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I frown. “You already said that, butwhy?”
As I ask, the doors to the gym open up and Ivan walks in. He lowers the phone from his ear and slides it into the pocket of his gray sweatpants. “Because I am.”
Ivan is in a black tank top that is molded to every ridge and valley of his body. I stand stock-still and ogle him. His broad shoulders, muscled arms, and tapered waist. I haven’t even gotten below the belt yet and I’m already giddy and squirmy.
I’ve never seen Ivan in casual clothes like this in the light of day and, good God, I think he was created for athletic wear. He is broad and solid and the idea that I should learn to defend myself seems silly in the face of everything that he is.
“Okay,” Yasha says, creeping forward one step at a time. “That is my cue to leave before something physical goes down.”
Ivan blinks away from me to look at his best friend and I am forced to acknowledge once again that we are every bit as bad as Yasha and Jorden. Fifteen seconds in the same room with us and Yasha is sprinting for the exit.
As he passes Ivan, he pats him on the shoulder. “Good luck. And if Cora says anything about me calling her a name, it was a misunderstanding. You know how women can be.”
“Hey!” I call after him. But it’s too late. Yasha is already hightailing it for the doors.
And then Ivan is in front of me. Every hot, chiseled inch of him.
I blink away from his chest and look into his eyes. That doesn’t help much. He’s got them cranked up to full power today. I’m a helpless deer in the headlights. “Where were you?”
“I was planning to get a workout in when Yasha texted me that you were here.”
“Can I do anything in this house without you knowing about it?”
“Probably not,” Ivan admits. “Not until things cool down. The only reason I agreed to leave for my meeting this morning is because Yasha swore the security team would update me on where you were every fifteen minutes.”
The oppressive surveillance has an echo of being trapped in Alexander’s house under lock and key. The difference is, Ivan is doing all of this to keep me safe—to keep me free. He’s looking out for me. I get that and I love him for it.
I just want to be able to look out for myself, too.
“So,” Ivan starts again, “you want to learn how to fight?”
I nod. “Will you teach me?”
“Of course. For a price.”
“A price?”
He grins wickedly. “I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Quid pro quo. That sort of thing.”
“Well, I don’t know how to fight. Even if I did, you don’t need me to teach you that. I can teach you how to French braid hair if you want?”
He chuckles. “Tempting, but I’ll pass.”
“Then what do you want?”
He leans in, bringing his woodsy scent with him. “I’ll decide later.”
I have to exhale away the haze in my mind. “You want me to agree to conditions I don’t know yet? I think every lawyer in existence would tell me that’s a bad idea.”
Ivan spreads his arms wide. “I don’t see any lawyers in here,solnishka,” he says. “It’s just you and me.”
I sigh. I’m one thousand percent positive I’ll regret the words that are about to come out of my mouth. I’m also one thousand percent positive it’s the kind of regret I can live with.
“Fine. I’ll pay your extortion price, Ivan. Teach me to fight and I’ll do whatever you want.”
49
CORA
