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“No wife. Just me so you are free to flirt as much as you want.” He winked at me, and I rolled my eyes.
“I don’t flirt, and you are making me late. I’ll put the bill in your mailbox.” I said as I walked away.
“Well, aren’t you a ball of fun? You’re as prickly as those rose bushes you are so angry about.” He muttered and I shot him a look.
“You have no idea,” I said with a mock grin before putting in the code to my house.
“Nice to meet you, Prickles.” He said with a salute, and I grit my teeth. Great. My new neighbor was an absolute douchebag.
And I was now very, very late.
Two
Katerina
“You don’t have the weight to throw around, so you need to be quicker on your feet,” Leo said as I huffed out a breath.
“I’m not looking to be quick. Just to defend off an attacker.” I said and he raised his eyebrow at me.
“You have many people attacking you?” He questioned and I didn’t answer, grabbing my water bottle and wiping my brow from the sweat.
“If you want self-defense, we can go over that instead. I thought you were here to work out.” He added as he leaned against the pile of gym mats, arms crossed as he looked at me.
The muscles in his forearms were huge and I wasn’t ashamed to admit forearms were a weakness of mine.
The veins were thick and the tattoos that covered his skin looked alive as he flexed. My eyes met his and I saw the smirk before his face dropped into the professional mask again.
His hair had a ginger tinge to it, more noticeable in the beard that covered his chin. He wasn’t much taller than I was, but his physique made him seem more intimidating than he was.
I had no doubt that the women fawned over him, I could see some of them in the back of the gym ogling him right now.
“If you want to start with self-defense, let me see what you can do.” He said and I paused mid-sip.
“Isn’t that just something you are meant to teach me?” I asked, annoyed that he was trying to test me, and he grinned.
“Yes. But I need to know where to start. If you already know the basics, then I can move onto more advanced stuff and watching you move, I get the feeling you have some experience already.” He said as he walked to the center of the mat.
If only he knew. But just because I could throw a punch didn’t mean I could do it well. I was far more comfortable with a gun or knife in my hand any day.
I walked towards him, and he gestured for me to turn around.
“Turn your back to me. I’ll attack you from behind to see what you can do.” He said and I turned slowly, my anxiety spiking for a moment as the memory of my last attack flashed into my mind.
They had tried to put me in the trunk of the car, dragging me across the car park like I was nothing.
The fear I had felt in those moments had me realizing that I needed to be more cautious and even if I hadn’t liked Vlad much, a personal bodyguard was something I needed again.
“Ready?” Leo asked and I nodded, taking a deep breath before Leo’s arms wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my body.
I reacted instantly, throwing my bodyweight back into him and trying to hook my foot around his leg to trip him.
He squeezed harder and panic set in. I knew I was safe logically, but his grip reminded me of that night.
I could hear the harshness of my breath as I tried to squirm free of his grip, my nails digging into his thighs.
His grip tightened more as he began to drag me backwards and a whimper left my throat before I could stop it.
My vision went black before he let me go. I stumbled forward, instinctively reaching for my knife and finding it gone, sending me into another round of panic.
