He removed his shoes and left them by the door and then rolled out a long red mat that stretched from one wall to the other. “Have you ever taken a self-defense course before?”
She tapped her lower lip. “In high school. But that was a long time ago.” Maybe not that long ago since she was still in her early twenties, and likely not to him as shifters aged slower. She pulled her hair from the loose bun on top of her head and wrapped it in a tighter ponytail. Then she removed her sneakers and socks and walked over to him on the mat.
“First, you need to stand your ground. When you stand like this, you can center your gravity.”
She followed his position.
He stepped around her, assessing her stance. “Many think whoever is the biggest and strongest will win, but there’s much more to it.” He tapped his temple. “Using your head plays a big factor.”
Arto then walked her through a basic defense maneuver for getting out of a chokehold. He then showed her other tactics.
When she tried to follow his positioning, she couldn’t do so without pain, courtesy of the injuries to her legs. “I can’t do that one.”
“That’s okay,” he said in a gentle tone. “Remember, using your head is what’s most important.” He used his index and middle finger to point to her eyes and then his. “Be aware of your rival to anticipate what they will do. But don’t let thinking incapacitate you from acting. Trust your instincts and act fast.”
Staring into his eyes, she lost track of what he was saying. He looked so determined—like such a dangerous warrior—and it was so damn hot.
“Janie?”
She snapped out of her trance. “What?” Her cheeks burned.
“Are you with me?”
“Of course.” She attempted to roll off her lack of response with a shake of her head. “I was thinking.”
“About what?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She brushed it off and commanded herself to focus.
She followed his next instructions well. She rolled her shoulders back, pleased with her progress. But when he stepped behind her and placed his hands on her hips to adjust her stance, warmth spread in her core. He said something, but she missed it, too aware of the closeness of his body.
She flushed. “Sorry, can you repeat that?”
Maybe training with Arto was a bad idea. If she trained with Talia, she wouldn’t have been distracted like this.
Janie dismissed it; she was simply responding after the conversation with Larissa about Arto this morning. They were just friends. He was just doing her a favor by training her in self-defense.
Nothing more.
CHAPTER3
ARTO
When Janie had said she wanted to learn how to defend herself, it hit Arto’s pride. He should be the one protecting her. That meant she couldn’t trust him to do so, and that hurt, but it was unfortunately the truth. He couldn’t be there to protect her at all times while also on patrol in the city. Although nothing had occurred that had been as destructive as the demon attack, there was always something to respond to, mostly humans doing bad things.
And even if he was with her, it didn’t ensure her safety. He was haunted by the moment when he’d woken up in his bedroom at the compound and learned what had happened. He’d allowed a demon to sneak up behind him and take him out. Worse, it had taken Janie. He had been entrusted to watch over her, and he’d failed. He vowed never to let that happen again.
What he would do to be able to go back and change one thing—anything about that day—so he wouldn’t have been taken unaware. But he didn’t even remember it happening. The demon had struck Arto on the head, and the memory of what happened was gone.
But the shame remained.
Now that he instructed her in this training room, his unease with not being able to protect her at all hours lifted. She was right: she needed to know basic defensive measures, and not just for supernaturals but for humans too.
She picked up on most of his instructions quickly, but sometimes he lost her, and he sensed he was overdoing it.
Then there were times he forgot what he was trying to teach her. When he had his hands on her body and her scent in his face, all he was aware of was her closeness.
There was a moment when he’d held her body tightly against his, her back against his chest, and he’d forgotten what he asked her to do next. That was until she jolted her head back. If he was shorter, that could have done some damage.
