Melina awakens as she feels someone stroking her hair. She opens her eyes and locks gazes with a pair of piercing blue orbs that lights up once they lock with hers.
“I was worried for a minute you were never going to wake up,” Thomas says, smiling at Melina as he continues to stroke her hair.
“Is something wrong?” The bedside clock reads 5:00 a. m., implying it’s still very early in the morning, so she wonders why he’s waking her.
“It’s time for training.”
“Isn’t it too early to train?”
“The main training is later in the day, but we need to warm up our bodies first.”
“Oh, but why do we have to warm up so early in the morning?” Melina asks, yawning.
“It’s the best time for jogging.”
“You want us to go for a jog?” Melina hates exercising. She can’t believe he wants them to go for a jog so early in the morning.
“I know you hate working out, but this is good for you. It will get your body warmed up nicely before we start training.”
“Since you know I hate it, why can’t you figure out another way to warm up my body before training?”
“This is the only way.”
“Really,” she asks, pouting and giving him her baby eyes.
“Yes, and stop doing that. It’s not going to work,” Thomas says, avoiding eye contact with her. “Meet me downstairs in five minutes.”
“Okay.”
Thomas exits the room as she climbs out of bed to get ready. Melina joins him downstairs once she’s done dressing. They leave the house and jog around the estate together. Melina understands the importance of training, but she still has mixed feelings about honing skills that could end someone’s life. She hopes to use it on only one person because he’s the only one who deserves it.
***
Melina collapses flat on the gym floor the moment they walk in. She doesn’t mind that her sweat makes her body stick to the ground. She’s exhausted and feels as if she’s depleted all of her body’s energy.
“You did well today, principessa,” Thomas says, sitting across Melina on the floor. He has two water bottles in his hand. She sits up and catches one as he throws it her way.
“Thank you.” She uncaps it and downs the contents of the bottle.
“Take a five minutes break before we begin training.”
“We are still training today?” Melina, surprised, asks. She can’t bear the thought of doing anything strenuous again today.
“Yes, we haven’t done anything yet. Why are you making it sound like we have.”
“We have; we just ran 5 miles.”
“Yes, to warm up.”
“I think my body has reached its limit already.”
“Melina.”
“Thomas.”
“You can’t be serious,” he says, shaking his head at her.
“Tommy,” she whines, hoping he would have pity on her and put off training for today.
“It’s because I love you; I’ll ignore your request and follow through with training.”
Her cheeks flush red watching his eyes sparkle as he speaks about loving her.
“Can we make it ten minutes break?” Melina knows he isn’t going to change his mind, but it doesn’t mean they have to start immediately.
“6.”
“7.”
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
Seven minutes later, Thomas and Melina get up to train. Instead of teaching her hand-to-hand combat, he’s teaching her knife skills. He says that it’s better for one of his sisters to teach her hand-to-hand combat because he’ll always go soft on her.
“Pick one,” Thomas instructs as they stand in front of a table piled with various types of knives. Some Melina has seen before, while others she has never seen in her life. She never knew knives could be shaped in such unique ways.
Melina reaches for a small curved blade with a hole for your thumb.
“Excellent choice,” Thomas says.
Her hand trembles as she holds the blade. She envisions herself stabbing someone with it. Melinda feels someone’s warm blood coating her hands as their soul leaves their body. She takes deep breaths to calm herself down. I will only resort to killing someone if I have no choice. I’m not a killer; I’m just trying to protect myself. Melina chants to herself in an attempt to calm herself. Melina tries to make her trembling hand hold the blade firmly but fails.
“Relax, principessa, it’s just a blade,” Thomas says quietly to her. When did he get behind me?
He places his hand above hers, which is holding the blade. Melina’s hand stops trembling as the warmth of his hand seeps into her skin.
“Imagine it as your normal kitchen knife, and we are just mastering how to cut vegetables.” Thomas hangs on to her hand, causing heat to spread all over Melina’s skin as his hot breath fans her neck.
“You will only use it when necessary; you’re not a killer. Say it, principessa.”
“I’ll only use it when necessary. I’m not a killer.”
“Good, now look at me,” Thomas says, moving his head to the side while remaining behind her. She turns her head to the left and looksat him. Her gaze meets his, and she knows he can see the fear in them.
“Take a deep breath, Melina.” Her eyes unintentionally move with his lips as he speaks. They looked so inviting right now, all red and beautiful, like they were asking her to kiss them.
“Melina,” Thomas’ lips read, and she realized she got lost staring at them. She quickly moves her gaze away from his lips and does as he instructs. Melina gets a strong whiff of his scent as she inhales. She hasn’t smelled him in ages. Her eyes unconsciously close as his scent wraps around her like a warm blanket. She recalls how she would smell like him after they had mind-blowing sex. Her core throbs and she clenches her thighs together. She misses having Thomas inside of her, but is she ready yet?
“Look at your hand,” Thomas says, jolting Melina from her daydream. She looks down at her hand and notices his hand is no longer resting on hers. Melina was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t realize she’d gotten the hang of holding the knife steady.
Thomas emerges from behind Melina and picks up a similar blade from the table. Melina looks at him as he prepares to teach her how to use the blade. His piercing blue eyes, as blue as the sea, are a sight to behold. His pink lips, which always leave her breathless whenever they capture hers in a kiss, are hard to resist. His chiseled jawline, flawless nose, full brows, and long eyelashes make him so alluring. Thomas is a handsome man, so it’s no surprise she once fell in love with him.
“Melina,” Thomas calls, waving his hand in her face.
“Yes,” Melina replies, blinking her eyes radially. Shit, I did it again.
“Shall we start?”
“Yes. Let’s begin.”
***
An hour later, Melina collapses on the gym floor for the second time today. Thomas has drained every last drop of energy from her body. Melina is in so much pain that she can’t even move her fingers.
Who knew blade training could be so difficult?
Melina feels herself lifted off the ground as she catches her breath and calms her racing heart. She wraps her arms around Thomas’ neck and rests her head against his beating heart. She enjoys hearing his heartbeat.
“Thank you,” Melina mumbles against his chest. Thomas kisses her on the forehead before leading them out of the gym.
Thomas enters their bathroom and places Melina on the toilet seat before walking to the bathtub. He returns to the tub after turning on the water and putting in the shower gel. Melina expects him to leave so she can take a shower, but instead he walks over to her. He gestures for Melina to stand, and she does. Placing his hand on the edge of her shirt, Thomas tries to pull it off her body, but Melina stops him. She isn’t ready to be naked in front of him. As she opens her mouth to tell him to leave, she notices something that shocks her. His eyes are closed. Melina looks at him, puzzled. Does he know about my body insecurity?
Melina lets Thomas continue taking off her shirt, pulling it over her head.
“Thomas, why are your eyes closed?” Melina asks as Thomas places his hands on her waist.
“Because I want them closed,” he says as he pulls down her sweatpants. Her skin burns as his knuckles brush against her legs. He returns to her waist and pulls down her underwear. Thomas takes her G-string and sniffs it. Her core clenches, watching him.
“Incredibile come ricordo,” Thomas whispers as he puts her panties in his sweatpants pocket.
“What did you say?” Melina asks as Thomas stands back up and pulls her sports bra over her head.
“As amazing as I remember.” Melina’s cheeks flush.
Thomas takes her hand in his and leads her to the bath. With his eyes still closed, he helps her get in. Melina isn’t surprised he knows his way around, even with his eyes closed; it’s his bathroom.
“Can I wash your hair? I promise to keep my eyes closed.”
“Sure,” Melina says, smiling. Her heart swells as she watches Thomas trying to find her head so he can apply the shampoo he placed at the tub’s edge when he came to fill it. Melina couldn’t believe how much Thomas wanted to take care of her, but he does in a way that pleases her and not just himself. She can’t believe he is the same man who face fucked her when she wasn’t ready to have sex with him again. That was very selfish of him, but he is putting her first right now. It touches her heart.
“Thomas, my eyes,” Melina screams, snapping out of her reverie as the shampoo enters her eyes.
“Sorry,” he chuckles as he washes it away with water.
After washing her hair, Thomas leaves her to soak in the tub for a little while. She plays with the bubbles in the bathtub, wondering if her feelings for Thomas are rekindling.