Page 21 of Knight’s Dominion

"Okay, form a circle around the mat and we'll get started."

The door swung open.

Grace glanced up as Chaos strode in.

She straightened, every muscle in her body tightening, preparing to what? Attack? To defend herself? Run the other way? She had no idea, but she had no control over it.

Yeah, she’d asked Mia to get Chaos to contact her. But never in a million years had she expected him to show up at one of her training sessions.

The hulking half angel, half demon making her life difficult was wearing workout clothes—nylon shorts, a muscle shirt—and that ever-present grim expression. The cold determination in his dark gaze made her shiver and her heart speed up.

He was an oncoming storm as he prowled across the floor. Power snapped from him, reaching out to her. Did he know he was doing it? Could he feel it, too, or was her block strong enough to hide the volatile energy reaching out from both of them, trying to draw the other closer, clashing, intertwining?

Grace felt it. Every. Damn. Time.

But today, it was stronger than ever.

Snapping herself out of it, she straightened her spine. They needed to talk, but not here, not now. She started toward him and held up her hands. “This class is full."

He crossed his arms, emphasizing their massive size, and she found it a struggle to drag her gaze away from all that defined, deeply tanned skin.

Get it together, Grace.

He quirked a brow. "You can't squeeze in one more?"

Everyone was watching now. She couldn't exactly demand he leave. "I don't think there's anything I could teach you here.”

"Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I could show you a thing or two." His voice had dropped so deep she felt it tug low in her belly.

What the hell was he doing?

She struggled for something to say, something to make him leave.

He lifted his chin, aiming his dark gaze over her shoulder. "We're holding up your class."

She glared and did the only thing she could, she turned her back on him and faced her students. "You're in luck. We have a special guest. Chaos is a combat and defense specialist, and he's going to show us some new moves."

His low growl rumbled behind her, for her ears only, and she didn't hide her smile when she crooked her finger for him to follow. All but a couple of her students were demi, so apart from the humans, everyone knew who he was and at one point had stayed and trained at the compound.

So it wasn't a surprise when many waved and greeted him by name, and though the guy was no charmer, the batting lashes and coy smiles didn't surprise her, either. What she was surprised by was her reaction to all the female attention thrown his way.

She didn’t like it.

Which was freaking absurd.

This mate thing was no joke. She disliked the male intensely, had made no secret of it, but right then, the urge—the pure, raw, animal instinct—to drop into a fighting stance in front of him and let everyone know he was hers, was hard to resist.

No, her draw to him had never been so strong. She needed him out of there before she did something she could never take back. Something she’d most definitely regret.

He stood, legs braced apart, hands hanging loose at his sides, and a small superior grin tugging up his wicked, sensual lips. "Where do you want me?"

Between my thighs.

No. Nope.

He narrowed his gaze on her, dark and glittering, and drew in a rough breath before letting it go slowly, like he’d just read her wayward thoughts and was trying to gather his own failing control.

Clearing her throat, she straightened her spine. She had to be imagining things. He had no idea who she was to him, she’d made sure of it.