“Come again?”
She gave me a ball-squeezing smile. “You seem like the type to play hard and take no shit from anyone, and the way you were attacking that punching bag looked as though you like things rough.”
I almost choked. I didn’t know how I felt about her reading me to a tee.
I strode over to her, needing a cold shower—or an ice bath, was more like it. My dick was enjoying her siren voice and her gorgeous body.
“Do you own this gym?” she asked.
I proceeded to tie a glove she’d tried on. “No, I would like to own a gym. A bigger one than this. My buddy Shawn is the owner. He doesn’t open until late morning on Sundays. I have a key to come in whenever I like.”
“I take it we’re going in the ring,” she said. “Can we not use gloves? Boxing isn’t self-defense. If you want to see my moves, then we should use the mat and play out a real-life scenario.”
I untied the glove. “You’re right.”
My mind wasn’t firing on all cylinders with her in my presence. Even last night in my bathroom, all I could think about was kissing her, and I had. Such a big fucking mistake. Even now, standing this close to her as I took off the glove, I wanted to taste her again.
I was so fucked as my heart was skipping beat after beat. Hell, I even had butterflies in my stomach. What the fuck was happening to me?
My adorable sister had seen right through me too. “You like her.” She hadn’t asked but told me.
Joy’s cold hand landed on my hot one. “Duke, where did you go?”
Everywhere and nowhere. Even her vanilla fragrance was causing those flutters inside me to freak the fuck out.
Blinking, I ground my teeth, thinking of strangling my enemies—anything to stop my speeding heart. “We should get started. I have a busy day.”
She examined my knuckles. “It looks to me like you either punched someone or a wall. Why didn’t you tape them?”
“Don’t need to.” That came out a little harsher than I intended. “Why don’t you warm up?”
While I compose myself and think of death and war so I don’t tackle you onto the mat and have my way with you.That just might happen before we left here today.
She wiggled her fine ass over to the mat while I tossed the glove on the shelf.
“If you can handle yourself like you say, why did you let that bald beast hurt you?”
She sat with her legs stretched out as she bent over to touch her toes. “I didn’t see him until it was too late. The way he had me pinned left no room for me to attack.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, settling on the edge of the mat. “Awareness is everything, Joy. You have to know your surroundings inside and out and right down to the people around you. You should always be looking for an outlet, an exit, a way to free yourself.”
A former mentor of mine had taught me from day one to never, ever let my guard down. Always know where the exits were and how to read people. Keep my eyes wide open and my hearing sharp. That advice was partly the reason I hadn’t been busted.
She puffed out a breath, sitting up before curling her legs underneath her. “How did you know to come to my rescue?”
“I saw the guy shove you into the hall,” I said.
“Do you rescue every girl in the club?”
“No, I have bouncers for that. But when it comes to my employees, yes, if I see it happening. So, let’s talk about a real-life scenario, as you put it. You’re about to be attacked. What do you do?”
“Go for the vulnerable parts of the body first and quickly,” she said.
I nodded. “Good. What are those?”
She assumed a downward dog pose. “Eyes, jaw, throat, groin.”
I closed my eyes briefly, shaking off the ideas of what I wanted to do with her.
