Milah didn’t know his home very well. The view she had from the bedroom window only gave a small view that overlooked his gardens.
They came to a stop toward a large outbuilding. Milah glanced up at Damon, who looked at the building. His hand on her arm slid down to take her hand, and then he walked with purpose toward the building.
She noticed three guards were waiting outside.
Milah had attempted to count all his guards, to assess the situation, but it was impossible. There was no set routine to any of them. One day, two guards could be out in the hallway, the next, one, another time, four. The numbers kept changing, and so did the hours that they changed.
It wasn’t an accident.
She knew Damon did it on purpose. Not because of her, but for all of his enemies. By not having a set routine, it made attacking him even more impossible. The only way to take him out would be to go at him head-on, but at the same time, that was also unfeasible. No one knew definitely how many men were on the property.
The men rarely showed their faces. Unless someone could recognize faces alone, they might have a shot at figuring out a weakness. So far, she hadn’t found a single one.
The guards stepped out of the way, and Damon moved her in front of them. They walked into the outbuilding, and after one look at it, she saw it was a large gym. In the center were several mats pushed together. She spotted a treadmill, weights, a bike, and several other pieces of equipment.
She should know them. Her mother had ordered her to use them all.
The gym mat was the easiest to detect, seeing as it took up most of the room, and that was where the men had trained her. Not in this place, obviously, but back home. When her father was away on business.
Damon stepped away from her.
She heard the door to the building close, followed by the bolt sliding into place. They were locked inside.
“What is going on?” she asked.
“You’ll find a set of gym clothes there.” He pointed off to the left. “Change into them.”
Milah hesitated but knew there was no point in arguing with him. Damon got what he wanted. She realized that quite quickly. She looked at the gym clothes and then tried to find somewhere to change into.
“Change there,” Damon said. “No one is here to see you or take pictures.”
“You’re here.”
“And I won’t look.”
She didn’t want to be out of her large clothes that swamped her body, but now was not the time to fight him.
Without looking at him, she put the clothes down and did a quick swap, changing into the gym gear. The shirt wasn’t as fitted, which she was thankful for. The yoga pants and bralette fit like a second skin.
She appreciated the shirt she could slip right on over the top.
Damon was already on the mat when she finished, and she didn’t want to join him, but she had no choice. There was nowhere for her to run to.
Damon looked at her, and she stared back at him.
What was going on?
His gaze ran up and down her body, but he wasn’t looking at her like a woman, but as an opponent. Her mother’s guards had taught her to assess body language, including the way someone looked at her as well. The key to survival was being able to read each situation. To know how best to fight.
She didn’t want to fight Damon.
He charged at her, and Milah had two choices, allow him to hit her or to attack. She tried not to respond, but it was instinct. She didn’t like pain, so she blocked his hit. He came at her from the side. She ducked down and thrust her leg up, connecting with his stomach, and he pushed back.
Damon chuckled. “So you are trained.”
She stood up and folded her arms, keeping him within her sight. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“They said that you moved like you had some training. Not like a panicked woman. The way you fight, you know what you’re doing.”
“Your men clearly lie to you. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Damon moved fast, and Milah tried to react like someone who hadn’t been trained, but Damon didn’t give up. There was only so much evading she could do.
When he nearly punched her in the face, Milah had no choice. She attacked, spinning around, jabbing his ribs with her elbow, and then hitting him in the face.
She spun around, and this time, she attacked him.
Her mother had told her to defend herself. To never show what she could do, but with Damon right now, she was tired of him. Once she went on the attack, Damon had no choice but to defend. As she took him by surprise with her actions, he also tried not to hurt her.
Damon was treating her like a girl.
It wasn’t long before she straddled his waist, with her hands locked around his neck. “If I had a knife right now, you would be dead.”
She gasped as he grabbed her hips and moved so that she felt the hardness of his erection. His grip was too tight. She couldn’t move away from him, and he knew it.
His chuckle made her angry.