Day seven brought a shift neither of them had anticipated.
The training was working. Isla could run five miles without stopping now. Could hit a moving target seven times out of ten. Could break Killian's hold and counter with moves that would actually work against someone attacking her.
But more than that—something between them had fundamentally changed since the confession.
Before, there'd been attraction mixed with manipulation. Control wrapped in contract. Want tempered by walls neither of them was willing to fully breach.
Now?
Now there were no walls left.
They moved around each other with an intimacy that went beyond physical. Killian would adjust her shooting stance and his touch would linger. Isla would pin him during combat training and they'd both pause, breathing hard, neither wanting to break contact.
The tension was unbearable.
And it finally broke on the seventh night.
