Chapter 7

“REMEMBER the training that we talked about the other day? I think we can start it now,” Talia said while her eyes were on the television. She was only pretending to watch because the instant that Idris came in the living room, she had already lost focus.

Talia would have wanted to stroll outside if only her body was cooperating with her. But thinking that she would be alone with Idris in her car and in places she would go seemed like a bad idea. It was not that she did not trust him. Her embarrassing moment during his first night in her mansion happened again and again. He had witnessed her like an animal in heat every night. And each time, he would be by her side to soothe her senses and to hold her hand just when she thought she would break down because of the physical discomfort. She didn’t know how he does it, but there seemed to be magic in his touch. It could alleviate the pain. It created a bond between them, a bond she never experienced having with anyone else before.

He never took advantage of her even if he had the chance to do it plenty of times. And true to his words, she never had a dream about Vampires again ever since meeting him. She was finally seeing the sense of having Idris around.

That’s why right now, it was herself that she didn’t trust. Maybe it would be better if she would learn how to fight the Vampires now so she wouldn’t have to rely on Idris so much in the future. She needed to learn quickly and beat him quickly and then maybe they could go their separate ways afterwards while she could still have a hold of herself.

“Are you sure?” Idris asked after a while. He was standing a few meters away from her.

Talia nodded. He crossed the distance between them. To her surprise, he took her hand and brought her in the dining area. He then grabbed the bread knife on the table. She did not know why but aside from anticipation, she did not feel nervous or afraid at all. It was crazy but it was like her entire body knew him, like her body knew she could put her trust in him.

“So we are going to use that? Not the blade which could damage the Vampires permanently?”

“When you are ready, I would give it to you, Talia. This blade will do for today.”

Idris moved way too fast. Before she knew it, he was already standing in front of her. He placed the bread knife on her hand. If he showed up at night, she would have mistook him for a Vampire. But there was no Vampire who ever tried to approach her in daytime, putting him off from her Vampire radar. Her Uncle also assured her that there were no Vampires who could walk under the sun and she had proven that when their Vampire clients would only allow dinner meetings. And at night, when she leaves the office, that was only the time when she would feel their presence hovering around her.

“Believe it or not but Talia, you have the upper hand here. You always have. You can fight the Vampires through a close quarter combat.”

“Close quarter combat?”

“Yes. When using a knife, never forget that you have plenty of secondary techniques at your disposal. There are several body weapons you can use to combine with the knife. Before we proceed, I want you to know that teaching you the basic would require me touching you, Talia. Are you all right with that?”

Talia gulped. She was not dense, she would often feel the heat of Idris’ stare. She could sense how much he was holding back every night as he come in her room to pacify her. She would often catch him looking away or putting his hands on his pockets as if he was trying not to hold her. The tension between them was getting thicker by day. And every time the physical pain would drown her, she could feel herself wanting to give in.

But she would come back to her senses every time she would remember all the complications the Vampires brought in her life. She did not want to add another complication in her already messed up life. But today, for some reason, she could not bring herself to deny this thing between them. They could both feel it. It was in the air, screaming to be noticed.

“Talia?”

Talia took a deep breath before responding, “Don’t worry about me. I’m… okay with you touching me.”

It was as if Idris was only waiting for Talia to say those words. He immediately leaned closer as his hands went to her elbows. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress and it barely reached her knees that’s why she could feel his warm hands on her. She shivered under his touch. Today was their first time crossing the invisible boundary between them. She neither moved away nor stopped him. She did not want to.

Idris cleared his throat as his hands steadied on her elbows. “Just hold the knife. I will tell you when to use it at the right time. Now back to the basic, you can use your elbows to strike the Vampires at close quarters. Your elbow is composed of great big resilient bones. So with an elbow strike, you don’t have to worry about breaking anything other than your opponent. Depending on how exactly you land an elbow, it can knock someone out cold. There are plenty of elbow strikes. One of them is the downward elbow.”

Idris taught her how to swing her elbow at roughly a forty-five degree angle. He stopped explaining the second their eyes met. “Idris?”

His voice was hoarse when he spoke. This time, he did not try concealing the fire in his eyes while looking at her lips. “I could probably get fired for this but you are looking so beautiful that its making me want to risk it just to kiss you.”