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“You’re so full of shit I can even smell it.”
I cursed under my breath, hating how much I actually loved when she was like this with me. “Fine,” I relented, because I really did need to go to the gym and deal with my tension. A very different kind of tension than I’d been dealing with twenty minutes earlier.
“Ready?” I lifted a brow, still a bit unsure about setting my hands on her. “You know, you could just step aside, right? But you really like to be difficult, don’t you?”
Eyes on mine, she nodded. “Absolutely.”
I lowered my gaze down her body, calculating the most efficient way to remove this sexy obstacle before me.
Hands under her armpits, lifting her straight up, would kill my bad shoulder. But the pain would be worth the efficiency.
Stepping before her, I hesitantly leaned in and did exactly that. What surprised me, and had me going momentarily still, was her reaching out and holding my arms in the process.
Now eye level with me, her tongue skirted the line of her lips as she stared at me. And it felt like we were having some kind of moment.
I swallowed and finally got my ass moving and swapped places with her. Now I was in the doorway, blocking her path. When I set her down, and she released my arms, I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Are you okay?”
Forced to now look up at me since her feet were back on the floor, she whispered, “I am.” A touch of a smile met her lips, as if she was proud of herself. And at the sight, I nearly lost my balance and stumbled back. The “thank you” that followed her smile sent me one more step away from her.
Run.
Escape.
Get away.
I tried to follow my new protocol. To obey the dark part of my mind demanding I keep my distance from this woman. To protect her from my lost soul. But my bare feet remained in place. I couldn’t turn and leave.
It took her lifting her hand to reach for me, like she was going to touch my chest, to finally get my brain to overpower my heart and remember how to walk again. And I did. All the way to the shed, hoping she wouldn’t follow me, knowing damn well she would.
19
OLIVER
Mya watched me for forty-five minutes without saying a word. I’d kept track of the time on my watch while training.
Not a peep from her. And I wasn’t sure if this was some party trick to get me to breach the quiet first, confused by her lack of speech, but it was working.
It didn’t help that she was still barefoot, looking like a goddess in my shirt. And I could confirm for damn sure she was braless. Thank God my father had left. I didn’t need to burn his retinas for seeing her nipples. Just needed to burn mine now.
“How long are you going to stand there?” Drawing my hands to my hips, dripping in sweat, I stood on top of the blue mat, ready to get the “talk” over with now.
“Is that Krav Maga?” She stepped onto the mat, and my gaze flew to her pink-colored toenails. “I’ve never seen you do that before.”
“Yeah,” was all I gave her. Because I was back in asshole territory again. Mad at myself for feeling so weak around her, so ready to crumble and fall to my knees. Beg for forgiveness for leaving her, and plead for her to take me back.
I wasn’t ready yet to be the man I once was. I was basically Humpty Fucking Dumpty sitting on the wall, but I was already broken and no one could put me back together again.
I was unstable. On edge all the time. Case in point, four in the morning when she’d found me on the floor by the couch. And then I’d gone off on her, running my mouth out of anger shortly after.
“If you don’t plan on returning to Falcon, why are you training?”
There it was. The million-dollar question, and she’d hate the answer. “Hugo.” I actually shocked myself that I'd so easily revealed the truth. “I plan to kill him.”
She angled her head, eyes shooting to the ground as she put it together. “Bloodsport,” she whispered. “He’s been training with some of the best martial artists in the world for decades. And you want to take him on in some kind of Mortal Kombat match?” Facing me again, she rasped, “Are you freaking serious?”
Now I’m just offended. “You don’t think I can handle him?”
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Quiet was how I’d wanted her earlier. For some reason, I very much wanted to hear from her now.
