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“In the women’s division,” he interrupts with an impatient sigh.
Does he know that? Does he know anything else about me, or was it just a guess about an obvious fact?
My blood begins to go from a simmer to a boil, and I slow my pace. “Excuse me?”
“In the women’s division,” he repeats with a casual shrug, hands still in his pockets. “Means nothing when you’re up against a man.”
“Oh, is that right?”Chauvinistic prick,I mentally tack on.
I imagine drop-kicking him right here. A swift kick between his legs would incapacitate him enough for me to move quickly.
He doesn’t bother to hide the disdain in his tone. “Of course. I’m sure you could drop a pussy on his ass, but it means jack shit unless you’re fighting a real man.”
He’s dropping all semblance of professionalism, and another warning bell chimes in my mind.
We’ve made it to the edge of the garden. A brisk wind carries warm air from over the sea, white-capped waves crashing in the distance behind him. A gull caws overhead, but I hardly hear it. The blood pounds in my ears with my rising temper. A corner of his beautiful, perfect lips quirks upward. Mocking me. “Got under your skin. Want to prove me wrong?”
I’m already in a fighting stance, my shoes kicked to the side like so much baggage. My hands clench into fists at my sides. I don’t care who he is, he just tossed the gauntlet down and Ido not back down.
“Of course I do.”
Stop,the little inner voice of reason warns.
I never did like that voice.
And suddenly, it doesn’t matter that I’m wearing a dress, that he’s a hundred pounds heavier than I am, and I’m trying to convince him to hire me. All I see is a brawny sexist who needs to learn a lesson.
I’ve spent years perfecting the double-leg takedown, a move that works in the ring or on the street. If he was unaware, I might be able to take him down. He’s prepared though, and way too big.
All I want to do is level him. I could drop him to the ground, without actually causing injury. I’ve done the move a thousand times. Though he’s bigger than I am—by a lot—I’m smaller and more agile, giving me a decided advantage. But while it might be satisfying to drop a man of his size to the ground, that’s just the problem—he’s fucking huge, and I’m not, and that really fucking matters.
“No.” With effort, I drop the fighting stance, and shrug my shoulders. I walk casually over to him. “You’re too big for a girl like me,” I say with mock humility. I wait until he resumes his casual walking. “I couldn’t possibly—” He looks away from me, a strategic error and my only chance.
Thwack.I kick my leg out so fast I register surprise in his eyes, but he’s even faster than I am. Instinctively, he deflects, and instead of striking back, ducks. When he’s bent over, I shove, pushing him off-kilter.
For one second, one glorious second, I’ve got him as he’s taken by surprise and falls. I quickly pin him down. Victory courses through me, and I can’t stop the grin that sweeps over my face at the surprise in his eyes. But the moment’s short-lived.
Fuck.
His eyes darkening to gray blue, he coils his body, and the next thing I know, I’m soaring through the air. There’s an audible sound of a tear, and then… he’s immobilized me.
No.
He’s on top of me, and I’m pinned beneath him.
“You think you need to show me who you are?” he asks. Just to show off, the bastard’s got both my wrists in one huge hand, and I can’t move.
I realize three things at once.
First, my dress is torn. The ripping sound was the neckline. A flap of fabric moves in the breeze, baring my bra-clad boobs to him.Great.
Second, his…body is on top of me.
And he’s… large, and strong, and masculine, and really smells a lot better than any man ever should. Images of the two of us naked flit through my mind because I’m not a corpse, and other than us not knowing each other, being outdoors where anyone could see us, and fully clothed… what’s to stop me from mentally going there?
Third… he’s furious. A vein throbs in his temple, and his nostrils flare. I can tell he’s holding himself back from really hurting me.
My throat tightens with the sudden knowledge that once again, I’ve let my temper get the best of me and probably just ruinedeverything.
