Semper Mine (Sons of War #1)(19)

Captain Mathis broke Petr’s body, but that woman broke the hearts of both my brothers. Not to mention she likes to embarrass me. What the hell does any man in his right mind see in her?

“Is it safe to assume you know more than self-defense?” I ask thoughtfully.

“I can snap a man’s neck in a few different ways. Is Harris that much of an issue?”

“What the hell?” I stare at him.

He’s not joking.

“Harris is my business,” I reply. “Why you and my brother are fixated on him …” I shake my head. “No. I just … no. How the hell did you get from knowing how to hit someone to snapping necks?”

He shrugs. “In my line of work, I never rule out the possibility.”

“This is reality, Captain Mathis. There’s no snapping necks here.” I can’t even imagine …

My eyes go to his large hands, the same hands that were on my body not ten minutes before. That he can be so gentle and so lethal is really kind of freaky.

My brothers never told me what happened on their missions overseas, and I’m beginning to understand why. I can’t fathom an existence where you might have to kill someone with your bare hands!

“Sometimes things escalate more quickly than you expect,” he adds at my stunned silence.

Meeting his gaze again, I find myself wondering if he’s talking strictly about war or something else.

Don’t be an idiot.

As if feeling the weird tension between us, he clears his throat. “What do you want to know?” he asks, moving closer. “I thought you were a peace loving liberal.”

“I am, but every once in a while you meet someone who needs a good punch,” I reply and cross my arms.

“Someone like … me?”

I look him up and down, already suspecting it’d be more trouble than it’s worth to try. Though I might like it if he wrestled me down …

Stop it, Katya!

“Not this time,” I reply.

“You have someone in mind.”

“None of your business. I need to know how to punch someone a couple of times,” I answer.

He’s eyeing me warily. “Who and why?”

“You said everyone needs to know the basics.” I point out. “What do you care who I punch? And don’t tell me because we’re a team. I can wait until you’re gone to do it!”

“The basics of self-defense are important for getting yourself out of trouble, not into it,” he replies.

“So you won’t show me?”

“Not until you tell me why.”

I’ve never had to answer to anyone in my life, even my father. There’s no way I’m answering to him. “Never mind. One of the other guys will show me.”

Captain Mathis seems to debate silently, studying me. I’m not about to crack and tell him. As if sensing so, he relents. He steps close enough for me to feel his body heat and takes my wrist.

“I recommend not punching. You’re just as likely to hurt yourself as someone else,” he starts. “But if you insist, keep your wrist braced.” He straightens mine and places his hand around it. “Completely straight. Make a tight fist.”

I do.

“Thumb here. You want to hit with the first two knuckles.” He taps the two he means.

I watch carefully, trying to take in everything from how it looks to how it feels.

“So I have to have a straight shot basically,” I murmur. It seems more complicated than I thought. “You’ve hit real people?”

“Yeah.” He meets my gaze. “It’s not pretty, Katya. You can shatter your wrist or break a finger if you do it wrong.”

Ugh.

“You’re better off learning some solid self-defense skills.”

“What if something escalates?” I ask. “Friendly chat one minute then everything explodes.”

Holding my closed fist in both of his, he’s gazing at me.

Heat flutters through me once more, and I realize what I’ve said. Or maybe, how it could be taken, if he’s remotely affected by me the same way I am by him.

Which he can’t be, because he’d have to be human first to have emotions.

“There’s usually something to spark it,” he responds quietly. “Explosions don’t just happen.”

What the hell are we talking about?

I’m not sure, but my stomach is turning over and my pulse is racing beneath his direct gaze. Uncertain how to respond, I tug my hand free and move away.

“It’s getting close to breakfast, and we all need showers,” I say, turning away.

Captain Mathis clasps his hands behind his back and moves towards the center of the pit.

“Fall in!” he orders.

The kids scramble into a line in front of him, panting.

“Tanner, lead them back to the barracks,” he orders the tallest boy.

He walks beside the line of kids, while I trail, trying to get my head on straight once more. It doesn’t help that I keep looking at his nice thighs and trying to remember when the last time I went out on a date was.

Before Mikael died.

Almost instantly, I’m sad again.





Chapter Nine: Sawyer


Katya takes thirty minutes to get ready. We’re late to breakfast, and I’m silently wishing she was one of my Marines, so I could deal with her properly. But she’s not, and I’m at a loss as to how to help her pull her head out of her ass and pay attention to what’s going on around her.