Dare to Dream

Chapter 3

I led Asher out front, steering clear of making eye contact. I was still wary of him, but something about him made me want to trust him. He trailed close enough behind me so I could feel his hot breath on the back of my neck, making my heart flutter violently.

"Here should be good enough," Asher suggested.

I stopped in my tracks, watching as Asher moved in front of me. Using his height to his advantage, he towered over me, sword in hand.

Unlike my straight and smooth blade, his was more curved with sharp spikes running alongside the blade. I've never seen anything like it before. My stance wasn't nearly as proper as Asher's; in fact, it seemed pretty sloppy compared to his. He held a strong posture, gripping the sword ever-so thoroughly and with a confidence that I could never live up to.

"Raise your sword." He demonstrated, holding his upright, nearly parallel to his body and tilted outward. "This is first position."

I felt the sudden need to correct him as Seth did for me, but I bit my tongue. I followed him and moved my rapier as he did.

"Very well," Asher complimented. "Get used to the feel of it in your hand; swing it back and forth and learn to control it at all aspects. Learn to balance it."

I obeyed him, doing as he told me to do. I shifted it between my hands, analyzing the weight of it. I liked the feel of the rapier in my possession. It provided an inner stength to me that I never even knew I had. I felt unstoppable, invincible.

Still in that position, Asher said, "This is where you'll want to start of with your attacks. I recommend novices begin their attacking from first position."

A novice? Please, how hard could it really be? I'll show him I'm no novice. I have years of telvision experience to guide me. Defying his instruction, I positioned myself differently. Asher didn't comment, but he arched a brow, which I ignored.

He raised his sword, and I followed suit. Before the battle commenced, I stole one more glance at Asher. If he hadn't been aiming the sword right at my throat, I would've found his closeness as a total turn-on. We stared at each other, a challenging gaze mirrored in our eyes. Fire crept beneath my skin, hot and sweet, devouring my body with warm pleasure. His challenging gaze fled his eyes, replaced by confusion. He sheathed his sword, crossing his arms as a silly smile curled his lips.

"Are you going to attack me anytime soon, or are we going to play a game of 'stare down' for the next few hours?"

The fire beneath my skin burned hotter. I forced a scowl and held out my sword chest-level as he did the same. Without warning, he thrusted his sword forward. I blocked it with mine and flicked my wrist in a swift motion, deflecting his blade. The sound of metal-on-metal hissed in my ears.

Asher pivoted to the side, aiming his blow near my shoulder. Once again I blocked his attack, but the next thing I knew, my feet were swept off balance and I landed roughly against the grass as wet patches leeched onto me.

I groaned, standing back on my feet. I didn't have enough time to regroup before Asher attempted another attack, sending my blade flying twenty yards away. I scrambled to my feet, only to get knocked down again, his claw-like sword inches away from slicing my throat. I breathed heavily, trying to break free from his grasp, but he held me firmly.

"Looks like we have much to practice," he said, stifling a laugh, but not quite hiding his grin.

Humiliation floated around me like a storm cloud; exhilarating and electrifying. "This is much harder than it looks on tv," I huffed.

"Yeah," he laughed. " When you watch these things on tv, they're doing all the work. When you actually do it for yourself, well, let's just say you kind of wish you hadn't been screaming at them the whole time."