The Training Mandate

*Lyra*

I shoved hard against his chest, breaking the magnetic pull of the mate bond that threatened to drag me under into a haze of submission. The raw heat of his skin against mine broke. I took three fast, deliberate steps backward, putting safe distance between us. I needed space. I needed my head clear of his suffocating, musky scent of arousal and pine that clouded my judgment. I locked my j