“What made you take that up?”
“I was mugged. One night while coming home from work. It was ugly. I froze and had no idea what to do. I got beat up when stupidly I tried to hang on to my purse. Bruises, cuts, a sprained wrist from falling. After that, I walked around, scared of my own damn shadow. I felt so helpless. I never wanted to feel that way again, so I started looking for self-defense classes.”
I both hated and felt pride at hearing this story. “Was the guy ever caught?”
She shook her head. “Hopefully, someone gave him what was coming to him. Anyway, I found that most of the self-defense classes taught to women were bunk. I found a real fighter. One of the first national MMA fighters in the US and former law enforcement officer. Been going to his gym three times a week for five years now. When work doesn’t get in the way.”
I wanted to ask more questions, but she yawned again, and I figured it was time to let her rest. Standing, I took her hand in mine to help her up and then pulled the blanket back with my free hand.
“You need your rest.”
Jodi nodded, agreeing, looking worn out. “Hey, maybe I’ll teach you some moves in the morning,” she joked.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
I helped her into the bed and covered her with the blanket. I was too wired to sleep. Still, I moved around to the opposite side of the bed and stripped down to briefs, before climbing in. I spent probably the next ninety minutes watching her sleep, rather peacefully. For the first time, I didn’t think about how quickly I could extract a woman from my bed. My personal space didn’t feel crowded by having her next to me.
Two things came to mind before I dosed off. The first, that I didn’t so much mind having Jodi laying next to me at night. And two, the cocksucker who attacked her better have his life insurance paid up.
I woke up in what felt like the softest cloud imaginable. When I went to stretch, however, I winced in pain. The memory of the events of the night before came back to mind, and I remembered that I wasn’t sleeping in my bed.
“Good morning.” His deep, sleep-filled voice was as comforting as this supremely soft bed we were laying in.
I rolled over onto my back to find Micah hovering over me, a lazy smile playing at his lips. There was also a look of concern in his copper eyes. He let his gaze scan my face, observing me, searching for something.
This wasn’t the first morning I’d awakened to his face, but the sight always took my breath away. Seeing his rustled hair, falling around his shoulders as he looked down at me, was a highlight of my mornings lately.
“How are you feeling?”
“A little sore,” I responded honestly.
He frowned, and I soon found his hand moving over the length of my body until it came to a stop at my injured arm. He lifted it from beneath the blanket.
“Your arm?”
I nodded. “I think I leaned on it a little in my sleep. It’s not too bad, though.”
“And your cheek?” His hand cupped my face.
I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’ve taken harder hits in my sparring sessions.” That was the truth. My instructors in Brooklyn didn’t play when it came to teaching me how to fight and defend myself. They emphasized sparring, learning to take a hit and keep going.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“About what?” I asked, wrinkling my brows.
“That you knew how to fight.”
I shrugged. “It never came up.” It was on the tip of my tongue to remind Micah that we only met over two weeks ago. But the words wouldn’t come to me. It felt like so much longer. Sure, we’d had that one encounter as children, but that was years ago.
“What?” I asked when he continued staring. “Are you ready for me to teach you some things?”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “When your injuries heal, you’ll show me how good you really are.”
I went to reply, but all that came out was a moan when he moved lower, pressing a kiss to my cheek and then to my neck. I lifted my chin, allowing him to gain better access to my neck. His fingers curled around the tops of my spandex, and he began tugging them down my thighs.
Raising my hips, I let him pull them from around my waist. I sighed, and my body hummed when his fingers softly brushed against my clit.
“It took every fiber of my being not to wake you up out of your sleep last night,” he murmured against my neck.
