"Why am I being punished?" Emira asked, pouting, as her arms trembed slightly as she looked down at the ground beneath her. Sweat trickled down her temples, falling onto the dirt and even though she knew the answer, she needed to talk or else she would definitely collapse.
"This is not punishment," came the voice from behind her.
She almost scoffed. Yeah, right. Not punishment- this was revenge.
And then he proved it by saying, "You weren’t even able to carry a small child to the packhouse. You need to increase your core strength and arms."
Ha! Emira almost scoffed. Because the Petty Prince had to carry Jasper to the pack house, she now found herself holding the ’plank’ position for almost twenty minutes now.
Her forearms burned, her shoulders trembled, and sweat ran into her eyes, but she kept her jaw set and her body steady. Every second dragged. Every breath was a little harder than the one before. This was even worse than kneeling with a pot of water over her head. At least that had become easier now...But he had come up with a new technique to torture her.
"Do not drop," Kael’s calm tone cut through the silence. "If you slip, you’ll be kneeling outside for the entire night."
Her eyes widened. "What?" she gasped, barely able to keep herself from turning her head and looking back at him to give him a glare.
"Focus," came his only reply.
Emira bit down on her lip to stop the groan that rose in her throat. Kneeling outside all night? He couldn’t be serious! This sadist would probably enjoy watching her freeze just to ’teach her discipline.’ She clenched her teeth and tried to adjust her trembling arms. Her elbows dug into the ground, painfully. Like she would give up on a challenge.
She was just about to lose it when something suddenly moved in her peripheral vision. Before she could react, a face appeared just below her- upside down.
Emira almost screamed. Her elbows wobbled dangerously as she blinked down at the intruder. He was lying on his back, his head positioned directly beneath hers, his legs stretched in the opposite direction.
He smiled lazily, amusement glinting in his grey eyes. "What did you do to offend him, little fire?" he asked teasingly.
She gritted her teeth, refusing to drop her position. "I’m... training," she managed to say through clenched jaws.
"Training?" Zen raised an eyebrow, his grin deepening.
Internally, she huffed. See? Even Zen knows that Prince Kael is petty.
Before she could roll her eyes, a shadow fell over them both.
"Zen," Kael’s voice came, "What are you doing here?"
Zen tilted his head to the side slightly but didn’t move. His gaze flicked up toward Emira for a brief second and she caught a flash of mischief there, before he called out, "I had some work with you. But for now..." He let the pause drag deliberately, as his smirk widened, "...I’m enjoying the view in front of me."
Emira’s breath caught as Prince Zen’s eyes moved straight to her chest.
Her entire body tensed. Heat shot up her neck to her ears. "You—!" she hissed and nearly collapsed from sheer mortification. Only the thought that if she did collapse, his face would end up buried in her cleavage kept her from that!
From somewhere behind her, Kael’s low sigh carried through the air. "Zen," he warned quietly.
But as Emira watched, he winked at her and said," I think she would look prettier kneeling here. Drop your position, little fire. I’ll keep you company to kneel all night."
Emira glared at him for a moment but refused to fall. Finally, much to her relief, he slid out from under her.
But she didn’t know it was not the end of her torture.
Zen straightened slowly, brushed the dirt from his arms, and took a step closer to Emira. He leaned down just enough that his presence was heavy behind her, his hand hovering near her back and sent a challenging look to his brother, who had been quietly staring until now.
He didn’t touch her but his fingers traced the air just above her skin. He glanced down at the way her body glistened with sweat, every curve outlined by the tight tension of the plank position and spoke in his mind, knowing his brother..." Look at the way her skin is glistening.Just like when she was between us. That was the kind of training we should give her...the best way to make her sweat..."
He watched as his brother’s eyes darkened and smiled. Zen knew him too well. The barely suppressed hunger, the flicker of desire that he was hiding. This wasn’t just punishment for the Little fire. It was also a test of Kael’s control, a chance to see how long he could restrain himself.
Zen’s smirk widened. He moved slightly closer, and let his hand brush against her hips. And then, with a teasing pat on her ass, he straightened again and said in his mind, "You should have given her the bear position, Kael. That would have been so much more... enjoyable."
Just as Kael seemed to freeze, Zen sensed another presence close by. Good. Very good. He stared at Kael and continued to goad him, "Are you scared, brother?"
Kael stared at Zen and Zen stared back.. and then, he smiled as Kael ordered," Emira, drop into the bear position..."
Zen grinned and stepped back to lean against the tree trunk and watched as she sent a hesitant look his way.
He watched as she shivered, probably caught between the ache in her arms and the stance that the bear position would put her in. She, after all, understood him well...
Slowly, reluctantly, she lowered herself into the bear stance, knees and hands pressed firmly against the ground, her ass lifted up in the air.
Now that was a view that needed to be admired by the person who had just entered the clearing...Zen thought to himself and called out. "Lance... You were looking for me?"