My skin buzzed with an electric current that ran from the tip of my fingers to the end of my toes, my heart raced, and my entire body screamed yes while my mind whispered no,
No, no, no—
He broke away first, almost as though he could hear my thoughts, stepping back like he’d been burned.
“Try it on me,” he said roughly, trying to regulate his breathing.
His voice wasn’t steady.
Neither was my sanity.
I tried it once, twice, ten times.
He blocked me effortlessly each time until suddenly he didn’t.
On my eleventh try, I managed to twist his arm, leverage his balance, and pin him by the throat against the wall, mirroring the exact position he’d put me in.
For one suspended heartbeat, I was proud. Proud that there was a fighting chance, that there was hope I could one day beat him.
