I don't own Mitch Rapp, Lydia Martin, Teen Wolf or American Assassin.

5 days had gone by and she had read everything there was to read in the house. Mitch, despite his restless nature seemed content by using the days exercising and checking the security. That or he was just better a hiding it than she was. Either way it pissed her off. There was some things that let her know how tense he was. For example at night, he always cracked his neck and ran his hands through his hair aggressively, and sometimes he looked like he wanted to snap at her. They even almost had an argument about soap. The only reason she noticed that was because she was so bored. At least that was what she was telling herself, but she knew what the problem was, well at least one of them.

Sex.

She hadn't had sex in so goddamn long now, and her sort of boyfriend Jackson had been kind of AWOL as well since she'd been forced to leave. He wasn't really her boyfriend, or maybe he was, he at least thought so, while she kept the concept a bit floating. She had known that this day was coming and hadn't wanted anything to keep her back when she would have to go, but he had made it hard with his declaration of love. Now she really wanted to see him, and not because of the sex bit. She missed him as well, their routine. Now, all she had was loneliness and despair. An idea came to her when Mitch returned from the back room that also served as a gym all sweaty. She was frustrated and sex was obviously not on the table, but maybe something else was.

"Hey"

"Hey"

He looked at her steadily while wiping his neck with a towel. She was sure he knew just how attractive he was. Bastard. Oh, she knew she was beautiful, but she also knew that didn't matter to him. She could look like a scarecrow and he wouldn't care. The only thing that was constant was his eyes, tracking her movements.

"I'm bored"

He raised an eyebrow, the usual answer for most things she said.

"Can you teach me to fight?"

That threw him a bit, she could tell.

"Why?"

"So I can protect myself" She stated like it should be obvious.

"You have me for that"

"Well if you can't, or if you aren't there"

"I'm always going to be there"

She sighed and stood up. He had no idea what those words sounded like because he was some kind of a robot.

"Well just in case okay"

He shrugged.

"Okay, get changed and meet me in the back room in 5 minutes"

She was there 4 minutes later, standing before him in tights and a sport top. She thought his gaze lingered, but then shook herself. Of course it didn't.

"Have you had any training?"

"Yes"

"What kind?"

"Self defence classes in high school, and a few classes a few months back"

"Also self defence?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

They faced each other now on that mat that she assumed Stan Hurley had installed in the room, because he knew Mitch.

"Why self defence"

She didn't understand what he meant.

"So I could defend myself"

"Why not learn to attack, instead of defending"

"I'm not an attacker"

Her words were quiet, almost submissive.

"Bullshit"

Her head snapped up, her eyes had been finding traction on the carpet on the ground in front of her.

"Excuse me?"

He started circling around her, and she had to resist the urge to track him with her eyes, only allowing herself to tilt her head in the direction he was going.

"This whole demure act, the passive way you agreed to this whole thing"

"I agreed because I want to continue breathing, and because of the code"

"I believe that"

He nodded as he came to a stop in front of her, much closer than he had been before. Too late she realized that his circling had made her aware of several things. One, he was a predator, two, he had managed to get her unbalanced and three, he had now managed to get that much closer to her without her realizing it until he was right in front of her.

"I also believe" He took a step closer, so close now that she could feel his breath on her face. Still, she stubbornly kept her eyes off his, sure that, that if anything would be her downfall "that in that room, when they told you the options and dictated your life for the foreseeable future… all you wanted to do was scream".

She took a deep breath and when his fingers found her cheek and turned her head towards him. Her breath hitched, but she kept her eyes averted to the side.

"A lot of people would want to scream in that situation"

She cursed herself when the words came out shaky and she swallowed hard.

"Agreed. But your scream… it's more than a scream, right?"

She didn't answer so he continued.

"It's a weapon"

Her eyes snapped to his, and it was just as devastating as she had imagined it would be. Dark eyes were staring intently into hers, challenging, and for a few scary seconds she had the feeling that he could see straight into her. So she dropped her eyes, quelling the part of her that was screaming for her to meet his eyes again, to make him back down. Push back, when he pushed. He tsked, and his other hand came up and slowly twisted in her hair. So slow, that she could stop him. All she had to do was fight. She gritted her teeth. Fucking asshole. The hand in her head tugged a little and her head tilted back. She knew what he wanted and steadfastly kept her eyes to the side, not wanting to be caught in that particular web again. His words had rang true though, and she knew that it had suited her to play the docile, passive- aggressive little girl ever since she had started school. It was the best way to keep people from finding out who you really were, to keep them from knowing you. She had done the same to him, after that first discussion when she asked what his priorities were and he had shown to be so scarily perceptive. When she still refused he took that small step closer and was suddenly pressed against her and she tensed, hands balling at her sides.

"Fight me Lydia"

He breathed in, and she exhaled.

That was the first time he had said her name, and her eyes snapped to his. For some reason they had avoided addressing each other more than necessary. Her whole body had been acutely aware of his since he started circling her, and now pressed against her she couldn't sense anything but him, and it scared her.

"How far are you going to let me take this before you stop me?" he whispered and she almost moaned when he started to lean in.

His lips were just about to touch hers when she snapped, and with both hands on his chest she pushed him back. Despite being prepared for it he stumbled a little but quickly righted himself.

"Good" He started circling her again "Never let me get that close to you again"

Despite trying to resist she found herself circling him as well, completely drawn into whatever game he was now playing.

"Oh I won't" She mocked him.

"You almost let me kiss you" He taunted her.

"No I didn't, I never would have"

He tilted his head as if seriously considering her words.

"I think you would have. I think" He swung out his leg and she stumbled back at the last second, barely avoiding falling to the floor "you would rather kiss me than let go of the pretense".

"You're delusional" She scoffed.

"Yeah? Where would you have stopped huh? Would you have let me kiss you, undress you… Press you down beneath me on this floor?"

His words enraged her and she swung her fist out, and he ducked, she swung again and he jumped to the side.

"Asshole" She spat, eyes glinting as she advanced on him.

"There she is" He murmured as she in a sudden burst of movement tackled him.

She landed on top of him but he easily rolled them so she ended up underneath him. Her eyes were wild with fury as she stared up at him, hands pressed next to her head. He leaned down as if to kiss her and she didn't flinch or look away, holding his gaze until his lips were a breath away from hers.

"I'll bite your fucking tongue off" She whispered harshly.

He leaned back, and only then did she realize that he had been testing her. He didn't intend to kiss her, he had just realized that her space was important to her, and by pushing it, pushing her – would lead to her pushing back.

Her fighting. Attacking. Being what she told him she wasn't just minutes before. God she hated him right now.

He smiled a bit and stood up slowly, taking care to lift himself off her as slowly as possible and she gritted her teeth, slapping his hand away and got up by herself, which only made his smile widen.

"No need to bite me. Now, get those hands up"

They worked out for another hour, both carefully keeping the distance. He had her show him what she already knew, and he showed her a few combinations that she could use. He didn't go easy on her, he was actually completely without mercy and she could only imagine what his own training had been like. Every time she thought she was too tired to continue he forced her up again. She was drenched in sweat when they were done, and she headed straight for the shower after he claimed they were done for the day and that he was going to start dinner. She showered quickly and locked herself in her room until she heard the shower start, signaling that he was in there now. In the kitchen she found pots on the stove, one containing spaghetti and the other one tomato sauce and her stomach growled.

"Hungry?"

She spun around, the sight of him in jeans and a white shirt with wet hair disorienting her for a few seconds before she quickly shot those thoughts down. She had made a mistake by letting him read her so easily, and that was something she couldn't afford to let him do again. It scared her how easy it had been for him to see into her and know what made her tick, and she realized that during these days when she had been thinking, reading and trying to make sense of everything, he had spent that time studying her. It was time to even the score a bit, and that was something that Lydia Martin knew how to do.

"Yeah" She watched as he poured the water from the pasta and handed him two plates "Why did you decide to help me train?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

She gritted her teeth.

"You could have just ignored it, it's not your job anyway"

He met her eyes now, somehow still managing to put food on their plates without spilling.

"It's my job to keep you alive. Anything that helps with that, is my job"

She knew that, but she could sense that it wasn't the only reason. Mitch Rapp wasn't the only one who could sense things around here. She watched him for a few seconds.

"Bullshit"

One second. That was it. That was how long he paused what he was doing before continuing. She waited, and then he looked up and met her eyes again.

"Maybe I was bored too"

She smiled.