Read Online Embrace Me At Dawn by Shayla Black - Free Book Online Page A

with the surrogate yesterday was painful proof of that. Everything that had passed between her and Shock yesterday only underscored the fact that she wasn’t living that old life anymore.
    Problem was, Anka still wasn’t completely clear how to live this life.
    She stiffened in his hold. “Are you ready?”
    He sighed in frustration. “Anka, truly. You don’t have to—”
    “ Are you ready?” she demanded, her voice lower and more purposeful.
    “ Ready.”
    Impatience laced his voice, but she shoved it aside and kept on. “Attack me.”
    Behind her, after a split second of hesitation, he tightened both arms and moved to wrap his legs in hers. Once he did that she’d lose a big advantage. She had to act now.
    Curling her hand into a fist, she braced it with her other hand and used the force of both arms to drive her elbow into his stomach. His grunt accompanied his whoosh of air, and his hold on her eased. Using the opportunity, she raised her foot, glanced down at the placement of his black boots, then stomped down on his toes as hard as she could.
    He howled and hopped away immediately, clutching his foot. “Bloody hell!”
    Anka winced. She hadn’t meant to actually hurt him, just to see if she could perform the maneuver. Still hopping on one foot, he looked up and shot her a sharp glower that dared her to apologize and hinted it wouldn’t go well for her.
    She stifled a smile. “I did that right, then?”
    Lucan let go of his foot and limped her way again. “You did. We’ll go again. Stand with your back to me.”
    She did, shoulders tense, breath shallow. Her senses felt heightened, her nerves dancing with electricity as anticipation slid through her. Long seconds passed without incident. She couldn’t hear Lucan, merely feel him in the room, watching, thinking.
    Having his eyes on her was doing something to her composure. Had he noticed the changes in her? What would he think if he saw her scars? She frowned, shoving the thought away. He’d be every bit as horrified as she was, no doubt. Lucan liked beauty, perfection. He prized feminine loveliness, perfectly dressed and perfectly docile. All the things she couldn’t be anymore, so standing here anticipating the feel of his hands on her again, even as a training exercise was—
    Lucan grabbed her from behind suddenly, his arms encircling her fast as lightning, clamping her against him like steel bands. She cursed herself for drifting away mentally.
    Her first instinct, to struggle, kicked in. She tried to breathe, to remember this was Lucan, not Mathias, not a member of the Anarki. He wouldn’t actually hurt her. But panic bled into her thoughts and started crowding out all else. She thrashed and screamed. He only held her tighter and started crossing that leg over hers to trap her entirely.
    “ Think,” he growled in her ear.
    The lessons of the morning whipped through her head and, almost without conscious thought, she rammed her elbow into his stomach. His grunt of pain filled her with grim satisfaction. She kicked away the leg about to wrap around hers, which put him off balance. Before he could compensate, she lifted her knee, then stomped down toward his foot. He dodged her, and she cursed. He tightened his arms again to make his hold unyielding.
    “ C’mon, Anka. Fight me.”
    What the hell did he think she was doing? Anger surged, burning through her veins. If he wanted a bloody hellion, he was going to get one. She twisted her body from left to right, driving her other elbow into his ribs.
    “ Fuck,” he growled, backing away.
    She took the opportunity to shadow him back, waiting until he planted his foot, then smashed it with her own. He growled at her, then shook his pained foot, his sides heaving. Was he trying to get his anger under control?
    He turned and shot her a killing glare. She’d seen him truly angry so few times in their mated life. But her recollection was that he looked much like this. His nostrils flared, and he