“Relax, Kat. It’s not what you think.”
She was definitely going to ignore that twinge of disappointment.
“Finish your smoothie. I’m going to go get dressed.”
Again.”
Seriously? Katie stared up at the ceiling, trying to catch her breath, her heart galloping inside her chest. A fine sheen of sweat covered her body. The hair at her temples pulled loose from her messy bun, sticking to her face. They’d been going at it for the last two hours, and Cole had yet to break a sweat.
“I can’t do it anymore,” she panted. “I need a break.”
“You’ll get a break when you take me down. Come on, up.”
He reached down and waited expectantly for her to grasp his hand. This guy was seriously a machine. When Katie locked palms with him, he hoisted her up from the mat as if she were weightless, which drove home the very obvious fact that she was not taking Cole anywhere he did not want to go—up, down, or sideways.
“Cole, this is impossible. Look at you. You’re expecting me to mat the CFA light-heavyweight champion. Do you know how crazy that sounds?”
“It can be done. Trust me. No one is immune to hapkido. Just do what I showed you.”
He looked at her as if he had all the faith in her ability to take him. The mixture of hard-ass stubbornness and a playful, mocking challenge stoked the fire of her determination. He was thoroughly enjoying this, the bugger. Then again, though she’d never admit it to him, she kinda was, too. “Getting dressed” had consisted of trading skintight gym shorts for a looser pair. Both ensembles left her with the torturous pleasure of viewing Cole’s hard body as he faced off with her—legs bent, muscles tense, crouched and ready to pounce.
When Cole had proposed Katie start training with him, she’d been more than a little hesitant. Violence, in any form, just wasn’t her thing, and a part of her was suspicious of his motives, wondering if he wasn’t borrowing a page from her own playbook and taking advantage of an opportunity to get close to her, to touch her. But to her surprise, and somewhat disappointment, Cole had been nothing but professional. He took his training seriously—and apparently hers, as well.
For the last two hours, Cole patiently had taken her through a sequence of self-defense techniques. He taught her all the weak points to strike and how to get free from almost any hold. With each conquered move, her confidence grew, along with her competitive streak.
Damn, she wanted to beat Cole at his own game. Not only to prove to herself she could do it, but to show him she was paying attention. Cole was a great fighter, wickedly talented, and an amazing teacher. She couldn’t believe how much she’d learned in just one afternoon. If she trained with him daily, she’d be well on her way to becoming a bona fide badass in no time. It was a pity he didn’t own a gym. People would come from all around for the chance to train with Cole Easton.
“Come on, Kat, you got this.”
She understood why he was so insistent she get him on the mat. Pound for pound, he was a close match to Carter. If she could master the techniques to take down a titled MMA fighter, she’d have the confidence and skill set necessary to take down anyone.
“Remember what I told you,” he coached. “Use your size to your advantage. You’re small and you’re quick. Don’t try to meet me head-on, you’ll lose every time. You can’t overpower me—you have to outpace me.”
He shifted his right leg behind him, holding the majority of his weight, and turned his hips, angling his torso, arms up, fists clenched. “See how much this fighting stance reduces your target space?”
She mirrored his position and nodded.
“Good. Now where does your weight go?”
“Seventy on the back, thirty on the front,” she recited.
“That’s right. Now when I come at you, use my weight against me. Don’t hesitate this time or you’ll lose your momentum. Solid follow through. K?”
Katie nodded. She could tell when Cole was ready to pounce. All playfulness left his vibrant blue eyes, and he pinned her with one of those looks he gave his opponents in the cage. Each and every time he did it, a ripple of fear shivered up her spine, and she had to remind herself he was just playing. Cole would never hurt her, but good Lord, Heaven help whoever got on the opposing end of him in the cage.
It was his only tell that he was about to strike—that locked-down, emotionless glare. His gaze never wavered from hers, never strayed to the place he intended to target. All those clues he taught her to look for—the restlessness, the mounting tension, the shifting eyes—he had none of them. There was no harbinger of his attack. One moment he was facing her, the next he was just there.
With the speed of a striking viper, Cole lunged for her. Reflexively, she jumped back and pivoted, narrowly escaping his reach. His fingers grazed her throat, and Katie grabbed his outstretched hand with both of hers. She twisted hard to the right and bent down, sending him over her back.
Just like he’d told her, she used Cole’s momentum against him and he hit the mat—hard. The satisfying sound of two hundred pounds of solid muscle caving to her will was an exhilarating feeling she’d never forget.
“I did it!” she cried, leaping into the air and cheering. “I took you down! Wow, that felt amazing!” Cole watched her from the mat, smiling up at her as she happy-danced circles around him. The moment that grin turned mischievous, she should have realized it wasn’t over, but she was too far into her gloating to see it coming. It was a hard lesson to learn, but a mistake she’d never make again. As she rounded Cole’s feet, he swept her leg and grabbed her wrist. She let out a startled squawk and flailed, landing on top of him. His arms immediately locked around her, pinning her against his chest.
“You didn’t finish me,” he said, his husky voice a low, whispered growl. Although it carried a warning message, the undertone sparked a jump in her pulse that heated the blood coursing through her veins. Her breasts were crushed against his chest. She could feel his heart beating a rapid staccato to match her own. “Never turn your back on an opponent.”
Despite his best efforts to keep their training professional, he wasn’t unaffected by her after all. His erection was wedged tight between her parted thighs. Her triumph made her reckless, getting physical with him for the last two hours made her hotter than she wanted to admit. After the way they’d parted last night, he hadn’t pushed her today, keeping their contact platonic, which by the evidence of his arousal, had obviously come at great cost to his person.
The thought occurred in a flash. She didn’t take the time to consider the wisdom of it, which was probably her first mistake. She only knew she didn’t want Cole to steal her win. Smiling down at the cocky fighter, she gave him a sexy grin and purred, “Do you want me to finish you?”
His pupils dilated with surprise, his cerulean stare darkening with desire. She was cruel for playing such a dangerous game, but her adrenaline high clouded her better judgment. Katie knew she’d found her edge when his breath stalled in his lungs. Slowly, she slipped her hand between them and over the waistband of his gym shorts. His breath hissed through clenched teeth when her fingers skittered over his steel-hard length. “Is that a yes?” she teased sweetly, answering for him when he didn’t speak. “I think you want me to.”
His gruff, grunted consent turned into a sharp inhale when she slid her hand lower and gripped the twin weights hanging heavy between his parted thighs. She squeezed hard enough to get his attention.
“Tap,” she commanded.
Something flared in Cole’s lusty indigo stare that gave her pause. It wasn’t the surprising approval at her boldness, or appreciation for her cleverness. No, it was anger banked in those icy blue depths, because when you had a guy by the balls, it was a surefire way to piss him off. But she hadn’t appreciated him stealing her thunder for a well-fought take-down. He wanted her to finish it? She’d finish it all right—her way.
“Tap out,” she demanded again. He winced when she applied a little more pressure and she
smiled triumphantly. But Cole didn’t tap. She knew it’d eat at him to do it, even if this was just training, and she did have him in an illegal hold.
“Let. Go,” he warned her, his voice a low, gravelly rasp she felt all the way to her toes.
“Not until you tap.”
“Dammit, Kat—”
“What?” she asked innocently. “I’m just doing what you told me to. I’m finishing it. Perhaps you should take your own advice and never underestimate your opponent.”
“Let go,” he warned again through tightly clenched teeth.
“Tap.”
Moments went by in stalemate, neither one willing to concede to the other. Cole might be committed to helping her, to training her, but to his very core he was a fighter, and quit was just not in him. Perhaps she’d underestimated the depth of his stubborn male pride. He’d grossly underestimated her need for this win—by whatever means necessary. Tightening her grip another degree, she purred, “Tap. Out.”
A frustrated growl rumbled deep in his chest as his hand shot out and slammed down on the mat. Bam! The echoing boom reverberating off the walls was deafening. No sooner had the thought I won! crossed her mind and she released her grip on his sac, than her world suddenly flipped upside down. The next time she blinked, she was on her back, staring up into the glower of one pissed-off MMA fighter.
The feral look in his eyes sent a shiver of fear racing up her spine and a rush of longing right into her core. She was sure the only thing saving her from both was the fact they were at her work. The gym here was bigger than the one at home, and they’d needed room to grapple. The place was nearly empty, but not vacant enough for Cole to act on whatever thoughts were running through his mind right now—or so she thought.
Cole closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the strain of self-control was etched in his face. She’s crossed the line—again—only this time, there was no going back. It was incredibly sexy to watch a powerful man like him grapple for control, and know she’d been the one who stole it. It made her want to forget all her protests last night, and push him over the edge.
“That was dirty, Kat. And clever. You may have won round one, but there’s no way in hell you’re winning this fight.”
His mouth descended on hers with the finesse of a freight train, kissing her with a passion that stole the air from her lungs. Abruptly, he broke away, as if just now realizing where they were—a fact lost on her as much as her breath.
“Damn, you’re so fucking hot,” he groaned against her mouth, diving his tongue past her lips to taste her again. Apparently round two was to be an oral assault—the victor undecided, because a moment later, the lights went out.
Katie knew a moment of true panic, the blackness immediately reminding her why she had no business fooling around with Cole. He must have felt her tense beneath him, because his hard body shifted over hers protectively, covering her more fully. “Shh . . .” he whispered, lowering his head beside her ear. “Stay here.”
His soft command spurred a jolt of terror racing through her veins. What? He was leaving her? Cole moved above her, silently rising to his feet. It didn’t matter that it was the middle of the day. They were in the bowels of the hospital, without any windows, and it was black as pitch in here. She wanted to hang on to him and beg him not to go, but it was too late. He was already moving to the door. How he navigated the gym, in the dark, she’d never know. She knew he’d reached the exit when she heard the door’s squeaky hinge.
A moment later, she heard a crash in the hall and a loud thud of a body being slammed against the wall. Katie jumped, startled by the emasculating cry for help that rang out. Oh no, she knew that voice! Katie scrambled to her feet and made a blind run for the door, praying she wouldn’t trip. “Cole, stop!”
Just as she reached the hall, the backup generator lights flickered on, providing a dim glow in the hall. “Cole!” Her exclamation was cut off at the sight of Cole pinning Walley, the head of maintenance, to the wall, his hand clamped tightly around the terrified man’s neck.
Cole must have realized his error, because he immediately released the poor guy who promptly bent over, hands braced on his thighs, as he flew into a coughing fit.
“Walley! Are you all right?”
The man nodded. Katie rushed to his side and laid her hand on his back. She rubbed small apologetic circles between his shoulder blades as he fought to catch his breath. “We didn’t know it was you,” she tried to explain. “When the lights went out, I thought . . .” At a loss to explain what she thought, she reverted back to apologizing. “I’m so sorry!”
“It’s all right,” Walley replied, his voice a little hoarse. “I didn’t realize anyone was down here or I would have warned you. We’re checking the generator’s delay.”
“Walley, this is Cole, my—” At a loss to explain what Cole was, she let the failed explanation hang in the air.
But he didn’t miss a beat. Stepping forward and extending his hand, Cole supplied, “Boyfriend. I’m Katie’s boyfriend.”
Walley gave him a funny look—funny surprised, not funny ha-ha—but it was nowhere near as stunned as the one she gave Cole. Her boyfriend? Was that really how he saw himself, or was this just a show for Walley? As much as she fought it, determined to keep Cole on the edge of her chaos, it seemed he just kept forcing his way in. But her boyfriend? Really . . . ?
Walley appeared apprehensive to take the offered hand—not that she could blame him—but Cole waited patiently for the man to come around. Hesitantly, as if reaching out to touch a feral cat, Walley connected palms with Cole, whose fingers wrapped around the man’s hand as he firmly shook it and offered his own apology, which was graciously accepted.
“I thought you were someone else,” Cole told him.
Walley scrubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Well, I sure would hate to be that someone else. Can’t say I enjoyed that brief experience at all.”
Cole chuckled at the joke, a crooked smile tugging at his lips, lessening the severity of his handsome face.
And then Walley asked the question she was dreading, while praying all the while he wouldn’t. “Who’d ya think I was?”
Katie looked like she was about to be ill, more so than when Cole declared himself her boyfriend. Then again, he’d surprised himself, too. He hadn’t meant for it to come out like that, but now that he’d said it, the word tasted better on his tongue than he’d expected.
As she stood there hesitating to respond, Cole gave Walley’s hand a distracting squeeze. “What size generator does it take to keep a place like this running?”
At the question, Walley’s eyes lit up like the Fourth of July, and Cole knew he had him. “Oh, it’s not just a generator. It takes five of those bad boys to keep the hospital functional.”
“Seriously?” Cole feigned amazement. “I’d love to see them. Don’t suppose we could go check them out?”
“Heck yeah, let’s go.”
As Cole turned to follow the maintenance man down the hall, he winked at Katie. She silently mouthed Thank you, and it was worth the sacrifice right there, seeing the look of relief on her face. In truth, he couldn’t give two shits about electricity and generators, but if that was what it took to distract the old man, then he’d take one for the team. Besides, he kinda owed him after nearly scaring the poor guy to death. No harm in letting him revel in his glory a bit.
Unfortunately, that glory took forty-five minutes of hard-core explaining. Cole was anxious to get back to Katie, not only because the idea of leaving her alone for so long made him uneasy, but he just flat-out wanted to be with her. This was one of the first days she’d had off since he’d come here, and he’d be damned if he was going to spend it with Walley when he could be with Katie. Cole had spent far too much time avoiding her—avoiding the inevitable—to waste another day.
He knew where she’d be and wasted no time thanking Walley for his time and very informative talk on generators. Stopping at her office, Cole leaned agai
nst the doorway and silently stood there a few minutes, watching her work. The way her computer sat on the desk angled her away from the door. The entrance must have been just shy of her peripherals. Her pale blond hair was pulled up in a messy disarray he found utterly charming. Rogue strands had fallen loose during their training, reminding him of how they’d spent the morning rolling around on the mat together. Cole had had many sparring partners in the past, but none had ever been this much fun to take to the mat.
Katie had done exceptionally well for her first day of training, and he couldn’t wait to do it again. Not only was she learning to defend herself, but she was gaining confidence she couldn’t acquire any other way. Not to mention the added bonus of all that physical contact. Torture, that was what it was—pure, blissful torture.
Cole allowed his gaze to travel along the delicate arch of her neck. A stir of possessive, masculine pride stoked him at the sight of his marks on her neck. It was Neanderthal-ish of him, but what-the-fuck-ever. Since meeting Katie, Cole was discovering the roots of his gene pool.
Her attention was solely fixed on the screen in front of her—so much for her day off. He stood there another minute or two contemplating backing away and letting her work. But the decision was out if his hands when she swiveled to the right to grab a piece of paper and saw him standing there. Her startled gasp instantly dissolved to a relieved smile that hit him in the solar plexus.
“There you are. I was wondering when you were coming back.” Katie looked up at him over the rims of her black-framed librarian glasses.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” The observation tumbled out of his mouth. Fucking. Hot. At least he kept that part to himself.
Seeming embarrassed, she quickly pulled them off and tossed them to the desk. “I don’t. Not really. They’re cheaters.”
They’re sexy is what they are.
“So,” she finished, swiveling her chair to fully face him. “How’d it go with Walley?” The little twitch in her top lip told him she was doing her damndest to hold back a teasing grin.
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