“Absolutely,” she says with a grin. “Go, do your thing.”
“My thing?”
“Yeah, wipe the floor with Bryce’s enforcer. He needs to be taken down a peg or two or a hundred.”
“I’ll go do that,” I tell her dryly.
But I do turn around and face Hunter, who’s watching me with that intensity that’s all him. “Ready?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah.”
He approaches me, and I stand opposite him. “I’m not going to take it easy on you,” he warns.
I lift my chin. “I don’t want you to.”
“If Raechel’s as good as they say, she won’t go easy on you.”
I cock my head to the side. “Have you seen her fight?”
He shakes his head. “I’m sure I’ve been there when she’s fought, but I haven’t paid attention.”
“Let’s go, people,” Ava calls out, popping another sour Skittle in her mouth.
“Don’t those things hurt your tongue?” I ask.
“Yep. But only after you’ve eaten the whole bag.”
“Focus,” Hunter says, drawing my attention back to him.
I block out Ava and settle into a fight stance. “Let’s go.”
We circle each other for a moment, and then I attack. I’m fast, but he’s ready for me. He dodges my blow easily and returns one of his own. We circle each other, trading blows. He lands one on me, and I return the favor soon after. It’s not long before we’re both sweating. For all his talk, I can tell he’s holding back onme. I land a solid blow to his chest, and he doesn’t even flinch. I advance again, trying to get him to stop holding back. I start a series of blows and back him to the edge of the circle. I do a reverse spin kick and manage to get his legs out from under him. He hits the mats hard, and I follow him down, ready to pin him. But he’s too fast for that. He rolls before I can pin him. He’s back on his feet a second later. I jump up and wipe the sweat from my brow before going after him again.
“Take a break,” Bryce calls out, surprising me. I’d kind of forgotten we had an audience. “Sherese, you’re a good fighter, but you’re kind of predictable. Once Raechel figures you out, she’ll use it against you.”
“Okay.”
He moves over to me. “Change up your sequence. You follow the same set each time you go on the attack. Second, you need to watch your feet. Raechel’s trademark is a sweeping kick to take your feet out from under you. You leave yourself vulnerable to that each time you lean back. Focus on leaning forward more than backward.” He shows me a few things, and then motions to the two of us. “Go again.”
We start up again, and frustration builds in my chest because Hunter won’t really fight me, not like what I know he’s capable of. I don’t even know how I know, but I know there’s a darkness to him that would give him the edge in a fight like this. He’s a worthy opponent; that’s for sure. But he could be so much more if he let himself go. I land another blow on him that I know he could have blocked, and frustration burns in my chest. I don’t know why it bothers me that he’s holding back, but it does. It really does. I want to win because I earned it, not because he was babying me. “Fight back,” I snap at him after I land a hard hit on his chin.
“I am,” he says in a calm voice.
“No.”I swing. “You’re.”Kick. “Not.”Spin kick.He effectively dodges my assault. But when he could have taken me down when I was slightly off balance, he doesn’t. I go after him harder, trying to take him down. He blocks every hit and even returns a few, but they’re nowhere near as powerful as I know they could be. “Stop babying me!”
And then he makes his move. The first two swings have me dodging to avoid the hit. The third knocks me square in the chest, and then I’m flat on my back, trying to catch my breath. He stares down at me with a dark expression on his face. “Lesson number one.” His voice is low. “Don’t ever let your emotions rule you.”
His words stir up the simmering anger in my chest. I push against his hard shoulders. “I’m not emotional.” That’s something I’ve prided myself on. I’ve never allowed myself to be “female” about everything I’ve been through. I pride myself on the iron control of my emotions.
“Raechel’s a professional. She won’t let emotion rule her. You can’t let it rule you.” His words grind against me. “As soon as your emotion takes over, you’re done, just like that.”
“You made your point. Get off me,” I grind out. He’s off me a second later, and I jump to my feet. Humiliation burns through me, and I don’t meet his gaze. “Again.”
There’s silence. “We’re done for today.”
I lift my gaze to his. “No, we’re not.”
His eyes are hard. “Yes, we are.”
