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As usual, Stanzi said nothing with words, but her hands spoke volumes. Her pressure eased up considerably. Her touch was so light Rhett felt goose bumps rise on his skin. This was the sort of touch that could get him going in a direction she probably didn’t intend. She stopped, as though realizing the change, squeezed around his knee and stood up quickly. “Let’s get you on your feet and stretch that quad.”
“You’re the boss.” Rhett rose, leaned against the wall and grasped his ankle, bending at the knee and stretching his thigh. After a minute he let it go and bounced around on his toes, like a boxer. “Not horrible.” His lips twitched into a smile.Fucking great.“Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“And not just for this.” Rhett touched his leg. “Thanks for asking about Masters. Nobody ever does.”
Stanzi stood by the door, her hand on the knob. “You can tell me about him anytime.”
Silence passed. “You done avoiding me?” he finally said.
“I’m not avoiding you.”
Rhett stepped closer and stared down at her. “Yes, you are.”
She met his gaze, but her hair fell in her eyes. She adjusted her little cat barrette, gave her bangs a blow and faced him again. “Okay. But I’m not avoiding you now. I’m here, right?”
Rhett took another step closer and planted a hand on the wall behind her. He narrowed his eyes and waited, but she didn’t elaborate.
Her breathing grew shallow inside the cage he’d made around her body.
Rhett laughed. “Okay.” He pushed off the wall. “Go get ready for Combat. Make sure your bangs are up.” He brushed a thumb over the fringe of her hair. “You can’t punch what you can’t see.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yep.”
“Today, we’re going over what to do when you’re grabbed from behind. I need a crash dummy.” Rhett looked around the circle of women.
Several raised their hands, but Constance remained quiet and still.
“Stanzi.” He leveled his gaze on her. “You’re up.” He pointed at the spot next to him.
No thanksrose quickly to her lips, but for some odd reason the words didn’t come out. Curious looks went in her direction as she walked slowly toward Rhett.
Rhett turned to the class and said, “Everyone, this is Stanzi. If you haven’t met her yet, introduce yourselves.”
A chorus of greetings rippled through the group.
“As always, by staying in tonight’s class, you are giving each other permission to perform these movements on you. If you don’t wish to be touched in the manner I demonstrate, please move on to Zoe’s kettlebell class.” Rhett pointed to the far corner where the buff blonde and her group were gathered in a circle, kettlebells in various sizes at their feet. “And, as always, perform these movements without actually harming each other. It’s important we are realistic but not emergency room realistic.”
Everyone laughed.
“All right. Stanzi has her back to me.” Rhett touched her shoulders until she turned, facing away from him. “She’s already done a check of her surroundings and every other precautionary thing she could do, but despite her efforts, I grab her from behind.”
Rhett’s arms went around her waist, pinning her own arms to her sides. “What should she do?”
The air smelled spicy, like Rhett’s soap. As soon as the scent hit her, her lungs opened a little. His chest was hard and warm against her back.
“She could throw her head back, into yours,” someone suggested.
“She could—” Rhett’s voice came from near her shoulder “—but I’ve stooped down, to give myself leverage, and my head’s lower than hers right now. Even if it wasn’t, she’s in danger of hurting herself just as much as she hurts me by using her head as a weapon.”
“She could kick back.”
“Kick me, Stanzi.” Rhett’s voice came close to her ear.
Constance struggled to, but didn’t have balance.
“She could try kicking me.” Rhett’s voice came loud and authoritative, commanding attention. “And she might get a hit. Or she might lose her footing, and make her situation worse. What I want her to do is drop her base. Stanzi, I want you to bend your knees and squat, just like we do with a barbell. And fast. Just as fast as you get under that bar when you clean or snatch.”
