Chapter 9

I was burning up. I hadn't remembered falling asleep with any covers, but I felt overly warm as I began to wake up. I arched my back and stretched, realizing the warmth was coming from who I lay on. My eyes popped open.My head was on Raph's lap, facing towards him. I must have used my arm for an extra extra pillow because it was thrown across his legs and wrapped around his waist. One of his hands was wrapped in my hair as if he'd been stroking it, while the other arm was thrown across my body, his hand resting across my hip.I tried to slide away from him, but the movement caused him to shift. His hand gripped my hip, two of his fingers sliding under my shirt along the hem of my jeans while the one at my head tangled farther in my hair. He pulled me into him like someone might a teddy bear. His hips arched up like he was trying to get more comfortable but the action with my face on his lap made me choke back a shriek. I watched his face to see if he'd wake, but it was still uncharacteristically serene with sleep. Suddenly I remembered the flash of green I'd seen when I'd barged in on him in the bathroom. I bit my lip as my eyes traveled down his lower plastron and I tilted my head back slightly, wondering where it could possibly be. The hand on my hip dragged its rough palm up, pulling my shirt with it. It now rested on my ribs, just under my breasts, and a thrill went up my spine.A heartbeat hummed to life between my legs and I held my breath waiting for it to pass.He stilled, and I let out the breath I'd been holding. His legs twitched at the sensation and the hand in my hair tightened as he jerked awake.He looked down at me, groggy confusion on his face.I should have gotten up, should have yelled at him or something but.. I didn't."Jesus." He choked, realizing he was the one holding me there by my hair. His face turned the deepest shade of purple I'd ever seen and he shot up, knocking me off the couch in the process. "Ow." I said rubbing my elbow and sitting up. "I'm sorry, I must have moved over to you last night.."I paused my rushed explanation when I met his eyes, he looked down at me, an almost feral look on his face. I gulped when the darkness in his eyes threatened to bring back the heartbeat between my legs. I opened my mouth to speak, but he stomped towards the bathroom and slammed the door closed. I sat there stunned. Was he angry at me? I ran my fingers through my hair and got up, trying not to wonder what he was doing in the bathroom. I tried even harder not to wonder why I'd not gotten up, why I'd been so keen on knowing if he really was a darker shade of olive there like he was on his lips.What the hell was I doing? I wasn't attracted to Raph, he was the most insufferable man on the planet! The bathroom door opened and he walked out, his face a complete mask of coolness. "Get your stuff, you're going to stay with us." He said before I could ask him to never speak of this again."What? No." I said surprised by the sudden order."I can't trust you not to take off, and you shouldn't be here alone while Casey's missing anyway." I eyed the bags already packed on the ground and contemplated arguing with him."For once, could you not fight me? It's just going to end up pissing us both off." He said seeing the wheels turning in my head. I snorted and rolled my eyes."God forbid."

::;

"Miya!" Mikey said when we walked in."Hey Mike.""We thought maybe you'd tried to go after Casey, Raph wouldn't shut up about it till Leo let him go after you." I looked at Raph who avoided my eyes."Really?" "Yea, he was all, 'she shouldn't be alone right now' and 'I should be the one to go get her." Mike said imitating Raph's deep voice. "Awe Raph, I had no idea you were so worried about me." I said giving him a shove as I walked by. "That's out of context." He growled. I waved to Leo and Donnie in the kitchen."Dojo." Raph said as he stalked past.I didn't know whether to feel excited or nervous that I was going to train with him again. I ended up feeling nervous considering the predicament we'd found ourselves in this morning. "Let me know if you want someone else to train you, Raph's not the only one who knows how to teach." Leo offered, noticing my hesitation. I followed into the Dojo to see Raph binding his knuckles. I gulped."You planning on knocking me out or something? I promise I wasn't going to try and take advantage of you." I teased, trying to address the elephant in the room.He ignored my remark and motioned me over. I walked to him slowly, waiting to see if he was going to swing."Relax, I'm not gonna hit ya. Hold out your hand." I raised an eyebrow but did as I was told. "Wrapping your hands protects them from the punching bag." He took the tape-like wrap and started winding it around my hand. His hands were rough, just like I'd felt this morning. I guess it would be impossible for them to be soft when he'd spent his whole life training and wielding weapons. As rough and calloused as they felt, he was being surprisingly gentle and precise. I noticed that when he turned my hand over to inspect his work, he hardly grasped my hand, like he might hurt me if he truly held it.  "What?" He asked pausing and I realized I was staring at his hands."Nothing." "Is it too tight?" His fingers slid along the tape, feeling for any spots that might have been pushing against the skin too hard. "Nope, it's fine." I said pulling my hand out of his when his touch felt like sparklers dancing across my knuckles. I suddenly became fascinated with a ding in the wall as he tied up my other one.  "Okay, go over to the punching bag." He directed.When I did, I stood next to it waiting for his next command. "You know what to do with a punching bag, right?" My cheeks heated and I turned towards it, muttering under my breath.I let out a slow exhale and gave my best few swings and then stopped the bag from swinging."Decent, but you need some work to actually take someone down." I felt him step closer to me and I tensed waiting for his touch that I knew was coming. I never thought training would be this intimate. When his brothers had given me mini lessons I hadn't noticed anything of the sort. "Always return your hands back to points A and B." His arms snaked in front of me, taking my fists in his hands as he spoke and placed them in position. He extended my right arm out and brought it back to its starting position and repeated the same with my left. "When you extend, go straight out. Fast and on target, not so much this swipe thing you do." He let go and told me to do three jabs with each arm. "By god, you can listen. It's a miracle." I went to throw him a dirty look over my shoulder but froze when he was right behind me, ready to direct me again. "Your feet need to be spread more." He said holding me at the hips. His breath tickled my face now that I was looking up at him. His chest pressed into my back and I could feel every muscle as he leaned over me. He always tightened his grip on me just before making his adjustments, so when I felt his fingers grip me tighter I whipped my head around and stared at the bag in front of me. He used his knee to direct my legs slightly wider, and I wondered if he knew it was torture for me when he'd slide his leg between mine to help me learn the positions.What the fuck was wrong with me? "You want your main striking side to be your front foot when you throw a punch. It'll give you better stability, which gives you more power." His foot nudged mine over a few inches before sliding to my other and pushing it forward so my right leg was slightly in front of my left.I was way too aware of the contact and I gritted my teeth trying to stay focused and follow his lead. His fingers bunched my shirt as he held it more securely when my feet faltered a little, and I could feel the ghost of warmth from his fingers. I jerked away from his touch not being able to bear it any longer. "I think I got it." I snapped meeting his eyes for only a moment before frowning at the punching bag, knowing my cheeks were red as hellfire. When he didn't speak, I braved a look at him. That dark look was back in his eyes and I tensed at it. Why was he looking at me like that? Could he see the effect he was having on me? The thought was horrifying and I turned to the punching bag letting my frustration guide my hits as I took it out on the bag.