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“Really?”
“Aye, really. You’re a pain in my arse, you know that, right?”
“Yup, but you love me,” he says, taking me into his arms.
“Alright then. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to call Paris to let them know I won’t be back this week. I also need to take care of some work.” I shake my head with amusement because his happiness is blooming through the room. “Let’s plan something for later, alright?”
“You bet I will. I even plan to kick your arse on the next trivia night. I’ve been practising,” he says, which makes me laugh because, c’mon, he’ll never beat me at it.
“In your dreams, big bro.” I kiss him on his cheek and add, “See you later,” before leaving.
Chapter 7
Blakely
The air in the dojo is heavy with the scent of sweat and exertion. The place is deserted, with only a handful of people around. After today, I had to blow off some steam. And what better way than kicking Tim’s arse? My stress level is through the roof between the meeting with Caleb and multiple phone calls to Paris. Even though I transferred some of my cases to my most trusted colleague, I’m still an associate, which means I still have duties, even out of the country.
“Focus.” I hear Tim’s raspy voice. I’m completely out of breath at this point. We’ve been training for hours. Or at least it feels like it.
“I am. Give me more to work on if you want me to be focused. You’re literally fighting like I’m a fragile wee thing.”
Tim and I have been training together for years now. He was the one to introduce me to martial arts. It’s funny to see how things changed. I used to hate going to the gym or going to the dojo with Scott and Aidan, mostly because I knew my weight would be a problem, and I didn’t feel comfortable. Who wants to feel like a big, sweaty pig with her thighs rubbing against each other? But when I moved to Paris and had my first call from Caleb asking me to help him with some issues he had with his business, he left me no choice but to learn how to defend myself.
And not without reason. I stepped into his world, and it was far from being shiny. That’s when he sent Tim to train me. From that moment on, I noticed a shift in my personality and thought processes. I tried many things. Boxing, Aikido, Taekwondo, Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Kung Fu, and more. My preference is when we mix all of them together. That’s kind of our thing.
“Or maybe I surpassed the master?” I tease him with a smirk.
“Never,” he replies, putting himself in position. “Your kicks are still too low.”
Without waiting, I bring my leg higher, hitting him right on his ribs. He lets out a groan. I rotate on myself and take the opportunity to grab his arm from behind, bringing it towards the middle of his back. His groan grows louder, but I’m not done with him yet. With a swift hit to the back of his knee, I bring him down to the ground, and with my weight on top of him, he falls onto the tatami.
“You were saying?” I beam with pride.
Tim is what you’d call a beast. He’s a giant of a man, towering over 6’5” and weighing at least 20 stone of pure muscle. He taught me how to use my strength despite my size, and it has paid off after years of training. Or maybe this was my lucky day because I know it won’t happen again anytime soon.
“Alright, alright. You win. Damn, girl, what did you eat this morning?” he teases, which makes me chuckle.
“Did she really kick your arse, or am I seeing things?” I turn over to see Scott’s huge smile on his face. “Since when do you know how to fight, wee sis? I have to say I’m impressed. And fucking proud of you,” he adds, taking me in his arms.
“I’m all sweaty,” I say with a smile.
Scott and Aidan have been practising martial arts since they were 12, so finding him here is no surprise. At 36, my brother is built like an Adonis. Aye, I’m biassed, he’s my brother. With his back tattoo and his 6’2” frame, I’m surprised he’s still single.
I love my brother. It’s not his fault if he has a dickhead for a best friend. Speaking of the devil, I look over his side and see Aidan watching us with an intrigued eye. A very shirtless Aidan.
“Since when do you know each other?” asks my brother. I shrug at his question. “Because it doesn’t look like it’s the first time you trained together.”
The question is legit, given that Tim and my brother are part of Aidan’s team. Yeah, I know a lot of things, and I know exactly what they’re doing. Too bad for them, I’m a damn good lawyer, which makes their lies funny to hear.
“Hmm, we’ve trained a few times together since I’ve been back,” I lie. Aidan’s glare bores into me like a hot knife.
It’s impossible to know what he’s thinking right now. I used to know every bit of his body language, but the person standing before us is not the same man I loved. I guess we’re both different.
I try to regain myself and ask my brother, “What are you doing here? I thought you had plans for tonight?”
“We’ve been training on the other side,” he says, pointing to the opposite side of the room. “I didn’t see you until now. I can’t believe you always refused to come to the dojo with us, and here you are, a badass bringing Big T to his knees.”
I hear Aidan’s laughter before he shifts his attention to Tim.
