He continued to tickle her, even as she was close, and then he heard those magical words he’d been wanting to hear.
“Fine, fine, I submit, and I will learn to fight.”
Knox stopped tickling her and put his hands either side of her head.He wasn’t quite sure how they had managed it, but he was resting between her spread thighs.She was also trapped on the floor, between his body, and he glanced down at her and watched as she licked her lips.It would be so easy to press forward and give in to the pull he had to her.This was a line they hadn’t crossed.Ava was still his PA.To cross that line would be dangerous.
Or would it?
He couldn’t help but think of Marshal.An energy between them.
Ava didn’t move.Had she stopped breathing?He wasn’t sure, but Knox pulled away, even as his body screamed to close that distance between them.He actually created a bigger one and held his hands up.
“Hit me,” he said.
She scrambled to her feet, and he couldn’t be sure if her flush was because of their closeness or another reason.He watched her and waited as Ava struck out, exactly as he asked her to.Ava was strong, but she needed to work hard to get stronger.He told her to hit out at his fists so she would get used to the feeling.
Next, they worked on tackling.He knew this was going to be a bad idea.Being close to Ava was not going to be easy.It was taking every ounce of willpower to keep his dick flaccid.He was a master of control.No one told him what to do.
Only, Ava attacked him, as he asked her to, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him so that the curve of her ass was nestled against his cock.It felt so damn good, but he took a deep breath and refused to get hard.
She wriggled against him.Did she actually wriggle a little closer?This was messing with his head.He could do no more than push her back so there was a gap between them.
“Good lesson,” he said.“We’ll work on the same tomorrow.”
Without looking at her, he took off, leaving the gym, and making his way toward his bedroom.He went straight through to his en-suite, where he turned the water to cold and stepped beneath the icy blast.He needed to calm the fuck down.
That control had snapped at her wriggle.His cock was rock fucking hard, and he had no choice but to wrap his finger around the length and start to work from the base up to the tip, and back down again.
He gritted his teeth, moaning as he worked his cock, imagining Ava in front of him.Her beautiful full lips opening up, begging to take his cock into her mouth, and he was more than happy to give it to her.Just his imagination alone was enough to send him over the edge, and he did so with a grunt, as he came, spilling his seed down the drain of his shower.
He needed to get his head together.Ava didn’t want him to lose control.She’d been around people all her life that had lost control, and he wasn’t going to be another person she couldn’t trust.
Ava was off limits.He hoped he could keep remembering that.
****
When Knox had firststarted the self-defense lessons, Ava hated them.She didn’t want to learn self-defense.The incident at the grocery store had been an honest mistake.
She looked into the mirror and some of the bruising was already starting to fade, and it no longer looked as bad as it had.The young boy had looked so upset when he realized what he did.His mother had been sad as well.Ava didn’t mind.She didn’t like getting hit in the face, but this had already happened, and there was no point in crying about it.
Only, the way Knox had pinned her to that mat, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.She tried to think of all the chores she needed to do.Being his PA was not always easy.Yes, he had told her she could hire staff to take care of his home, but she liked to do it.If there were staff to do this job, it would no longer feel like her home.It was all Knox’s but she lived here and took care of it.In her crazy head, it made sense.
She rolled over in bed and pushed the blanket off her body.It felt way too warm, and she closed her eyes.
There was a nightlight, which she always kept on.Yes, her past was fucked up, and she accepted that her fear of the dark was part of that.The dark was so easy to terrify kids with.
She put her hand to her forehead, because the truth was, the dark would be so much easier to deal with right now.The dark was ...not arousal, which was exactly what she was feeling, and that scared her.
Even though she’d been through a lot, Ava was still a virgin.Some of the girls she had lived with hadn’t been as lucky as she had.The men had taken a shine to other girls.Ava had been deemed an ugly kid that no one wanted.She’d been happy with that.After Peter Carmichael had nearly killed her, she had quite shocking scars on her body, which had actually stopped some men from hurting her.
Knox wasn’t just any man.It was like she could feel him right there on the bed, pressing between her thighs.She hadn’t felt afraid.As she laid there, staring up at him, she felt like she was screaming at him to do something, to kiss her, or to do just about anything.Ava didn’t know why she felt so ...needy.It was wrong to have these feelings about her boss, and she couldn’t help it.She let out a growl, because right now, she just couldn’t seem to get any sleep, and her body refused to be quiet.
Leaving her bedroom, she wasn’t quiet as she made her way downstairs toward the kitchen.She had on a pair of socks, some shorts, a sleeveless vest, and went straight to the fridge.The house was so quiet.Even though she hated the dark, she loved the night.There was just something about the quiet that helped her feel at peace.
She grabbed the chocolate fudge ice cream out of the freezer, along with a spoon, and didn’t even bother to leave the scene of the crime as she started to eat the ice cream.It was a lovely soft scoop, and she just knew it had to have a bunch of chemicals to make it that way.Not that she cared.It didn’t matter the tricks she made for homemade ice cream, it always set so solid that it was next to impossible to sneak some.This way, she was able to enjoy some without waiting for it to melt.
“You’re up,” Knox said.
Of course, she should have known she couldn’t move around this house without him knowing.
