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She pulls her head back. "What?"
"I said hit me. Try to knock me down."
"Okay."
Allison bends her knees slightly and raises her fists. Then she just stands there studying me.
"You won't have time to think," I say. "Just do something, or I'll do it for you."
She rushes at me and lunges her knee up to strike me in the groin, but I seize her knee. I push her away, which knocks her off balance, and she tumbles to the floor.
I bend over her. "I wasn't even trying. Imagine what I could do if I really wanted to hurt you. You will never survive an encounter with an Echo creature if you keep holding back. Attack me. Don't think about it. Just do it."
Straightening, I raise my hands, palms up, and wiggle my fingers in a "come and get me" gesture.
Allison scrambles to her feet, planting them wide. Her lips tighten, and her gaze narrows.
Her determination makes me want to kiss her. Hard.
"Remember what I told you," I say. "Or are you so stupid that you can't hold on to a thought for more than five seconds? Maybe you're simply a coward."
She lets out a primal cry as she surges forward to pound her fists on my chest and stomp her foot down on mine.
I catch her wrists and cage her legs by lashing one of mine around both of hers. "Wrong tactic. If I were a murderous beast, you'd be dead."
A frustrated noise erupts out of her as she struggles against my hold.
"Try again," I hiss.
I shove her away with more force, and she tumbles to the mat again. This time she rolls across it and slides off onto the wood floor. Her elbow smacks into the hard surface.
Allison winces and scowls at me. "You asshole."
Stalking over to her, I kneel at her side. "Do you think an assailant will care about your tender feelings? They won't give a toss. Unless you want to be raped and murdered, your body ripped apart, you had better start taking this training seriously."
"How does throwing me across the room help?"
I lean in closer until our noses almost touch. "Now you understand the stakes. I could have killed you without breaking a sweat."
She glares at me for a moment, but gradually, the anger fades from her expression. With a sigh, she struggles to get up off the floor. I offer her my hands, but she scrambles to her feet without my help. When I lead her onto the mat, she faces me with her shoulders back, her chin lifted, and a new resolve evident in her expression.
Now she's ready.
"It's time to teach you," I say. "When an attacker threatens you, grab whatever is to hand—car keys, a brick, anything—then aim for the vulnerable areas."
"Eyes, nose, throat, and groin."
"That's right." I grasp her wrists and hold them between us. "Keep your hands ready and your knees bent."
She bends her knees a bit and keeps her hands raised even after I release her wrists. "Like this?"
"Yes." I back away from her. "First, you're going to try the groin kick. Make sure you've stabilized yourself as much as possible, then lift your leg with the knee bent and swing it upward. Straighten your lower leg just as you make contact with the attacker's groin. This isn't a knee jab. It's your calf doing the damage."
"Think I get it."
"All right. Give it a go, slowly at first." I smirk. "And try not to ram my bollocks. This is training, not an exercise in castration."
"I doubt I can actually whack your balls off with my leg."
