Igasp in a shaky breath when my back hits the mat with brutal force. Pain rockets through my body, but instead of cowering away from it, I embrace it. Lacey’s dad is right: feeling pain reminds me I am alive.
Ignoring my winded composure, I crawl onto my knees and lift myself from the ground on a shaky pair of legs. Colt is standing across from me. His eyes are remorseful, but his grin is arrogant.
“Get your head in the game, Blaire. We’ve done this routine every day for the past month, and you’re still not doing it right. An attacker won’t wait for you to get your balance. You have mere seconds to escape his clutch.”
The words Colt speaks are way too familiar, but I nod anyway, pretending his knowledge is informative. I know far too well that seconds can feel like hours when you’re attempting to escape the clutches of an attacker.
“Let’s do it again.”
I run a small towel over my face, removing the beads of sweat rolling down my cheeks before turning my back to Colt. We’ve continued with our self-defense classes as agreed upon the past month, except I increased the number of lessons from three a week to five. The burn my muscles felt the days following Colt’s training session was the only thing reminding me I was alive.Soon to be divorced, but alive nonetheless.
If my muscles weren’t burning from the exhaustive activities we did that afternoon, I may have never crawled out of bed to soothe them with a long soak in a tub.
Although I was served divorce papers a month ago, I still haven’t signed them. Don’t ask me why as I wouldn’t be able to answer you. Lacey placed them on the denial shelf in my room the day I received them. I haven’t touched them since. Avoidance isn’t the solution for any issue, but when you're running on empty, you use anything you can.
My mind snaps back to the present when Colt suddenly grabs me from behind. Even though my first thoughts go to panic, my body reacts according to the lessons he has been teaching me the past four weeks. I jam my heel into his toes before inflicting a brutal elbow to his ribcage. I throw my head back so it connects harshly with his nose before seizing his wrist with my shaking hands. A long, guttural moan tears from my throat when I pull down hard on his wrist and attempt to throw him over my shoulder.
My pupils widen when Colt lands on his back with a sickening thud. Pushing aside the desire to scream out in victory, I straddle his hips and throw a set of fake jabs into his face. When he flops his head to the side, announcing defeat, I can no longer hold in my excitement.
“I did it!” I squeal loudly, throwing a fist pump into the air. It has taken me over a month to perfect that move, but Colt is 100% muscle, so it’s a feat I’ll celebrate.
Colt pokes his index finger into my belly. Even it isn’t as squishy as it was last month. “You did, baby girl. I’m so proud of you.”
“I don’t deserve all the credit.” I roll off him. “I have a wonderful teacher.”
My eyes squint when the overhead fluorescent lights blind my vision. Twisting my head to the side, my nose screws up. The sky is completely black.
“Did our session run over?” I scan my eyes over the room, seeking any type of time telling contraption. Normally our sessions run until 7 PM, but with the blackness of the sky, it seems a lot later than that.
“Yeah, around an hour. But I could tell you were close to mastering the move, so I didn’t want to break your focus.” Colt climbs onto his feet before extending his hand in offering.
“Only you could make an hour of torture sound like you were doing someone a favor.”
Colt laughs. “Learning how to protect yourself isn’t torturous, baby girl. Besides, other than one other strenuous activity, exercise is the best way to relieve tension.”
“With how much I’m sweating, I’m seriously considering taking up the other option you’re offering.”
My pupils widen when the entirety of our combined statements smack into me.Did I just flirt with him?
Although Colt and I have spent a lot of time together the past month, we’ve never flirted the way we did before my trip to Vegas. Colt has maintained a professional front during our lessons, while I kept my heart in lockdown mode.
My theory is proven to be dead on point when Colt’s eyes flare with excitement. The air is rife with muggy sweat, but a new scent slowly streams through my nose. My pulse quickens when I realize what the smell is. It's the unmistakable aroma of lust. I stand still, rendered motionless with both alarm and excitement as he slowly prowls toward me. My heart is begging for my feet to move, to walk away before I lose the chance. My brain. . . it’s completely switched off, deciding it’s no longer strong enough to continue the vicious battle it’s been fighting against my heart the past four months.
When Colt places his hand on the side of my face, I shockingly lean into his embrace. Even with my heart still debilitated from losing Rico, it wants him to take away its pain. Maybe he can force me to forget memories that both haunt and excite me?
Colt’s extremely soft lips catch my breathy pant when he seals his mouth over mine. Just like I knew it would be, his kiss is enthralling and sets my pulse racing. He smells manly and tastes like the energy drink he was guzzling down earlier. When he cups his hands on the back of my thighs, my legs instinctively lift and wrap around his waist. A husky moan seeps from my lips when the hard ridge of his cock rubs the ache between my legs. Although my outfit is more modest than the clothes Lacey lent me last month, they still expose a scandalous amount of skin.
I grind myself along the long length of his stiffened shaft as he walks us toward the locker rooms. From what I can feel between two layers of gym pants, I can happily testify that his nickname is very fitting.
With the late hour, the gym is empty. Not that I’d care either way; I’m too entranced by the way Colt’s skillful kiss is breaking through the negativity surrounding me to care if we have an audience.
When Colt reaches the locker rooms, he places me onto my feet. I lean my back against the steel lockers that line the walls of the modern space as I gasp in shocked breaths. The coolness of the steel material gives relief to my overheated skin while the intoxicating scent of male body wash adds to my excitement.
“Fuck, baby girl, I knew your mouth would taste good, but I had no idea,” Colt murmurs while rubbing his thumb along my top lip.
I slant my head to the side, exposing my neck to his sinful mouth when he trails his lips along the edge of my jaw. As he suckles on the sensitive skin of my collarbone, my hand lowers to the hard ridge in his pants. His throaty groan sends a thrill of excitement down the length of my spine. I increase the speed of my strokes, loving the feeling of him in my hand. When Colt squeezes my aching breast, a husky purr rumbles through my parted lips.
My eyes snap open at the same time my heart painfully constricts. Sick gloom spreads through me when the memory of why Rico called me Kitten slams into my hazy mind. I snatch my hand away from Colt’s crotch as guilt overwhelms me. Sensing the sudden shift in my demeanor, Colt stops lathering my neck with affection and pulls back.
