Chapter 31. Into the Abyss

Elizabeth POV

I followed Noah down into the basement— or, at least, into what I was increasingly coming to believe was the very pit of hell. When we’d first agreed to this training arrangement, I hardly knew him at all, but even then I’d had a nagging suspicion he wasn’t going to go easy on me. Day after day for the past week, my hunch had proven right.

Noah coached me relentlessly. I tried again and again to bring him to his knees, only to have him chuckle and send me sprawling across the floor every single time.

As he opened the door, he gestured for me to step in first, a sly smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. I glanced around, taking in the familiar surroundings. The basement was larger than I’d first imagined, stocked with free weights, various pieces of exercise gear, and a fully padded sparring ring in the center.

Noah usually trained with his shirt on— today, however, he decided to surprise me. He peeled the T-shirt over his head in one swi