Free Chains of Frost: The Bellum Sisters 1 by T. A. Grey, Regina Wamba Page A

looked back at him, he saw fear
there and wanted to laugh. See, this was why. That look.
    “I, I heard noise down here and
wanted to see who it was.”
    Shaking his head, he sat heavily
on the bench and started pulling the tape off his hands. “Why?”
    “I was just curious.” He didn’t
look at her, couldn’t. For all he knew, she had a fling going on with one of
the other warriors. It wouldn’t surprise him in the least. She was gorgeous,
smart, gentle. What kind of man could resist? He was on the verge of asking her
which warrior it was, but bit his tongue until pain lanced through him.
    He finished pulling the tape off
and grabbed a towel to wipe up the sweat from his face. His shirt and shorts
were plastered to him but whatever. She’d seen him at worse times. And she was
fucking off limits.
    “You know, you really shouldn’t
be exercising so soon. I gave you a four day reprieve from any training.” She
sounded concerned. She probably was. There was so much sweetness in her. Things
he didn’t know how to deal with.
    “I know,” he said gruffly. He
snatched a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and downed the whole thing.
    “Then why are you here, Henry?”
She sounded exasperated.
    Well good, let her be pissed. She
shouldn’t have kissed him. I shouldn’t have let her. Gotta get out of
here. He made for the door, but she stepped in front of him. It was either brush
by her to get around her or push her away. He couldn’t make himself do either.
    “I was working out, as you saw.
Move out of my way, Nanu.” Her lips were dark, the color of dark cherry.
    “No,” she said with a lift to her
chin. “I want to talk about what happened.”
    He sighed loudly and peered over
at the punching bag. He could probably work the bag for at least another couple
of hours. He started toward it, but a soft hand pulled on his arm. He looked
down, his eyes narrowing on the stark contract of her bronzed skin to his
lighter skin. It made his gut clench.
    “There’s nothing to talk about,
Nanu.” He watched her jaw tighten. The same way it did when she was working
over a warrior, stitching him up. It was her look of pure, raw determination.
Her I-will-not-fail look, and it was aimed at him. He was screwed. “Fine, talk
fast. I need to get out of here.”
    “Why have you been avoiding me? I
sent a note that you should check in with me today so I can rewrap the gauze
with a clean one.”
    “You know why I didn’t come by.”
He looked at her, his eyes unflinching in their honesty. He watched her swallow
hard. Her cheeks darkened with color. Dammit. He needed to get out of here.
    “Because of the kiss,” she said
softly. He took an unsteady breath, his tongue rubbing over his lips in
remembrance. Her taste no longer lingered, that he’d made sure of with half a
tube of toothpaste and a bottle of mouthwash. But none of that could wipe away
the memory of how her lips felt pressed softly against his. Like warm satin.
    Her eyes softened, the golden
specs around her pupils sparkling up at him. “I liked kissing you, Henry.”
    Whoosh. All the air in his gut left him,
and his dick hardened in his shorts.
    “Yeah, well it isn’t going to
happen again. In fact, this will be the last time we speak of it, ever.” Shit,
there was no hiding the thick arousal that filled his voice. He could only hope
she wouldn’t pick up on it.
    “Why not? I think we both enjoyed
it. You did enjoy it, didn’t you?” She looked so unsure. How could this woman
ever doubt her ability to knock the socks off a man? She was stunning, and when
she kissed, it was like a dream. Maybe she was just playing him up, trying to
be coy. But no, that wasn’t her way. She was an upfront woman. She wanted to
know why he couldn’t be with her? Shit, he had two good reasons—at least.
    “It doesn’t matter if I enjoyed
it, Nanu, because it isn’t happening again.”
    She stepped up into him, pressing
her body lightly against him, cautious of his