Their Hidden Princess Novel

---- Chapter 29 Several times, | almost felt like Valentin could sense the warm in me. | caught him staring at me a few time before jerking his. head back and rattling off the next stretch. Finally, we both lined up on the start line. We took off, | was pushing my legs to keep up with Valentin. After the tenth lap, Valentin pulled off to keep timing me. | lost track of the laps but managed to cross the line just as he yelled " Time!" My throat felt raw. Valentin handed me a water which | chugged down. "How many?" | managed to get out. Valentin smiled down at me.

"Eighteen." "In fourty-five minutes?" | gasped. Valentin nodded, smile still on his skin. | fell back on the track in exhaustion and excitement. | punched at the air and squealed. Valentin chuckled next to me and brought me out of my winner's party | turned my head to look at him. We made eye contact and it felt like every other thing in the gym simply melted away. It was him and | in a vacuum of time and energy. His eyes, so white-gold they glowed, were stunning. They were just as handsome as his lips and as prominent as his bright white teeth.

---- Suddenly, he cleared his throat and we were back on Earth. | sat up from my spot on the track and dusted off my knees. "I think | can do twenty by Friday," | said softly. "No doubt," Valentin replied. His voice had gone slightly hoarse. He cleared his throat again. "Just keep up with the drills Coach had you running. Get another good run in tomorrow morning and we'll shoot for twenty on Thursday." | nodded and pushed myself up on to my feet. "Sparring?" | asked "Sparring," Valentin nodded. We made our way over to the mats.

| dropped my water on the outside of the area then took my fighting stance in the middle. Valentin mirrored me and then we were off. I tried to focus on his strikes and the way he'd taught me to defend against them. But every time | blocked a punch or a kick, a bolt of electricity burned through me. | knew it was the fated mate reaction but | tried to shove away any feeling | felt towards it. It was clear that Valentin had no intention of acting on it. Valentin circled me and tried to attack me from behind. | side stepped then brought the bottom of my foot to the middle of his chest.

| kicked hard and Valentin flew backwards. | immediately ---- panicked "Oh my god, oh my god!" | shrieked. "I'm so sorry did I-" Before | could even finish my apology, | was on my back Valentin had used his free leg to swipe my feet out from under me. | scrambled back but | was too slow. Valentin climbed on top of me and pinned my hips down. He took both of my hands in one of his then used his other hand to wrap around my neck and hold my head down. | was frozen. My chest was heaving up and down and up and down. Valentin's was moving in time with mine.

The gentle thrum I'd heard before came back. Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub. | stared up at Valentin. He was so close, | could make out the freckles of gold in his white eyes. Electricity burned up and down my body in waves. It made my knees feel shaky. | arched my back off the floor and up into Valnetin's chest, chasing the feeling surging through me. My lips parted slightly as more of us touched. Valentin's lips did the same. His eyes fluttered shut slightly, a pained grunt coming out. He dropped his head to lay in the middle of my chest. His grip strengthened on my wrists and neck.

| extended my neck and Valentin pressed his face into the space between my shoulder and the floor. ---- | let a whimper escape. Valentin stilled, he was trying so damned hard to fight it. But it was inevitable. We were inevitable. "How was that?" | whispered against the shell of his ear. Then, all of his hands were off me. He was standing above me, calm, cool and collected. He smoothed out the front of his shirt and turned around. He brought a hand to his lips, all while | was still on the floor. | sat up. "Valentin?" "It was barely adequate," he bit out. It was harsh and rough.

Not the normal way he addressed me. He turned around to lock eyes with me. "Get up and go again."