Chapter 14

Raph and I avoided each other the entire next day. No training, no arguing—just stayed on opposite sides of the lair at all times. And yet, I could still feel the electricity every time our eyes caught. His admission about wanting me from the beginning, his drawings of me, and the way I felt every time he got to close. It was too much. What I thought had been complete dismissal had been his way of keeping me at a distance. Keeping himself in check with his best friend's niece. I wished I could crawl into my own bed and fall asleep for the foreseeable future until life wasn't so complicated. If I thought Raph would take a hint and let me go home, I would have left in an instant but it would only make him follow me and I couldn't think of anything worse than being completely alone with him in Casey's apartment. Leo came up behind me and scared me. I shoved him in the shoulder playfully as he chuckled."Want to go learn some moves from someone who doesn't beat the crap out of you?" He asked.Leo didn't know that I relished the feeling of Raph's knockdowns, that it seemed to chip away at the hurt inside every time the pain assaulted me. "Sure." I said smiling at him anyway.

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Leo was trying to teach me how not to hurt my wrists next time I swept the leg. He was gentle and professional, nothing like his brother. He helped me into a crouch position with my leg extended, and his hand slid down my outter thigh and calf telling me where to tense my muscle to keep my leg from being hurt from another's weight. I noticed that his touch left zero lingering effects on my body even though he was touching me directly. It made me give an angry huff, and Leo thought I was frustrated with the move."You'll get it, don't worry." He said encouragingly. "So you'll want to spin on your hands like this." The rest of the training went like that. Him helping me learn how to position my body, patient and gentle every time I got frustrated. I'm sick. I must be. Because I craved Raph's brutal style of teaching me. Wanted his weight against my body as he pinned me. Leo clapped me on the back."Good job." I smiled. He was an excellent teacher, it was a shame I couldn't get his brother out of my head.Speaking of the devil, he and his two younger brothers walked in. It must be time for their session. "Who's ready to rumble!" Mikey cheered running up to me. I hardly had time to square my feet before he tackled me. A shriek of surprised laughter came from me as we rolled across the mat. I struggled against him in vain.While Mikey was the smallest of the four turtles, he was still huge compared to me and was absurdly light on his feet.I didn't stand a chance against him. I tried to land a few blows but he wrapped his arms around me, locking my arms to my chest and holding me, my back flush with his plastron. He stood up with me laughing and kicking against his hold.He turned towards his brothers victorious. I leaned down and sank my teeth into his arm making him yelp. When his hold faltered, I slammed my feet into the ground, using the mat to launch myself backwards into him. He grunted as he fell back and I scrambled to turn around so I could sit on him fully and declare my defeat. "Ha!" I hollered, exhilarated.Mikey grinned wildly.I turned my head to his brothers, excited to see if they saw my takedown. Leo and Donnie cheered.Raph's face was blank, but his eyes held fire in them. The sheer tenseness in his muscles made him look like he'd shatter if he moved. I gave him a smug smirk, the muscle in his neck jumped and I knew he was pissed. It made me smile bigger. I tossed my hair over my shoulder and turned back to Mikey, who I was still straddling around the midsection. He grinned up at me all full of impish light and I felt bad for using him in the way I was about to..but I was depraved and selfish to a fault it seemed. When I leaned down a little to give Mikey a hand up, I made sure to stretch my back to a small arch and let my hair fall over my shoulders with a smile that I knew wasn't for the youngest turtle. I could feel the hazel eyes digging into my back and Mikey took my hand before rocking forwards onto his feet and setting me down in front of him. "You sneaky little woman. You bit me!" He laughed. "I had to do what I had to do." I teased almost losing my balance when he shoved me playfully."Technically he's right, it is cheating when inside the ring." Don said rubbing the back of his neck."Oh let her have the win, it's not like she gets many of those." Leo said making the odd quip at me that reminded me the eldest brother did indeed have a sense of humor behind his maturity. "Oh ha ha, last I checked a win is a win on the battlefield. You guys are always telling me my opponent won't wait for me to figure out my next move." I shot at them refusing to let them sully my victory. "She's right, we do always say that." Mikey said shrugging to his brother. Leo rolled his eyes and grabbed his brother in a head lock effectively starting a new sparing match. Donnie and I watched in amusement, but when I glanced back at Raph he had a look on his face that said he was about to ruin my effing day.

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I poured myself a glass of water after I left the turtles to their training. I needed a shower and something to eat."Are you trying to piss me off?" Raph was stalking up to me, speaking low so his brothers wouldn't hear. "What?" I asked, taking an instinctive step back."You think I want to see you on top of one of my brothers like that?" He growled.I rolled my eyes."We were sparing. God knows I've had a few of you guys on top of me before. Get over it." His eyes flashed."You know exactly what I'm talking about, that smug little show? Was that just part of sparring too?" "No, that was just for you." I said, my voice dripping with honey. It wasn't wise to poke the bear but I couldn't resist. "Does Mikey know that being rough turns you on? Should I tell him you like it better on the bottom?It all makes sense now, why you're so eager to train with us-" I threw the rest of the water in his face. The waterlogged shock on it wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be."Don't you ever fucking say anything like that to me again." He wiped the water away with his palm and grabbed me by the arm so hard a small cry of pain escaped my lips. "Don't you ever use my brothers against me again." "You're hurting me." I hissed trying to pull away. He yanked me into his chest and his other hand twisted in my hair painfully, a small groan came from my lips horrifying me. He forced my face to turn up to his and backed me into the counter."Don't act like you don't like it." He growled when I glared at him through the lust. I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth when he pulled harder against my hair."Do you have any idea how much self-control it takes to stay away from you?" He leaned in, his lips ghosting across my own. His eyes bore holes into mine like he could eat me up just by his gaze. His eyes flicked down to my lips and I saw them darken with desire. "That day on the couch, the way you looked at me..You wanted me to do something." He looked down to my lips again, and I felt his breath blow across them as he spoke. "Didn't you." He accused.I didn't know it then but I'd wanted exactly what I was getting now, my body had known it and it had been plain to see. He, like myself, just hadn't been willing to admit it. I couldn't speak, I didn't trust myself to. My body was on fire everywhere. "Even now, you're practically begging for it." He said taking in my clear arousal as I felt the desire I'd spurned intensify under his carnal authority. This side of him was turning me into a spineless mess. The dirty things he was saying to me were like a wrecking ball to the walls I'd recently put up when it came to everything Raphael. But, something about the way he accused me of begging— I never begged for anything. It gave me back some of my fire that had been drowned in my own lust. I closed the small gap between our lips and caught his bottom lip between my teeth, biting him hard and making him hiss into my mouth. He let go of my hair and his hands were on my hips, picking me up and slamming me onto the counter. He planted me there, stepping between my legs looking like he'd finally snapped. I held my breath waiting for his lips to meet mine."Raph!" He stopped, only a breath away from my lips. "Leo says to get back in here! It's your turn!" Mikey yelled from the dojo door. The fridge was the only thing that kept us hidden.A low growl came from Raph and his muscles rippled in an effort to calm himself. He let out a sigh and slowly let go of me, his arms hovering for a moment before he shoved away from the counter, calling to his brothers that he was coming. Slow realization was still spreading over me at the boundary we'd just crossed, leaving me feeling like the air had been stolen from my lungs.