Llewellyn lunged at me and pinned me to the ground.
Fuck. Fine, it's not like splashing him a bit was cause for triumph, but couldn't he let me celebrate for a moment? We were on two completely different levels here!
Llewellyn's weight pressed me into the floor, his grip firm on my wrists. I tried to throw him off, but he adjusted his position.
"Better," he said, breathing harder now. "But not enough."
I drove my knee up, forcing him to shift his weight, and managed to slip free.
We both scrambled to our feet, circling each other.
I attacked, but Llewellyn batted the Water away easily, turning it into mist.
"Predictable," he said, before launching himself forward again.
I tried to sidestep, but he once again tackled me to the ground.
Fucking hell. I rolled under him, managed to free myself—and landed a Water attack fully.
Ha!
Llewellyn blinked, water dripping from his hair.
"There it is," he said.
"..."
The note of satisfaction in his voice threw me off guard for a moment, and I had to blink myself into focus again.
Just in time.
I ducked, avoiding his next attack, and spun behind him, looping my arm around his neck. He grabbed my wrist and threw me over his shoulder.
I hit the ground—which had thankfully softened—rolled, and swept his legs.
Yes!
Llewellyn went down, but angled his body as he fell and caught me, pulling me down with him again.
We grappled on the floor, each trying to pin the other. Llewellyn was stronger, but I was slippery from all the water, making it hard for him to get a good grip.
He managed to flip me onto my stomach, pinning me to the floor with his whole weight.
"Give up?" he panted in my ear.
I shivered, but managed to shake him off, slipping free before he could recover.
We both leapt to our feet.
"Getting tired?" I taunted back. I was panting too.
Llewellyn snorted and lunged again.
I sidestepped and grabbed his arm, using his momentum to send him stumbling past me. But he recovered quickly, spinning around and catching me around the waist.
We crashed to the ground together again, rolling across the wet floor as we fought. He caught my wrist with his free hand, pressing me down.
"Had enough?" he asked.
"No," I said, gritting my teeth.
I bucked upward. The movement threw him off balance, suddenly bringing his face closer to mine.
I could feel his pulse where his wrist pressed against mine. The water had made his shirt cling to his chest.
Llewellyn hummed, assessing.
"You're holding back less, but that's still not everything."
"Shut up," I said.
Llewellyn's lips quirked up.
I managed to yank my hands free, pressed my palms against his chest, and sent a strong pulse of Water Magic through him, aiming to shock him without hurting him.
I heard him suck in a breath. His muscles tensed under my hands, his shirt completely soaked now.
Before he could get his bearings, I surged up, managing to roll us over, and scrambled on top of him.
For a brief, shocking moment, our positions were reversed. I had him pinned to the floor, my hands gripping his wrists, my body holding him down.
The water slicked our skin, making it impossible to get a good grip, but somehow I managed, one hand across his sternum, the other tight around his wrists.
Llewellyn looked up at me, his hair dark with water. His breathing was uneven.
"That," Llewellyn said, not even trying to break free, "is what happens when you stop overthinking and just act."
I could feel the rise and fall of his chest beneath me. His shirt was nearly transparent by now.
We stayed frozen like that for a moment, both breathing hard.
...Then somehow I found myself flipped on my back again.
"But you're easily distracted," he said, amused.
Goddamnit.
I was beyond words now.
I managed to break his hold just enough to roll away, the itch so intense it was drowning out everything else now.
Water had somehow levitated from where it had crashed on the floor and was swirling around both of us, curling around the room.
I had no idea if it was my doing or not.
He grabbed for my arm, but I yanked away at the last second, using his momentum against him.
I snarled. Water responded to my movement, forming a shield that pushed him back.
He didn't seem fazed. We circled each other, swirls of water soaring around us both.
I attacked and we crashed to the ground again, water spraying everywhere.
For once, he actually had to counter properly instead of just brushing me off. His free hand shot out to break his fall, and I used the opening to trap his arm behind his back.
"Got you," I panted.
Llewellyn glanced at me over his shoulder, looking amused. Then, once again, he reversed our positions in one fluid motion, pressing me face-first into the wet floor.
"Do you?"
Fuck. Can't he let me celebrate for five seconds?!
Llewellyn let me go. I rolled, caught his ankle, and pulled, but he adjusted mid-fall, grabbing my shoulder as I was trying to get up, and yanked me back down with him a second time.
We hit the ground together again, wrestling. His knee pressed against my thigh as he tried to pin my arms.
I tried to shake him off, forcing him to shift his balance, then hooked my leg around him and pushed us over. The water made everything slippery. Every time one of us gained the upper hand, the other found a way to slip free.
By a stroke of luck, I managed to get hold of his wrists and pin them down above his head, my body pressing him into the floor until he couldn't move.
A stream of Water surged out of my hands and fastened itself into a flowing ribbon around his wrists, restraining them.
"Well," Llewellyn said, voice both smug and rough. "Would you look at that."
I stared at him, soaked and pinned and smug.
"You wanted me to stop holding back."
"I did," he agreed.
The restraints held firm.
Water dripped from his hair onto the training room floor. I could feel his heartbeat. Mine also pounded in my ears.
"You are insane," I said, leaning closer, panting. "You should have your teaching license revoked. If you had one."
Llewellyn's lips quirked up.
He stared up at me, then his eyes wandered down, lingered, and landed on my throat.
For a brief second, I was sure he was going to bite me so that he could slip free.
Then, I became aware of the position we were in—wet, touching everywhere, my Water Magic binding his wrists.
I also became aware of... uh... something else going on in my trousers.
"..."
I scrambled back, face burning, and called the restraints off.
Fuck. Had he noticed?
"What now?" I asked, after a moment.
I really hoped he hadn't noticed.
Llewellyn counterattacked as fast as lightning, and had me on my back again in three seconds flat.
He looked smug.
"Never let your guard down," he said.
I let my head hit the floor and groaned in defeat.