Chapter 32

Mateo tried to touch her again and she jerked back violently, yelling at him, "Leave me alone, don't touch me!"

Mateo didn't touch her. He watched as she continued to cry, wiping the tears on the hem of her shirt. Finally, as the tears slowed and her hiccupping gasps stopped, he attempted to offer an explanation.

"You must learn, mi amor," he said urgently.

"I'm not your love," she lashed out, her voice wobbly with tears. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have done that to me. I'm going to be covered in bruises from head to foot. This isn't you teaching me self-defense, this is abuse."

He flinched when she said the word abuse, the look on his face suggesting she'd gutted him. Through their sparring session he had lost the emotionlessness that he'd been exhibiting before; he'd released some of the violent tension from within. Unfortunately, he'd chosen her as his punching bag.

"You have to understand, Raina, I - " he began, but she interrupted him.