Free A Hunters Promise by Gwendolyn Cease Page A

rolled her eyes. “Really? That’s what you came up with?”
    He burst out laughing. “Apparently so. I’d planned to get back here faster, but I had to take care of some things. If you want, we can hit the gym.”
    “Sounds good, but Joelle said she was taking me to see Kenshin.”
    “He’s out, so we’ll hit the gym first.”
    He led her out. They walked down corridors, turned corners and went through doors. She was glad he led, since there was no way she’d ever remember any of this. He must have an exceptional memory or lived in the place for a while. Finally, he opened a steel door, and she found herself in a state-of-the-art gym. Machines, free weights, sparring ring, and a wall lined with weapons surrounded her, and she loved it. She moved through the place, touching and investigating, loving how new everything was.
    “Here, try this,” he said, interrupting her investigation.
    She turned to find he held out to her a naginata , but it wasn’t cobbled together like her other. This one was sleek and gorgeous with a black lacquer wood handle and gently curving blade. Aislinn took it from Charon, and the weight settled easily in her hands, as if it were made for her. She twirled it about experimentally, and the blade whistled as it cut the air. If the man in front of her hadn’t given her a bucket of orgasms, she would have certainly had another.
    “It’s yours,” Charon said.
    “I can’t take this,” she said, caressing the weapon. “It’s beautiful.”
    “So are you, but that’s beside the point. You need a weapon, and this one is perfect for you. I made sure of it.”
    She looked up at him. “Did you get this for me? Or make it for me?”
    “Irish, you ask too many questions.” He leaned down and kissed her very lightly. He’d never done that before, she realized. He’d done everything else to her, but never kissed her.
    “So, let’s get you used to it,” he said, stepping back.
    She nodded, not trusting her voice. She watched as he picked up a long pole and approached her. His weapon had no blade, but she knew no matter how fast she was, she’d never hit him. Now that she knew he was vampire, it made sense, and she probably should have thought of it before. She guessed she didn’t want to think too much since the realization would have scared her. Now, it just made her work harder.
    They moved and hit and jumped until she could feel her legs wobbling, but she didn’t give up. Whatever came at her wouldn’t stop if she told it she was tired. Yeah, it would eat her face, and since she only had one, she couldn’t afford for that to happen. Through force of will, she continued until Charon called a halt. He was barely breathing hard, and she was huffing and puffing and sweating like a pig. She went down on one knee, but still maintained a grip on her weapon if he decided to come at her again. He’d done it in the past, and she didn’t trust him.
    “You’re learning,” he said. “I’ll set you up with a training program. You need to build up not only your strength, but stamina. We have the time and the space now and don’t have to hide.”
    “So you’re saying I’m weak?” Anger leaked into her voice.
    “No, Irish, I’m not. But if you’re going to fight beside us then you need to be able to handle it. I won’t take you out into the field if you’re not ready.”
    “You’re not yanking my chain? You’ll really let me fight?”
    “You’ve been fighting for months now. I’ll just give you a wider field to practice on. But you don’t go until I’m satisfied. Understood?”
    She nodded. “Okay. But I want to go again.”
    He watched her a long moment and finally nodded. “Get some water and take a minute.”
    She did as he directed. Dang, the water tasted good. She ran the bottle over her face and, for the first time in her life, felt normal. Or, at least, what she considered normal. Her life had never been normal. She’d been brought up among privilege, and as soon