For her to tell herself that she didn't want to be led by emotion, this sparring round was only a lie she was using to try to convince herself that she could overcome all of her thoughts and that it wouldn't be a big deal.
However, the moment she sent forth a jab and directed it at the man's chest, she knew all bets were off. He had gotten under her skin, and that irritated her.
Years of convincing herself that all these men were nothing more than brothers came crashing down around her when the handsome Commander joined the charge and became something she didn't know she wanted until she realized that he was completely unobtainable.
He had to slap her sword away despite how bad it hurt because he couldn't get his dominant hand to move fast enough to begin to match the fury with which her blow was dealt. If he didn't do something, he was going to have a massive bruise on his chest, and he didn't want that.
