Free Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) by Gemma Pennington

done this.
    “Fight me off,” he said sternly.
    His look had hardened, but my head was no longer in training because of the last few minutes. I had the urge to test him and see what he’d do if I refused to do what he asked. I wanted to see what his reaction would be. Even if it meant him yelling at me. Maybe it was the sudden mix of feelings I had for him. I didn’t know.
    “No,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
    He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at me, confused. His eyes searched mine, silently questioning me. My heart was pounding against my chest as I kept my eyes fixed on his.
    “Fight me off,” he spoke again. His words caught in the back of his throat, making them sound softer.
    Not wanting to give him any further reason to question me, I decided to just try to move him off me. I placed my right hand on his T-shirt at the side of his ribcage. His breath was deep and quick as he watched me. My left hand went to his hip and instantly connected with his exposed skin, where his T-shirt had gaped away from him because he was hovering over me. I let my thumb brush his taut skin, which felt like silk.
    I regretted doing it immediately because he reacted to my touch. He quietly sucked in a breath and his body jerked slightly. Realizing the stupid thing I had just done, I quickly started to push him off me, but he didn’t budge. I tried several more times, but he just didn’t move. I let out groans of frustration and wondered why I was even bothering attempting to. His weight had a full advantage over mine, again. Looking up at him, he had that same look in his eyes, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He hadn’t told me to stop trying to move him, but I couldn’t carry on because it was no use. A playful thought entered my mind, one I knew would definitely get him off me. I shot my leg up in between his, nearly catching Jamie Junior, and he buckled in reflex, sending the lower half of his body crashing onto me. I made a strangled, gargled sound as the force of his weight fell on top of me, winding me. Being crushed in the process hadn’t occurred to me.
    He raised himself back over me and shook his head with a defeated smile on his face.
    When I could breathe, I couldn’t help but laugh at him.
    “Yeah, you win, barely.” He quietly laughed.
    Now that we’d broken the ice with each other, I hoped he would stop keeping his distance from me and would be friendly to me like the rest of them.
    “Ahem!” Someone cleared their throat from the side of the cage.
    We both quickly turned to where it came from to see Kal frowning down at us through the cage, hands on his hips. He didn’t look impressed. I wondered how long he’d been standing there.
    Jamie shot up from over me, scratching the back of his head. I looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was half past six. “Holy shit, I’m late.” I scrambled to my feet. Dad would be wondering why I wasn’t home.
    Jamie walked over to where Kal was, and I could hear sharp, hushed voices as I slowly walked out of the cage, trying to hear what was being said.
    “What was that?” Kal sounded pissed.
    “Self-defense training, you know, like she wanted,” Jamie snapped back.
    “Cam was doing it, not you.”
    “He couldn’t do it tonight. Why you so pissed?”
    “Not you, Jamie. You’re the best I’ve got.”
    I wondered what Kal meant by that. He was the best he had? I hoped I hadn’t gotten him into trouble. I seemed to do nothing more than get them in trouble at the moment, which was the last thing I wanted.
    “There’s nothing there. You’re making shit up in your head, Kal,” Jamie growled quietly.
    Then there was silence, so I listened harder as I passed them.
    “You don’t own me.”
    I winced at how awkward all this was, especially because I was still in earshot—although clearly, these two thought otherwise.
    “I put you where you are. Don’t forget that.”
    Jamie never replied, but Kal carried on. “Go out, get it