“That’s one of the cheesiest things I’ve ever heard.” She kissed the warmth of his chest and then rolled away from him, baring her nakedness at him as she got up. Knowing his eyes were scanning her up and down sent another thrill of pleasure through her body. She enjoyed knowing he found her physically attractive. “Come on. We should get dressed.”

“Somewhere urgent we have to be?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.

“No,” she responded. “But if I don’t get up and start getting ready I’ll just want to stay in that bed with you all day, naked, and then we’ll achieve nothing.”

“That doesn’t necessarily sound bad to me,” he replied, grinning at her with that same devilish grin she was growing to love more and more.

“Me either,” she remarked. “That’s why I had to get moving.”

She went over to some of the bags from their shopping excursion and pulled out a simple t-shirt of pale orange and a pair of loose-fitting gray pants. She found a clean pair of panties to put on first and then slid on the clothes next.

“I thought we might be able to find somewhere private, maybe a secluded park, and do some more training. Maybe you can start teaching me how to use the blade too?” She saw his eyes turn serious, then he threw the blanket off himself.

Lola blushed, her cheeks going red. She enjoyed seeing him naked just as much as he enjoyed seeing her. She rummaged through the bags and found him some clothes to wear. She threw them at him.

“Put these on so you can’t distract me anymore,” she said.

“As you wish, my dear.” Russel took a mock bow but he obliged. He took the clothes and put them on.

When they were both dressed and ready to go, they left the room and headed down to the inn’s main dining room. Eggs, toast, sausage, and bacon were being served. It was, in Lola’s opinion, heaven. Their meal at The Midnight Oil had also been great, but she was a sucker for breakfast food.

Once they had their fill, they left the inn and walked around Wrexon until they came to a small park about thirty minutes away. It was still early in the morning and there was a slight chill in the air which meant it was mostly empty. They found an area out of the way of any footpaths or seating.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Good. Let’s get started then.”

They spent the first hour of their training doing the conditioning exercises she had grown so used to now. She practically breezed through them and when that part was over, she hardly felt the need to breathe heavily. In fact, the exercises, combined with the events of the night prior, made her feel invigorated and energized.

Russel smiled, happy to see her in such great spirits. She had come a long way from the frightened girl underneath a fallen tree. He couldn’t help but feel pulled even more to her. Just being around her, soaking in her presence, uplifted him.

“Start running through the different forms I taught you. Remember to control your breathing.”

Lola nodded and did what he instructed. Her body moved gracefully through the complex, martial arts forms that he’d been drilling into her since the training started, the same ones that had been drilled into him since he was a kid. She flowed from one to the next like a dancer. There were fifteen in total and she had spent a lot of time mastering each one. In fact, Russel had noted on more than one occasion, she did them almost better than he did.

Once that part was over, they began a sparring session. The point was for Lola to try and take Russel down to the ground. Russel would do whatever he could to stop her from achieving her goal. He didn’t want them to actually fight, at least not yet. She wasn’t ready for him to really try but she was getting closer.