Hank and the other men who were helping with the class were all members of law enforcement in one branch or another. Hank started out with demonstrating techniques for discouraging potential attackers and how they could keep themselves from being exposed to dangerous situations. After answering questions, Hank invited a volunteer from the group and Leah raised her hand.
Hank pointed at her and beckoned and she joined him. He introduced her to the group and set up a likely scenario, involving someone sneaking up on her in the backroom of Stigall’s and then walked her through various ways she could get the advantage on a much larger opponent.
He grabbed her from behind without warning and let out an “Ooof!” when she elbowed him sharply in the solar plexus. He grinned and rubbed his abdomen and in a strained voice said, “Very good, Leah. Looks to me like you’ve had practice.”
She smiled and glanced over at James and said, “A friend gave me some pointers after the store was attacked a few years ago.”
Vincent frowned and wondered if that was the kind of stuff James had been talking about. Not all gifts cost money. He wished he’d thought of it. James glanced at him and grinned as if he could read his mind.
“Now, let’s have six volunteers to go through the four step process I explained earlier with the guys. Remember ‘SING,’ ‘S’ for solar plexus, ‘I’ for instep, ‘N’ for nose, and ‘G’ for groin.”
Leah took a seat and six others came forward as the men lined up on the mats. One of the ladies he didn’t know approached him with a smile on her face, batted her eyelashes, and turned to stand in front of him.
Prepared to get elbowed, kneed, and otherwise injured, he waited a few seconds and then quickly grabbed her around the shoulders from behind.
She gasped and a light squeak escaped her. She struggled for a second and whispered, “Oh, you’re so strong.”
“Remember what Hank taught you, ma’am,” he said encouragingly as she struggled to get free, which seemed a little more like rubbing herself against him than actually wanting to get free, but who was he to judge? He tightened his arms and said, “You’re not going to hurt me. Do what he taught you or you could be in a world of hurt.”
He intended it to sound as a warning of future dangerous situations but he heard her soft moan. Weakly, she tried to elbow him but she only wound up pressing her breasts against his arms and he finally released her and she said, “I’m sorry. Can we try again?”
“Sure. This time I want you to give me all you’ve got. I’m your attacker and you have to defend yourself or there’s no telling what could happen to you.” He watched as the excitement grew in her eyes and her cheeks turned pink.
Shit! I wouldn’t have to worry about this crap if I’d been paired with Charity or one of her friends. He glanced at Charity, and as if to prove his point, she was currently kicking poor Wyatt’s ass and already had him on the ground. It occurred to Vincent that wasn’t necessarily better than being paired with the lady with latent bondage fantasies.
The lady turned back around and nodded, and he came at her again, this time grabbing around her waist and by her hair. She got the solar plexus hit in, even though it was weak, as if she was afraid of hurting him, but when he lifted her off of her feet, her struggles dissolved into more rubbing and panting. He set her down again.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m trying—I really am, but…”
“I know you’re stronger than that. Why are you having difficulty?”
“Be–Because,” she said, panting a little from the exertion. She looked around and whispered, “When you grab me all the fight goes out of me. You’re just so big and I’m not sure I can do all those hurtful things to you.”
“You’ll feel differently if your attacker is a stinking, horny stranger with a knife at your throat and determined to rape you, or a junkie robbing you of your wallet so he can get a fix.”
“Oh my.”
Over her shoulder, he spotted Leah drilling him with the evil eye, and frustration bloomed inside of him. He had a job to do here. Did Leah not see that? But there was a little voice in his head whispering that she wouldn’t be jealous if she didn’t feel a sense of ownership. That had to count for something and improved his mood. Then he had an idea. He grinned at Leah, hoping to kill two birds with one stone.
He gave his attention to the lady he was working with. “You can’t be afraid of hurting your attacker. Let me show you with someone else, okay?”
He beckoned to Leah, while the class continued, and when she joined them, she whispered, “Enjoying yourself?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. How can I help?”
He turned to the student, who was gazing at him with limpid blue eyes. “Tell me your name.”
“Pamela.”
“You can do this, Pamela, and she’s going to prove it to you. Watch closely because your life could depend on it.”
Leah gave Pamela a half smile and said, “Hi, Pamela. Is he giving you a hard time?”
“Well, no, but…he’s just so nice and he smells so good and—”
“That’s nice,” Leah snapped and turned to him. “What’s the scenario?”
“I’m a peeping Tom,” he said. “I’ve been watching you every night through your bedroom window with my telescope from across your apartment complex. I’m thinking you’ve been teasing me all this time and I’m going to sneak into your apartment once I see that you’re in the shower. I’m planning to take what you’ve been teasing me with even if I have to force you.”
“Fine,” she bit out, and edged Pamela away so she wouldn’t get hurt. “Pamela, pay attention as I go through the steps with you, okay? Remember, SING.” She turned to him and whispered, “I hope you’re wearing a cup.”
Leah turned her back on him and he wondered for a split second if his killing-two-birds-with-one-stone plan was a good idea after all. He grabbed her across the shoulders and then added a forearm across her neck, both to demonstrate he was serious and that the struggle was real, and to show Pamela that an actual attacker wouldn’t take it easy on her. He took care to make sure Leah could breathe but otherwise prepared to play out the scenario.
Leah gasped and took in a big breath and slammed her sharp little elbow back and knocked the air out of him. “Solar plexus!”
Motherfucker. Is she mad at me?
“Instep!” Leah growled as she struggled for breath and she lifted both feet from the floor, getting gravity on her side, and slammed her weight down as hard as she could on his foot. He caught her just in time so the impact was real and painful but she didn’t actually do any damage.
“Ow!”
“Nose!” Leah muttered, turning from his grip as it loosened and swung the butt of her hand at his nose but thankfully pulled that punch as he made eye contact with her. Next, she kneed him in the groin. Not as hard as she could have, but hard enough to send him to the mat.
And she didn’t stop there. Fuck no.
She disentangled herself from him, jumped on his back, and wrapped her forearm around his throat, choking him. “Pamela, once you have the advantage, do as much damage as you can to immobilize your attacker. Once he’s down, run for help.” She pushed his face into the floor mat. “He’s the enemy.”
I fucking feel like it right now, too.
“Okay, little tiger,” James said with amusement filling his voice as he lifted her off of Vincent. “Well done. The bad guy is now defenseless.”
Leah nodded and James set her on her feet. She turned to Pamela and said, “Your life could depend on fighting back so don’t be afraid to do it in a play-acting session. All of these guys want to keep us safe. Now stop screwing around and kick his ass.”
Pamela blinked and looked down at Vincent who was still on the mat trying to swallow his testicles.
James beckoned to her and said, “Let’s give Vince a rest and try again, shall we?”
“Uh-okay,” she said as Leah kneeled down to Vincent and stroked his shoulder. “Po
or baby, did the mean girl beat you up?”
“I’m changing your nickname to little ass-kicker,” Vincent grunted as he sat up, fighting nausea. “You’re little but you pack a punch.”
Leah stroked his head and growled. “She’s lucky I didn’t jump her instead. She looked like she was enjoying herself way too much. For a minute I thought you were flirting with her.”
“No way in hell, doll.” He rose to his feet and put his arm around her shoulders and drew her in so her ear was close to his lips. “I would much rather it’d been you in my arms.”
“Didn’t look like it judging by the way you were grinning.”
“I was smiling at you, little bruiser,” he groaned, resisting the urge to cup his tender nuts in the presence of so many ladies.
Leah scoffed but he felt her arm sneak around his waist. “Whatever. You’re lucky I didn’t break your nose. I had enough momentum going that I could’ve, and I really did think you were wearing protective gear down below.”
James caught their attention when he let out an “Ooof!” as Pamela finally got the hang of the elbow to the solar plexus maneuver.
* * * *
Hank called the class to order for more discussion and Pamela walked over to the bleachers with Leah and whispered to her, “Oh my gawd, those two cops are so hot. I swear I enjoyed that way more than I was letting on. When he grabbed me the first couple of times I thought I’d melt. I’d love to meet one or both of them in a dark alley some night.” She flipped her hair out of her face and winked at Leah.
She was on the verge of snapping out a warning that both men belonged to her but stopped. Her decision hadn’t been made yet and she had no right to claim them if she wasn’t sure she’d stay. It stung to listen to Pamela rhapsodizing about Vincent’s and James’s muscles, and eyes, and facial hair.
Hank talked to the women about being safe in and around their vehicles, including ways that attackers could trick them into getting out of their vehicles and into harm’s way and then allowed them free time to practice some of the basic steps they’d learned that evening.
Presley Ann had sat like a bump on a log the whole time, watching but not interacting. Leah hated that she actually felt guilty about it. Presley Ann was certainly a lot quieter than she had been and Leah had rejoiced because it meant less yapping and bitching, but she also recognized signs of depression in her sister.
Not my problem. She got herself knocked up and now she has to deal with it. Dad will wind up pulling her ass out of the fire again anyway.
More guilt set in, mixed with fear, because she could very well be pregnant herself.
When she’d called Emma about being tested, she’d told her that she could draw blood for the test the following week but the results would take time and she might just be better off waiting to take a urine test.
Leah hated not knowing and was impatient but she’d decided to just wait to see if her period was late. And really, she was a woman of the new millennium. She could have a baby and run a huge store in Abilene. No problem. Other women did it. So could she…if that was what she decided to do. She had two days left to make her choice.
Vincent and James joined them and James offered to walk Presley Ann through some of the basics if she had time, and her sister looked at her for approval, since they were riding together. Presley Ann had taken her aside earlier and asked if that would be okay since she was taking every opportunity to save on fuel costs. Leah hadn’t minded because she planned to go home after the class anyway.
While James and Presley Ann talked, Vincent said, “How’s your sister doing?”
“Fine,” she muttered and then looked over at him when he lifted an eyebrow but remained silent, which irritated her a little. “I won’t pretend that we’re close, okay? You don’t know her as well as I do. You know what she told me today?”
“What?”
“That Emma told her there’s a possibility she has Attention Deficit Disorder.” To her ears, her laugh sounded anything but amused. “I could’ve told her that and saved her the doctor bill. She’ll have this baby, realize how hard it is to make it without any sort of training, beyond ‘Advanced Man-Catching 101,’ and she’ll wind up moving back in with my dad.”
Vincent lifted a shoulder in a shrug as the two of them watched James gently instruct Presley Ann. “You never know. Babies have a way of changing people for the good sometimes.”
“People don’t change, not that much,” she said, feeling defensive. Vincent had no idea what Presley Ann had been like to grow up with or live with, until her “miraculous” change back in March.
Vincent turned his gaze on her but there was little warmth in his eyes. “I never figured you for a hard-hearted person, Leah. Why is it that way with her?”
Folding her arms over her chest, her heart constricting at the censure in his tone, she shrugged. “This is the first true test of her character but her track record demonstrates that Dad and I will have to be there to catch her when she fails.”
The warmth of his callused hand relaxed her as he gently stroked her neck and rubbed at the knots in her shoulders. “That does sound like the woman I love,” he murmured as he moved behind her and began rubbing her shoulders in earnest, nearly drawing a moan from her, because it felt so good. “Either way, doll, you’re a caring person. The fact that she’s grown up spoiled isn’t on you, but if this is her big wake-up call, then it seems to me that you’d want to cheer her on to increase her chances of succeeding. You’d be the bigger person by being there for her.”
She made a noncommittal sound. “At the store, she’s been working increased hours, dressing more practically, and going after commissioned sales.”
“She works on commissions?”
“Partially, yes.”
“Good to know.”
Leah chuckled. “You’re going to go see her at the store now?”
“Yup. It’s the right thing to do. Maybe it’s good I don’t know her as well as you. I’d like to see your sister succeed.”
“You’re a good man, Vincent Elder.”
“Thanks.”
She lifted the back of her hand to her forehead in a dramatic gesture and with a Southern accent said, “And you’re so big…and so strong…and you smell so good.”
Vincent chuckled and said, “I think she was hoping bondage was next.”
“Hank should name his class “Fifty Shades of Self Defense.”
He laughed and then surprised her when he turned, butted his shoulder up against her middle, lifted her into the air, and swatted her behind.
“Ah!” she squeaked and then shut her mouth as the rest of the class turned to stare. Vincent didn’t seem to care as he called out to James. “We’ll be outside when you’re done.”
Rather than make a scene, Leah remained silent but she whacked him hard on the butt. She heard several familiar voices laughing. She’d hear about this at the next girls’ night, if she went to it. Then she got distracted by the view.
Wow! That is a nice, tight butt! And it looked really good in those police department sweats, paired with a department T-shirt and Nikes.
“I know you’re admiring my ass,” he said, his voice laced with amusement.
“Since you’re sticking it right in my face it’s kind of hard to see much else.” Her hands suddenly itched to slide into the waistband and caress his bare, taut skin.
He carried her through the door as if she weighed nothing and set her down on the cement sidewalk outside. Swatting at moths in the lingering humid heat, they walked away from the fluorescent lights, and after they reached her car, Vincent pulled her against him. “See how desperate I am for your attention?”
He took her lips in a deep kiss, and when he let her come up for air, she had trouble uncrossing her eyes. “Yeah, I can see…and feel how desperate you are.” She looked up at him and had to laugh. The sound was happy, giddy, and lightened her mood. “You have no ‘off’ switch, do you? No filter.”
Vincent stroke
d her cheek. “Not when it comes to you, doll. Sorry, I shouldn’t push you when I know you don’t like it.”
The truth was she could get used to that side of him all too easily. “You’re not that bad. But I also have to take Presley Ann home. Then I need a shower and some quiet time.”
He gave her the bedroom eyes. “Got lots of decisions to make?”
“Some important ones, yeah.”
She’d fully expected him to push, or to question if she’d talked to her doctor yet or not but he changed the subject instead. “I hear James told you about the guy who received Patterson’s heart wanting to meet us.”
“Y–Yes. Did you decide?”
Vincent nodded easily. “We told our contact that he was welcome to visit anytime he wanted. He’s coming Saturday.”
“This Saturday?”
“Yeah. You’re welcome to be there.” He gazed at her, waiting for a reply but she couldn’t think of anything to say for several seconds. Then his words from a few minutes before about Presley Ann came to mind.
“Would it make it easier for the two of you if I was there? You know, as moral support for you?”
He gave her a small nod. “It’d be nice if you were there for us but I think Patterson would like it, too.” He took her hands and opened them to reveal her palms. His callused fingertips sent a shiver up her spine as he stroked her scars. “I remember how brokenhearted you were, when it was time for the organ harvesting to be done. The last thing either James or I wanted was to take you away from him as you lay there listening to his heartbeat. When you let me lift you into my arms, you seemed like you’d just fly apart at the slightest touch. We saw your hands and you seemed to be unaware, even though the cuts were deep enough they had to have hurt like hell. And then you fainted and scared the crap out of all of us.”
“Not my finest moment, to be sure.”
Brokenhearted Beauty [Divine Creek Ranch 19] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 17