“Don’t say a word,” he said in a threatening tone. They would question him later, but for now they would hold their peace.
“I’m sure none of you bet on that,” Doc said, just loud enough for everyone on the balcony to hear, but not Sarah. JD could hear the laughter in his voice. Even Doc was going to give him a hard time when they were next alone.
“Damn right we didn’t,” he heard Scott mutter.
“Are you ready?” Doc called down to Sarah, who nodded. She was too nervous to trust her voice. She knew what she had to do, she just wasn’t sure she would be able to do it.
“Jonathon, you’re up first.”
“Good girl,” JD said under his breath as he watched his brother slide down the pole.
He was feeling tense and gripped the safety rail tight as he looked down into the arena.
Craig glanced at him. “Relax. She will be alright.”
“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”
“Under the circumstances, no.” Craig couldn’t help grinning at him.
“Wipe the smile off your face Craig,” JD said. He had made a mistake by giving Sarah his sword, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
Jonathon smiled at Sarah cockily as he swung his sword round, loosening up his wrists. “This is going to be fun. You can’t beat me you know.”
“We’ll see,” she said as she drew JD’s sword. JD had been right about his arrogance. It would be his downfall.
“Why don’t we make it more interesting? Beat me and I’ll let you sleep with me.” He was purposely speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.
Anger welled up inside her and it took all of her self-control to not slash his throat. She wasn’t sure if he was serious or just trying to goad her and she didn’t care. She was confident that she could beat him and had intended to do it without him looking like a fool. His words changed her mind.
“He’s going to regret saying that,” JD said quietly to Craig.
“What makes you so sure?”
“Look at her eyes. The last time I saw her that angry was when she hit me and I can still remember how that felt.” He rubbed his jaw as he spoke. Memories resurfaced and he suddenly felt a little sorry for his brother. Whatever Sarah intended to do to him, she would do it in a controlled and calculated way. Jonathon was not going to enjoy this fight.
Sarah circled Jonathon, making sure she placed every step correctly. She remembered JD’s advice and didn’t make the first move.
Jonathon attacked and Sarah easily defended. “Is that the best you can do?” she taunted. He attacked again, just as ineffectively. He could fight better than this; he was just warming her up.
He then unleashed a barrage of attacks. Sarah blocked each one, stepping back as she did so, giving the impression she was having trouble defending herself.
Then she let her sword drop. It looked like it was a rooky mistake so Jonathon moved in for the kill. At the last second she changed her grip, flipped the sword over and slashed at his throat. He jumped back just in time.
There were gasps from the balcony.
“Holy shit,” Craig exclaimed. “Did you teach her that?”
JD shook his head. “I told you her Korean sword lessons would come in handy.”
“Luckily he jumped back in time.”
Again JD shook his head. “She was in full control and missed on purpose. She wouldn’t risk seriously injuring him, even if he did ask for it. She didn’t fully extend her arm and could have killed him if she wanted to. It scared him though, as it was intended to.”
“What makes you so sure of that?”
“It scared the shit out of me the first time I was on the receiving end and that was with a blunt sword.”
Sarah gave Jonathon a moment to recover, which he took advantage of by attacking once more before she was prepared. She was too busy blocking to get in any of her own attacking moves and was slowly being driven backward toward the wall.
“What is she up to?” JD said to himself.
“What do you mean?” Craig asked.
“Watch closely. She’s stepping back before he steps forward. He isn’t pushing her into the corner, she’s leading him.”
Craig did as instructed and saw what JD meant. “He doesn’t realise, does he?”
JD shook his head. “All he’s thinking right now is how easily he’s beating her. He should know she’s up to something. I wouldn’t have said she was ready to be assessed if I thought she could be beaten this quickly.”
JD glanced toward the others and could see that they were all tense. None of them wanted Sarah to fail, but there was nothing they could do to help her. If any of them called out a warning that she was running out of room, the assessment would be abandoned.
JD, however, remained calm. He didn’t know what she was up to, but he was sure Sarah was the one in control of the fight, not Jonathon.
Sarah stepping back into the wall momentarily distracted her and Jonathon went in for the kill. His upward cut was so powerful it knocked her block backward into the wall, pulling her sword out of her left hand.
He let go of his own sword with his right hand and used it to grab her left arm and pin it to the wall, while he used the strength in his left arm to hold her sword against the wall with his own. He moved in closer, rubbing his body against hers.
“Didn’t you warn her never to let herself get into that position?” Craig asked JD.
“Of course I did. She has done this deliberately, though I can’t for the life of me work out why.”
“She can free herself if she lets go of her sword,” Craig said. “Your sword,” he quickly corrected himself, unable to keep the grin off his face. He, too, wasn’t worried that Sarah was about to fail.
“She won’t though. I taught her never to do that and it’s one rule I know she will never break.”
Jonathon glanced up at the balcony and could see everyone watching him intently. While he wanted Sarah to pass her assessment, he could still remember the stunt she had pulled with the paper cutting and, despite all she had done since then to make it up to him, he was going to enjoy humiliating her.
He gave Sarah a cocky grin. “Do you know why you lost?” he asked her, loud enough for them all to hear. “Your mind is not on the game. You’re concentrating too much on getting close to me instead of beating me. The thought of finally getting me into bed has made you lose concentration.”
“Does he realise he hasn’t won yet?” Craig asked JD.
“He thinks it’s now a foregone conclusion. Personally I’m not so sure. I don’t know what she’s planning, but I can guarantee she has a way out of this.”
“Was it worth failing your assessment,” Jonathon continued, “just to feel my body pressed against yours?”
Sarah smiled at him. It was the sly smile of someone who was going to enjoy what was about to happen. “You’re wrong you know,” she said, speaking just as loud as Jonathon had. She wanted those on the balcony to hear what she had to say. “For three reasons. Firstly, my mind is always on the game when I have a sword in my hand. Secondly, I’m not the least bit interested in sleeping with you. Never have been, never will be.”
JD’s heart leaped when he heard those words. He had never really believed Sarah was attracted to his brother, but it felt good to know for sure.
“And thirdly,” Sarah continued, “I got myself into this position on purpose.”
Suddenly Jonathon did not look so sure of himself. “Why?”
“So I can do this.” Jonathon had positioned her so that her knee was between his legs. She put all the extra strength she now had, thanks to JD’s training, to good use and forced it upward, hard and fast, into Jonathon’s groin.
Pain shot through him as his legs gave way and he crumpled to the ground. Sarah casually placed JD’s sword on his arm, just below the sleeve of his t-shirt, and cut him deep enough to draw blood without leaving a scar.
“I win,” she told him, but he was in too much pain
to hear her.
“First blood,” Doc called out, but he did not sound pleased about it.
Nobody on the balcony moved; they were too shocked by what they had just seen. Simon was the first to recover. “Aren’t you going to go and help your brother?” he asked JD. He was trying not to laugh.
“Hell no. After the way he has been tormenting Sarah, he deserved it.” JD then leaned over the barrier. “Jonathon, when you’re able to stand up, go and get some ice or something.”
Doc, however, was not amused. “Sarah, that was not called for. This is your assessment. You’re supposed to be taking it seriously. I’m very tempted to not award you the win.”
Simon, Scott, Craig and Katie all started to complain. Doc ignored them. “JD. What’s your view?”
JD was surprised Doc was asking his opinion. He knew it would be bias. If he wanted her to fail so that he could continue to spend so much time with her, now was the perfect opportunity. He didn’t take it. “She hasn’t technically broken any rules, so I don’t see how you can do anything other than say she won.”
“Alright. Sarah, you got lucky. You had better take your next fight more seriously.”
“Here, catch,” Simon said and threw a cloth to her. She cleaned JD’s sword, then threw it back. Craig waited until she had placed the sword back into the scabbard on her back, then dropped a bottle of water down.
“Thanks,” she called up to him and unscrewed the lid.
Groaning, Jonathon struggled to his feet and staggered out of the door. Sarah locked it behind him.
“Do you want to take a break or are you okay to continue?” Doc asked. The fight hadn’t lasted long, so she should not be tired, but it was standard procedure to allow the candidate a short break between fights.
Sarah took another mouthful of drink, put the lid back on and threw it up to Craig. “I’m good,” she said.
“Who’s next?” Katie asked.
Doc looked at them as they all eagerly stood on the balcony, watching him expectantly. He seemed reluctant to make his decision. Only JD wasn’t paying him any attention.
Eventually he spoke. “Sarah’s next opponent is JD.”
Didn’t you teach her rule 9
JD whipped his head around and stared at Doc, while everyone else protested.
“That’s not fair.”
“There is no way she can beat him.”
“Surely it’s against the rules to make her fight her trainer.”
“He knows her every move. He taught her most of them. How can you justify this?”
He waited until they had quietened down before explaining. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a say in it. JD is Sarah’s choice.”
Silence filled the room. Nobody knew what to say. JD’s stomach clenched and he didn’t know how to react. Finally Craig leaned over the barrier. “Are you insane?” he asked Sarah.
“We’ll soon find out.”
He shook his head in disbelief, drew his sword and handed it hilt first to JD. “You may need this.”
JD didn’t say a word as he took it. He was in emotional turmoil. What was she playing at now? After what she had done to Jonathon, she was definitely setting him up for something, but he didn’t know what or why. All he knew was that she had an agenda and the only way to find out what it was was to play along.
“JD,” Craig continued. “Go easy on her.”
He didn’t look at him as he said, “No.” He then somersaulted into the arena.
“I wish he wouldn’t do that,” Doc said through clenched teeth.
Sarah watched him closely. She could see he was uneasy, but he didn’t appear angry. He swung Craig’s sword around a few times to get the feel of it.
“Are you alright?” he asked as he positioned himself in the ‘ready’ stance and watched her do the same. He wasn’t being sarcastic. She nodded. “You don’t need any ice for your knee?”
She laughed. “Thank you, but no. It didn’t hit anything hard.”
She started to sidestep, keeping JD in her sights at all times. He watched her movements, nodding in satisfaction as she did everything right. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Oh yes,” she said and sprang forward to attack. “Don’t forget, right now, you’re my enemy not my trainer. I don’t have to listen to you or obey you.”
It was a half-hearted attempt and he easily defended against it before countering. “Is that what this is about? You want the opportunity to fight me as an equal instead of my student? You know you can’t beat me.”
“What makes you think I want to?”
This confused him more than he already was. “This is your assessment. Of course you want to.”
“Maybe there’s something I want more.”
“Right now, there shouldn’t be,” he said and attacked.
She blocked, pushed his sword out of the way, then turned her back on him, took a step back to close the gap and rammed the hilt of her sword hard into his ribs, winding him.
“Nice move,” he gasped. “Where did you learn that?”
She span away from him before he could retaliate. “The internet. I’ve spent the last week looking up how to fight dirty.”
“So that’s how you plan to beat me is it?” He attacked again and she countered. “You’re holding back,” he accused.
“So are you.” She had a point. Deep down, he didn’t want her to beat him, but he wasn’t sure he wanted her to fail her assessment either. He had absolutely no idea what he should do. He had never felt like this before and didn’t like it. He was always in control, but at that moment he felt like Sarah was.
He attacked once more, this time more aggressively, making her back away. She was no longer smiling, but her eyes were shining bright. She was concentrating hard, but still enjoying herself.
She continued to back away from him as she defended. He risked a quick glance down at her feet, making sure he wasn’t falling for the same move his brother had.
Certain that he had her on the run, he intensified his attack. Soon he had her pinned against the wall. Only then did he realise that she was in the same position his brother had her in and he quickly shifted his weight away from her knees. He realised, too, that she had allowed him to do this. She was setting him up for something, but he had no idea what. Having her that close to him made the urge to kiss her overwhelming, but he managed to resist it.
“Satisfied?” he growled at her.
“It will take a lot more than that for you to satisfy me.” The emphasis had been on the ‘you’. Now what the hell did that mean? He was suddenly glad that they were talking quietly enough for those on the balcony not to hear.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he lied.
“Oh I very much doubt that.”
“You’re trying to distract me. It won’t work.” That may have been part of it, but he was sure there was more to her plans than just that.
“We’ll see.”
Not wanting the fight to end until he had found out what she was up to, he released her and stepped away. She immediately attacked, catching him off guard. It was all he could do to defend himself as he backed away. Her movements were fast and relentless, not allowing him any time to regain control. He had never seen her fight with such ferociousness. Pride at her abilities flowed through him.
Then she made a move he wasn’t expecting and managed to get the point of her sword at his throat, touching the skin but not breaking it. One wrong move from either of them and he would be dead. If he tried to knock her sword away, it would slice his throat. Strangely, he felt a little nervous. He had never seen her like this and was unsure what her agenda was.
“Know what your problem is?” she asked, keeping her voice low. “The way I’m dressed is putting you off.” She was right, but he was not going to admit that. “I think we need to level the playing field. Take off your shirt.”
“What?” Had he just heard her right? He could feel everyone on the balcony watching them both closely.
<
br /> “I said take off your shirt.” It was a demand, not a request. It felt strange having her order him about instead of the other way round. It was something he would like to get used to.
“You know I can get out of this.”
“I know, but can you do it without me getting hurt?”
He could free himself from the position he was in, but it was risky and Sarah was right, she might get hurt. He decided to play it safe and comply with her demands. He also saw this as the only way to find out what she was up to.
His sword was in his right hand, so he used his left to undo his buttons. Sarah never let her arm waver, keeping her sword in position as he tried not to move any part of his body he didn’t have to. She kept her eyes on his face instead of watching what his hand was doing.
“What is he doing?” he heard someone from the balcony ask, but he blocked them out. He had to concentrate; removing his shirt while keeping hold of his sword wasn’t going to be easy, but there was no way he was going to let it go.
He moved his left arm up to his mouth and undid the buttons on his cuffs with his teeth. He somehow managed to get the shirt off his left side, then slowly moved his arm across to take hold of his sword, freeing up his right hand. He made no sudden movements that Sarah could take as a challenge and her eyes remained focused on his, reading him the way he had taught her to. Under other circumstances he would have been proud of her.
He used his teeth again on his right cuff then let the shirt fall to the ground. Only then did Sarah let her gaze drop. Her eyes opened wide as they travelled down his body and her sword arm began to quiver. Realizing how dangerous that was, she stepped back, allowing those on the balcony the full view of his smooth, muscular chest.
He had never been topless in front of anyone currently present before and he heard Katie gasp. “His body is even better than Jonathon’s,” she exclaimed.
“How do you know?” Simon asked.
It was a good question and JD didn’t like the silence that followed. He glanced up at Katie, who was refusing to look at anyone. He made a mental note to have a few words with his brother.
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