Reluctant Knight, The

  Sally flushed and then presented a card. "I wanted to give you this before I forgot. I meant to give it to you yesterday, but then the whole thing with Ahndra came up."

  Janine accepted the card and opened it. "Birthday party? Of course I'll be there!" She looked up. "Can I hitch a ride with you and Zell? I'm not really sure where everything is yet."

  Sally nodded. "Sure. And it's not until next month, so you have time to make sure you don't have anything else to do."

  "Thanks, Sal. I appreciate the invite."

  Sally smiled. "You're welcome. I'm just really glad you can come." Her smile melted a little. "I don't know how many people are really going to answer my invitation. I don't make friends very easy. Comes from being shy."

  Janine stared at her in shock. "You're kidding, right? Sal, you're a doll! Everyone at Garden knows who you are and can't wait to find out if they're invited to your party!"

  Sally's eyes widened. "What?"

  Janine laughed. "Oh my gods! You really have no idea how popular you are, do you?"

  "Popular? Me?"

  Janine laughed at the expression of shock on the poor girl's face. "Damn. That is the funniest thing I've heard all day," she howled.

  Sally flushed red. "Hey. Stop teasing me," she protested feebly.

  Janine smiled at the girl. "Sorry, Sal. Really. But, yeah, I'll be there. Who else are you inviting?"

  Sally counted them off on her fingers while looking at the ceiling in concentration. "Marshal, Val, Mark and his mom Francine, Ahndra, Quistis, my brother Zack, my parents, Zell's ma, Commander Squall, Headmaster Cid, Selphie, LC Xu, SLC Seifer--"

  Janine arched an eyebrow as she repeated "Seifer?"

  Sally nodded. "He's my boss, Janine. Shouldn't I invite him like everyone else?"

  Janine smirked. "Of course, Sal. I'm just wondering if a busy guy like him will go." Damn, I bet he looks hot in a tux!

  Sally lowered her gaze. "Yeah. I know. Zell already said that Seifer told him he was really busy. At least he said he would check his schedule."

  That usually means 'no', hun. Janine smiled. "I'm sure he'll do his best to come. He's not all bad."

  Sally lifted her eyes and giggled. "Of course not. He's just got a hard job."

  Spoken like a true sweetheart. Janine nearly shook her head. "Tell you what, birthday girl. How about you and me make a date of going to Deling to get you a hot dress to wear to the party? Something that'll make that man of yours drop dead."

  Sally giggled again. "That sounds like fun, only we better keep it a secret from Zell. He likes going shopping!"

  Janine laughed.

  Sally motioned behind her. "I better go. I was up here anyway dropping off some reports for Quistis, so I thought I'd stop in and say 'hi'."

  Janine lifted the card. "Thanks again, Sal. How about we get together next weekend to go shopping?"

  Sally nodded as she backed toward the door. "Okay. Can we bring Selphie and Rinoa? They'll kill me if I don't at least ask."

  Janine chuckled. "Sure, sure. The more the merrier."

  Sally smiled brightly and pushed the button. The door slid open. "Oh. And Janine? You look really pretty today."

  Janine softly smiled. "Thanks, Sal. I feel really pretty today."

  Sally sent her another unique smile before turning and exiting the classroom. Janine stared at the closed door for a moment before moving her focus to the classroom window. She sat back in her chair and kicked her feet up onto the desktop again, then she reached back and disconnected the assists, closing her eyes as she once more remembered Seifer's sound.

  Janine sighed deep, opening her eyes to stare again out the window. Damn. Yeah. She'd muttered that several times the night before, cursing Seifer for having more control than she did. Cursing him for being strong enough to resist what other men hadn't blinked twice at. Cursing herself for enjoying the whole damn button-pushing thing more than she'd ever thought she would.

  Men like Seifer appreciated a challenge. A hunt. A fight. Being with him those few moments last night gave both a taste of what waited. How could she get him to take that next step without taking away his control? Raise the bar, Larabie. Intrigue him on a different level. Draw him in while making him think he's pursuing you. Janine smirked. I'm not done with you, big guy.

  ~*~

  Seifer absently took up his mug as he moved some reports from one pile to another. He lifted the mug to his lips and "Shit!" It was empty. He stood and strode from his office, mug tightly held in his hand. "Regal, order a coffee-maker for my office," he ordered as he stalked past to the elevator. "I'm getting damned tired of hoofing it to the cafeteria a dozen times a day."

  "Yes, sir."

  He stepped aboard the elevator and pressed hard on the button for the main floor. The door closed and the elevator surged upward. Seifer frowned at the seam, damning his anality with control and his sadistic need to imagine what could have happened last nigh. He scrubbed at his scalp until it stung.

  The door opened and he stepped off and down the stairs for the cafeteria. 'Dude. You so got skin.' And how the hell would you know, Dincht? Regal's more innocent than some of the junior classmen. He laughed--an etched gunblade suddenly blocked his path, the flat of the blade pressed against his chest. Seifer looked to his right. Janine stood in the opening of the side-hall to the Training Center with a smirk and a 'Bring it on' expression. She had dressed in her usual black-leather pants, but this time she wore a white tank that caressed every curve.

  Seifer's lip twitched as he lifted a hand to push the blade away. It returned. "Larabie."

  "Sir." Her smirk widened slightly. "Classes done. Bored." Janine lifted the blade so that the line of it caressed his neck. "Time to play?"

  His hand fisted tighter around his mug. Oh hell. He set it down on the nearest wall. "Maybe."

  Janine drew her other arm out from behind her. She held his gunblade. She tossed it toward him, and he caught it. "Please?" she asked, and her tone was that same sultry softness as last night.

  Seifer tightened his hold on the haft of the gunblade. "Bring it."

  But she didn't turn to enter the Training Center. She brought it right there in the middle of the corridor. It was against protocol. Against every rule listed in Garden. His duty to stop, but damned if he wanted to. The thrill and the rush had him by the throat as candidates and SeeDs alike rushed out of the way of their progression around the corridor, over benches and around flower pots and waste-bins. Up onto short walls and then down again, Janine smiling and laughing as her eyes twinkled every dare her gunblade acted on.

  She was aggressive. She was fast. And she was--Damn!

  Somehow they made it up the stairs outside the elevator and Seifer was able to pin her back against the wall, her breath hot and heavy in his face; staring up at him with that damned sexy smirk and dare. She snarled at him with a sultry growl and then pushed back to come at him again, gunblade meeting his with more force than he'd thought possible.

  Her blade bit him as often as his bit hers, and she barely flinched with each one. She took it. She dealt it. The passion made Seifer's desire for her fan almost out of his control. He disarmed her, slamming her against yet another wall, this time his hand at her glistening throat. She only smiled at him, lips parted and yet another dare unspoken in her brown eyes. Hyne... And he fought himself back from dragging her to the nearest lockable room.

  "I win," he said gruffly.

  The SeeDs and candidates that had gathered roared and applauded.

  Janine's tongue flicked out to lick the perspiration from her upper lip. "Hell yeah," she purred.

  Seifer's fingers caressed her throat as he slowly released her. "And you're on report."

  Janine's red lips tilted upward. "Wouldn't have been worth doing if I wasn't."

  He continued to breath deep, grabbing at his control as she held his gaze. He fisted his hands. "Bring me coffee," he ordered.

  She leaned very slightly forward as she said "Hot and wet."

/>   Seifer growled and then turned on his heel and strode up the stairs to the elevator. It opened and he strode inside, his hand still fisting the haft of his gunblade. The door closed and waited for his command, but it couldn't give him what he wanted.

  Shaking his head, Seifer scrubbed at his neck before turning and slamming his fist into the basement floor button. The elevator surged downward. He adjusted his hold on the haft yet again, still hearing the ringing of blade against blade and feeling breath in face and hearing her damned sexy laughter echoing in the halls. She enjoyed the pain and the skill and the challenge as much as he did. She craved it.

  Dropping his head back, Seifer thumped it against the back of the elevator several times as he clenched his jaw and his fists and took in a ragged breath. "Damn," he muttered. But 'damn' didn't cover it anymore. 'Damn' had stopped being enough to categorize Janine Larabie the minute she'd stepped into his office with an empty coffee mug asking if it would be painful.

  No. No it didn't cover her at all.

  The elevator stopped and opened, and Seifer forced himself off and down the hall to his office. He ignored the questioning glances and the whispers about the cuts and tears and the gunblade and the sweat. He just went to his office and slammed the door shut.

  Seifer gripped his gunblade a moment before stalking to his desk and slamming it down, then he pressed his palms against his desktop and lowered his head. "Shit," he hissed, and again, and again. And he had never been so damned pissed in his life. Pissed at the fact he knew she controlled him as much as he controlled her. . .and he liked it.

  He beat the desktop hard with his fists and then straightened to pace back and forth, scrubbing his scalp and swearing under his breath. She wanted him to hunt her. To her the fun was the challenge of that hunt. The chase. The ploy. The cunning twist of body and trill of voice. The door to his office opened, ushering in the scent of strong coffee and a hint of musk. Seifer clenched his jaw. Yeah. He loved the damn hunt and chase.

  The door clicked shut. "Your coffee, sir."

  Seifer turned to face her. She leaned against the door with a lopsided smirk and one arm crossed under her breasts supporting the one holding out the coffee mug. Still sweaty. Still bloody and bruised. Still damned hot.

  He stepped close, holding her back against the door with just his body as her laughing brown gaze held his glaring green one. "Damn it, Janine. What the hell were you thinking pulling that shit?"

  "I told you; I live for the thrill, babe."

  A trickle of blood from a cut near her temple caught his attention as it rolled down the side of her face. He lifted a hand and touched it away with the tips of his fingers. Then he refocused on her gaze. "A thrill? Getting your ass scraped to hell is a thrill?"

  Janine leaned closer to nibble at his mouth with her teeth. "I heal fast," she whispered.

  Seifer pushed her back. "Damn it, Larabie, we have rules against sparring in the corridors for a reason!" Her brown gaze held muted surprise. He pointed at her. "I'll cut you slack this time, but you pull that shit again and your ass is mine."

  The smirk returned. "Promise?"

  Seifer's glare didn't lessen. "Don't give me that shit, Janine! You want to cross blades with me? We do it in the Training Center or not at all! You respect my rules or your ass is gone!"

  The smirk and twinkle warped and faded as she stared up at him, regarding him with that intense stare that didn't miss a damned thing. She nodded, once. "Copy that."

  Seifer grabbed the coffee mug from her, sloshing coffee all over his shoes and the carpet as he slammed it down on the endtable to the left of the couch in his office. Then he pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her mouth as he'd wanted to do since leaving her the night before.

  She responded. Janine always responded.

  Then he lifted his head, holding her gaze once her eyes slowly opened. "Now get out of here before I change my mind," he ordered roughly.

  Janine smirked up at him, her hands stroking lines of fire up and down his back. "I'm a little light-headed, sir," she said in a laughing tone. "You think you could take me to the Infirmary?"

  Seifer examined her eyes a little deeper--He pressed his lips into a thin line as he scooped her up into his arms. "Damn it, Larabie." He opened the door to his office and kicked it further open. Guilt grabbed him by the balls.

  ~*~

  Janine rolled her eyes as Dr. Kadowaki continued to fuss and fret over her, patching up the scratches and lecturing her about the dangers of gunblading. "Doctor, I'm fine," Janine insisted. "I was a little light-headed for all of five damn minutes!"

  "Like hell you're fine," Seifer snapped at her. He stood against the far wall of the examination room with arms crossed and a hard glare aimed her direction. "Head wound, Larabie. So shut up and let the doctor work!"

  Janine crossed her arms and glared to the side, all the while loving the idea of being pushed around. Damn! But she didn't like the look of guilt she saw in Seifer's eyes. The cut on her head wasn't his fault. They'd crossed blades and she hadn't been fast enough on the defense at one point. She held herself to blame, but she could clearly see he didn't view it that way.

  Impatiently tapping her fingers against her upper arm, Janine couldn't fight the smirk as she relived the fight. She gave a shiver and assured the doctor she was fine when Dr. Kadowaki asked about it. Hyne! Seifer Almasy was damn good with his gunblade. Fast. Aggressive. Hard core. And it had been a helluva thrill to hear the crash and ring of their blades in the corridors. His breath in her face. The sweat on his forehead. The spark of desire in his eyes.

  Now, Seifer minutely adjusted his position as he watched her, and Janine moved her focus to intercept his gaze. She smirked at him. Bring it, big guy. I told you. I can take it. Sure, she hadn't been so right about the 'without breaking a sweat' part, but what the hell did it matter? The sexiest thing in her memory so far was sharing sweat with Seifer Almasy.

  Janine chuckled and looked away.

  Dr. Kadowaki straightened and put her fists on her hips. "Bedrest for you, young lady. I don't want to see you out of bed for 24 hours."

  Janine's mouth dropped open. "What? Hyne's ass I'm going to stay--"

  "Larabie, shut your hole!"

  Her mouth clicked shut as she glared at Seifer.

  Seifer approached the doctor. "I'll see to it, doc."

  "You better," Dr. Kadowaki said sharply, "since you were the one responsible for putting her in this position in the first place."

  "Like hel--"

  Seifer sent Janine a warning glare. She shut her mouth with yet another click. He looked back to the doctor and gave a slight nod.

  "This is the second time I've treated a patient brought here by your gunblade. What will it take for you to stop? A dead body?" The doctor pointed at him. "Control this temper of yours, Seifer, or next time it might be a lot worse."

  He clenched his jaw as he gave yet another slight nod.

  Then the doctor focused on Janine. "No physical activity for at least 16 hours. Not until I know for sure that everything's fine. You hear me?"

  'No physical'--Shit. Janine frowned and crossed her arms. "Yes, doctor."

  The doctor motioned to the two of them and then the exit of the infirmary. "Go on. Get."

  Janine slid down from the examination bed and turned on her heel to stride from the infirmary. She could feel Seifer's hard steps reverberating behind her, and when she felt the dizziness and light-headedness approach, she stopped and waited for him to catch up to her. Don't you let on, Janey.

  Seifer halted beside her and just stared down at her with that damned awesome hard stare.

  "It wasn't your fault," Janine said in a carefully controlled voice. Silence was his only answer, so she faced him. Guilt was guarded, but she could see it. "I knew exactly what I was doing when I challenged you to a fight, Seifer. It was a helluva duel. Damned awesome. And this?" She pointed roughly at the bandaged wound near her temple and then at her chest. "My fault for not blocking when
I should have." Her vision fuzzed, but she fought it back. "You hear me? My damned fault!"

  "Shut up, Larabie." He picked her up, same as before, and strode forward. "Just shut the hell up."

  Janine clenched her jaw and her body went rigid. "Seifer, I'm not some cripple. If you don't put me down, I swear I'll beat your ass."

  "I'm following doctor's orders."

  "I didn't hear her order you to carry me to my room!"

  "'No physical activity'," Seifer quoted.

  Janine opened her mouth to retort, but then shrugged and crossed her arms. "Oh hell. Why not? This's as close as you'll be able to get to me for the next 24 hours anyway."

  Seifer's lips twitched. "Haven't you had enough of me yet?"

  Janine focused on his face. He continued to look ahead. "Hell no!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm not done with your buttons, Seifer Almasy. Might as well get used to seeing this thrill-junkie's ass around."

  Seifer adjusted his hold on her but continued staring forward.

  Janine examined his expression and filed it away. "It's a damn good thing I don't have class tomorrow," she continued. "The last thing I need is a bad report from Head of Network Security and Quistis Trepe on my ass about no-showing a class."

  Seifer turned down the side-hall toward the dorms, still not saying a word.

  "Something chomping at your head, babe?" She pressed her lips together. "And if you say 'Trepe', I swear I'll beat her ass right now. I already warned her to step off unless she wanted some of my gunblade in her face."

  Seifer halted in the middle of the stairs. He looked over at her. "You what?"

  "I called her ass on getting in your face. You have a problem with that?"

  Seifer's green eyes hardened. "It was my issue, Larabie. Not yours."

  "Like hell. I took the first step in this dance we're doing, Almasy, and I'll be damned if I was going to let her get up in your face for accepting the dare. You know as well as I do there is no rule against fraternizing, so the rod up her ass is of her own making and she can damn-well pull it out."

  Seifer held Janine's gaze a moment, then he threw back his head and laughed. Janine's expression relaxed at the welcome shiver that followed the vibration of the deep rumble.

  He stepped forward again, still chuckling as he slightly shook his head. "Damn."

  Janine smirked. "I've been saying that word all day.