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We walked into a smaller room that was decked out with a floor-to-ceiling mirror on one wall and the entire floor laid out with rubber mats.
A boxing bag sat in one corner and a small selection of weights sat in another.
“Okay. I’m going to come at you from behind and this time I will be putting my hand over your mouth. I want you to grab my pinky, pull it right back, and then elbow me in the upper stomach and run away.” He said and I nodded tightly.
His eyes narrowed on me.
“What? You look like you have something to say.” He said and I glared at him.
“No. Get it over with.” I snapped and turned around, giving him my back.
Rage coursed through me, tinged with fear as I sensed him moving behind me.
The minute his arms were around me, my mind went back to that night when my attacker had done the same and I had to fight my panic.
“Calm your breathing. You’ve got this.” Leo murmured in my ear and that just made me angrier.
I gripped his pinky, pulled it back, and elbowed him in the stomach. His grip slipped and I went to run when he grabbed me again.
A shriek left me before I could stop it and I hated myself for that. I wasn’t weak. I killed men for a living.
And here I was shrieking at the man grabbing me from behind.
“Fuck you!” I yelled as the rage and fear rolled together inside me. I channeled it into fury, directing it at the pettiness I felt right now that he had slept with another woman.
I turned and threw a punch directly into his nose, satisfied when he stumbled back a couple of steps, wide-eyed and surprised.
“What the hell was that for?” He said and I shrugged.
He narrowed his eyes as I stood there, my breath in harsh pants.
“That wasn’t panic or anxiety. That was personal. Want to tell me what I did you make you so mad?” He asked and I glared at him.
“How about bitchy Barbie out there?” I seethed and his eyebrows shot up before a slow, wicked smile spread over his face.
“Ah. I see. If you wanted me, Rina, why didn’t you just say so?” He said and I grit my teeth.
“Why would I want you? I am not some conquest for you to put on your belt, Leo.” I said before I turned away from him, intent on leaving.
I was done with this. There was a reason I didn’t get involved in relationships of any sort and it was this. I hated the chaotic way my brain was working right now, the distraction from important things, and the emotional turmoil.
As I walked toward my bag, Leo’s body thumped into mine, his arms going around me and pinning me against him.
Fear went through me first, almost blinding me with panic before my brain caught up with the situation.
“You don’t get to walk away from this, Rina. Tell me what you want.” He said against my ear, and I squirmed against him, trying to get my arms free.
“Fuck you. Get off me. I have nothing to say to you.” I snarled and he laughed softly, his lips pressing against my neck.
“No. Fight me off if you want, but I am not letting you go. I want you, Katerina. I won’t lie and say I don’t have a past; in my younger years, I loved the attention I got from women in my world. But I am not that man. Are you going to take the word of a jealous woman with an agenda, or are you going to listen to me?” He said and I sucked in a breath.
“I can’t do this. I only wanted to be taught how to protect myself.” I whispered as his arms came around me, one armlocking my arms against my body as the other shifted lower, his hand splayed over my lower stomach.
“How long are you going to lock away your heart, Katerina? I will teach you how to protect yourself, but I need you to trust me with your heart.” He whispered and I felt a lump in my throat as everything threatened to come to the surface.
“I can’t,” I said, barely a whisper.
“Yes, you can. I’ve been watching you, Rina. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, you rule over your kingdom with an iron fist and yet I see how it breaks you. I watch you in the moments you think no one sees you, I see the loneliness in your eyes, the fear that no one will care if you’re gone.” He shifted, his hand moving lower to cup my pussy through my pants and heat flooded my body as I rocked against his hand while it felt like my chest was being torn open.
