’s a warm bed waiting in my room for you.”
The short amount of time it took for Daemon to cross the room, pinning the kid to the wall was shocking. Daemon had the guy nose to nose and the look on Daemon’s face screamed ‘murder,’ or at least a good ass kicking. The kid’s father looked over at him disgustedly. “Tony! You little shit! You need to apologize to the lady right this fucking second before I let Daemon take you up in that ring to teach you some fucking manners!”
Tony squeaked out a quick apology before Daemon loosened his hold. Dropping the kid to the floor, Daemon turned and stalked over to the ring to let me out. Once he had the ropes pulled apart to where I could climb through, I quickly jumped down. Daemon reached for my hand and pulled me to the older man. “Dave, this is Paige…Paige, Dave. He was friends with Frank.”
Dave reached out to shake my hand. “It’s damn good to meet ya, Paige. I’m glad to see Daemon’s gone out and found himself a decent girl for once. We were starting to worry when he didn’t date much when he was younger.
” A friendly expression took over Dave’s weathered face and I smiled in response.
We exchanged pleasantries for another ten minutes before saying our goodbyes to the group of men, including Joe and the rest of the peanut gallery. Daemon walked me out of the building and to his truck, but before opening the passenger door, he spun me and pinned me against the vehicle. “Do you have any idea how much self-control it took in there for me not to strip you down and make you scream out my name?” My knees gave at the lethal quality to his tone, but he braced me up with his strong arms. “I’m going to take you home, strip you down to your skin, and work out my frustrations on that little body of yours.”
My eyes met his from under my lashes and my breath was knocked from me at the sight of the fire burning from behind his stare. My heart instantly sped up, banging again my chest wall. “Daemon, I worked up one hell of a sweat in there. It’s probably best I jump in a shower as soon as we get back.”
He mouth curved into a seductive grin. “Oh, Damsel. I have every intention of starting in the shower. Can’t promise you our fun will stay there, but that is definitely a good starting point.” His hand reached down to grip my ass before he pulled me forward to open the door. Once I was secured in my seat he moved around the truck to jump into the driver’s seat. Throwing me one more lascivious smirk, he started the truck and peeled out of the parking lot in the direction of town.
Chapter Six
Daemon made good on his promise to completely ravish me when we arrived home. As he warned, the fun started in the shower, then moved to the bathroom floor, the sink counter, his bedroom floor, and eventually to his bed. I’d lost count of the amount of times the man had me screaming his name and other choice exclamations. My poor legs began to give out from the constant onslaught of pleasure. The man was on fire, his rushed and rough mannerisms giving away the intense desire our sparring had built up within him. I couldn’t take anymore so I broke loose and attempted to flee down the hallway leading to the living room and spare bedrooms. Daemon easily tackled me at the end of the hall and began pulling me back towards the bedroom. I gasped out when his teeth locked on the juncture of my neck and shoulder, but then startled when I heard someone clear their throat from the living room. Both Daemon’s and my head shot in the direction of the sound to find David sitting quietly on the couch. A silly smile was plastered to his face and he unashamedly enjoyed his front row view of the two of us in all our glory.
“Not to stop you in the throes of passion and all, but I thought it was best that the two of you realized I was sitting in the room. I’m not one to object to free porn, so please…feel free to continue. Paige, I believe this is the part where you say ‘You’re not the usual mailman.’ Excellent…aaaaaaand, action!”
I let out a shocked cry as Daemon chuckled behind me. Nodding his head once at David, Daemon quickly pulled me back to his room. My skin was the color of a ripe strawberry from embarrassment. Daemon attempted to contain his laugh, but eventually lost out and fell back against the door from the movement. His laughter was infectious, causing me to join in within seconds. After getting ourselves back under control, Daemon picked me up to carry me back into the bathroom. He placed me on the ground and slapped me on the ass before heading over to the shower. Reaching in, he turned on the water and said, “Let’s get cleaned up, Damsel. It appears we have company.”
We cleaned ourselves up and quickly dressed before making our way back out into the living room. David was stretched out across the large sofa, so I took a seat in one of the accent chairs while Daemon went in the kitchen to start coffee. David’s eyes were closed as we entered, but they opened as I sat down. I glared at him for his earlier intrusion, but laughed when all he could return was a shit-eating grin.
“Hey, Paigey. Looking good today, baby girl. I take it the workout went well this morning.” He pushed himself up into a sitting position as he spoke to me.
“Shut it, David. I don’t want to hear it. You should warn us when you come home. How the hell did you get in anyway?”
David smirked. “Daemon gave me a key a few days ago so I could come and go as I please. Matt just dropped me off on his way in to work.”
Unfair!
“Daemon?! Why does David get a key and I don’t?” I looked over in the direction of the kitchen to see Daemon leaned up against the center island. He looked at me lovingly, before smiling. “He’s not being babysat, Damsel. You are always with Alex or me, so there’s no point giving you a key until Chris is caught. I’m not dumb enough to provide you with a way to sneak in and out undetected.” He winked at me before returning his attention to the brewing coffee.
I pondered what he said before realizing his statement didn’t make sense. “So, how am I supposed to get in if I’m with Alex?” My eyes widened as realization struck. “Does Alex have a key too?!”
Daemon was silent as he busied himself watching the brewing liquid. I realized quickly that coffee brewing was not as interesting as he made it out to be. The sonofabitch was avoiding eye contact. Jumping up, I marched into the kitchen. Once I was within grabbing distance, I reached up and forced his eyes to mine.
“Does Alex have a key as well, Daemon?” My glare threw at least a dozen daggers as I imagined him flinching from the impact.
“Yes, Damsel. Alex has a key. I gave it to him before he left yesterday.”
Well, there you have it. The oddity and absurdity of their pact became even stranger.
“Since when are you and Alex besties?”
Daemon groaned before saying, “Since he saved your ass from a burning building when I couldn’t get to you. I figured I owed the guy a little bit of trust, considering you are alive and all.”
He had a good point. But still…
I threw my hands up in frustration before turning to march back into the living room. Plopping myself down next to David, I reached over and gave him a quick hug. “Did you have fun at Matt’s last night?”
“It was great. We finally got to break in that patient’s smock I took home from the hospital…”
“David!” My hand flew up to cover his mouth. I pointedly looked in his eyes as I said, “PG version. You are to give the PG version only. Understand?” David nodded his head ‘yes’ and I released his mouth.
He reached up to massage his jaw, “As I was saying…we were in character when I received a phone call from your parents.”
My eyes widened as he shot me a knowing look. “I know! How rude that they would interrupt our good time. Matt was just about to…”
“David. Stay on task here, buddy. Less sexy memories and more ‘why the hell did Paige’s parents call’ memories need to be spoken at this time.”
He rolled his eyes and sighed before continuing. “Well, first off, your parents are really worried about you, Paige. They told me their side of the whole Buddy situation and I didn’t realize from your version, how badly you reacted. Have you spoken to them since that evening? They saw the Tomb fire on the news and were worried that you were involved.”
David’s story was aggravating me to no end. “If they were so worried, why didn’t they call me to find out if I was alright?”
From the look on David’s face, it was safe to say I was the most ignorant person on Earth…or at least, he thought so. “Because, my lovely, you don’t currently have a phone. As I recall, it’s in a trash can somewhere, shattered into a million pieces. Or have you forgotten your little temper tantrum?”
A short burst of laughter sounded from the kitchen. I glared in Daemon’s direction as he continued staring at the coffee. Wait a minute! It should be done brewing by now. What the hell was he staring at? And then it hit me…there was fresh coffee in the kitchen. I jumped out of my seat and somehow instantly appeared in front of the machine with mug in hand. The mechanics of how I ended up in this position didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the mixture of sugar, creamer and black paradise that was making its way into my mug.
“David’s right, Dams
el. We haven’t had a chance to get you a new phone. We should stop and do that on our way to the trailer park this afternoon.”
I nodded in agreement as I returned next to David’s side. “So, that’s all they wanted; to know that I was okay?”
“No. Actually, they called to let me know that Annie is being transferred to The Center tomorrow. They were hoping we could stop by to help her get settled in. They asked if we would bring some of her things from home for her to use while she’s there.”
My heart jumped in my chest. David had just given me the best news of the day. Annie’s release from the mental facility was a big step in her recovery process.
“Of course we’ll be there! But that means we need to go to the apartment again. Did you want to stay here, or were you planning on going over there with us? I mean, the last time we went there, you didn’t do so well with the surprise that’d been left in my room.”
David brushed away my concern with his hand. “I’ll be fine, Paige. I assume the police have been watching that apartment closely since the discovery of the photos. Plus, my car is there and I need to bring it over here so I can start going to work again. You might be fine living off your savings, but I cannot support the fabulousness that is me without working to earn the dough. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s coffee in the kitchen and I have gone far too long without it. It’s been at least….” He looked at his phone. “…four hours. This is a critical stage. I’m nearing empty as we speak.”
~
We stood side by side. Each person with their jaws dragging the ground. The silence that hung between us was thick and heavily laden with one question. How the hell was Chris getting around so well without being caught?