Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
She fills my heart now and I can’t stop it from beating deeper into me.
“I’ll get changed,” I say. “Start warming up and find us a good spot outside.”
She brightens like a spotlight. “Perfect, thank you, it’s going to be great. I promise I won’t punch you too hard.” She goes to move past me but I grab her wrist and pull her against me.
My fingers brush her lower back. A voice in my head screams, you’re going too far. I kiss her neck and ignore it. “Punch as hard as you’d like, little killer, but you have to promise me that if I tell you to get your ass inside, you’ll do it. No arguing, no fighting. No bullshit. Understand?”
“I love it when you’re all big and bad and bossy, you know that?”
“Stop. Tell me you understand.”
“I understand, Peter.”
“Good girl.” I kiss her gently and she bites my lip. I grunt in surprise at the pain and she slips out of my grasp, already hurrying outside, grinning like a maniac.
I find her ten minutes later in a cleared-out section of grass under a shade tree in an alley between our building and the one next door. She’s stretching and I let myself admire her long arms, her lovely legs, the muscles in her back and shoulders. When she catches me looking, she stands up and beams with her hands on her hips. “You gonna stare or are you gonna try to kick my ass?”
“I think try is the wrong word.” I put my hands up in a fighting stance. “More like, I’m going to wipe the floor with you, and you’ll thank me when I’m done.”
We spend the next half hour sparring. We go light at first, mostly just footwork and striking, moving around each other in a tight circle. I put her through all the drills, get her sweating and out of breath, before we fight for real.
I don’t love anything more in the world than letting my body take over. My mind falls away and I sink into my skin as we dance around each other, kicking, punching, trying to find openings. Adrienne’s a lot better than she used to be when we first started, but I still have to hold back to make sure I don’t crack her jaw in half, but these training lessons need to teach her something, which means I’m still hitting with some force. If I went all-out every time, I’d knock her out before she had a chance to see what she did wrong. But still, even fighting her at 10 percent strength, it’s like a beautiful dance.
I can sit back and admire her and let my feelings for her grow and grow, fertilized in hard work, watered with sweat and devotion.
She darts at me, fists flying. I block two punches, duck another, and come in at her. I strike her midsection, barely pulling my fist, and she dances back as she tries to catch her breath, but I don’t give her a chance. I charge forward and slam her down onto the grass.
Our bodies are tired and slick. She twists, struggling. Adrienne’s half my size and half my weight, but she’s clever and quick and she never gives up. When we’re grappling and wrestling, she gives it everything she’s got. I feel her breasts against my chest, her mouth on my shoulder, and her teeth sink into my skin. I gasp in pain as she bites me and I release my grip long enough for her to grab my wrist, twist it into a lock, and wrench her whole body backwards.
I howl in pain and disbelief as she settles into the hold. It hurts like hell and even though she’s tiny compared to me, she’s going to break my goddamn wrist if she keeps putting that much force into it. I taught her to put everything she’s got into every single one of these judo moves, but fucking hell, I figured she’d do that to an enemy, not to me.
“You bit me,” I roar as I try to get myself free. Fuck tapping out. Fuck submitting. I don’t submit to anyone.
Her eyes are fierce and her grin is killer. “You told me to do whatever I had to do to win.”
“But you bit me!” I growl and try to jerk away but she holds on tight.
“Tap out before I break something, you big idiot.”
“You. Fucking. Bit. Me!” I reach across and grab a fist full of her hair and pull her chin back with a sharp tug.
She yelps and whimpers as I yank tight, but she doesn’t let go of her hold. I’ve got her by the roots and she’s got me by the wrist, and I’m pulling and she’s pulling, and fuck, I can feel her hips moving against me, her sweaty body, her lovely smell, her massive smile as I try to rip her head off and she tries to crack my arm in half. Finally, she releases me with a howl of frustration and excitement, and I release her hair with a groan.