“Nice to meet you,” he said, but he didn’t try to make his voice do anything, and the tone was flat. I didn’t mind, but Giant flinched.
“Did you get someone so big on purpose to try to worry me into training?” Ari spun to glare directly in my face.
Giant snorted and gave me a curious glance. “Officer Rogers asked me to help you out, and I couldn’t say no. He was nice when my gym got broken into last year, and I’m happy to do it.”
Ari ignored Giant and turned toward me. “I don’t need this.”
Giant’s brows furrowed. “Oh, Rogers said you did.”
I wrapped my arm around Ari’s waist and dragged him toward the closest mat. I wasn’t angry, but I was done with this bullshit. “If I pin you, you do this for me.”
Ari growled for real as I slung him toward the center of the mat. His arms shot out to his sides because I’d sent him off-balance, and his nostrils flared. “I’m going to knock out anyone before they get close enough for me to worry about grappling.”
“You’re going to fight?” Giant asked, coming over to cross his arms near the mat. His tone of voice was amused. “Oh, kid, you’ve got a lot to learn.”
The flat glare Ari turned on Giant had my stomach dropping toward my toes. That was the exact wrong tack to take with him.
Giant blasted Ari with a wide smile. “There is no way you won’t need grappling skills eventually, and they’re not as intuitive as throwing a punch and dodging. You gotta know how to move your body.”
Ari bared his teeth in Giant’s direction and my heart hammered faster. Maybe he was only holding on to his calm for me because he cut a glance in my direction. Fuck, if I wasn’t here, I suspected he already would’ve tried to plant a knife in the middle of Giant’s chest. “I didn’t ask you,” he said, pointing at the big man.
Stepping in quickly, I grabbed Ari’s arms, and my muscles surged with power as I slung him toward the mat. He yelped as he hit his back, but I didn’t think I’d hurt him, just surprised him. “I don’t want you dead.”
Ari tried to get up, and I dropped to my knees and shoved him flat again. He smacked the mat with both hands as his neck flushed red and the blush took over his face. “This is bullshit.”
He shot to his feet, and in a flash I sprang up and grabbed him again, this time with my arms around his waist, lifting him against me. He smirked and wrapped his legs around me, and I fell forward with him. He gasped as we hit the mat—even though I’d caught my weight with my outstretched arms, the impact still had to ache with his back only freshly healed from his injury. The collision knocked our bodies together and his plump cock nudged against mine was a nice surprise.
“Hit me.”
“Master?” he asked quietly.
“Hit me.” I thrust against him, and he smirked.
Ari drew his arm back, but it was awkward in his position with him already underneath me. He tried to slam his fist into my face, but it was easy to catch his wrist and pin it to the floor. He strained and brought up his other fist, but I had been watching him work out and was familiar with the way he moved, so I was able to snatch his wrist and slam it next to his head. The rest was all down to physics—I was a lot bigger than Ari. I leaned in and smirked at him, and his lips thinned into a deadly line as he strained against me.
He took me by surprise when he ground his half-hard cock against mine and dropped his head back. “I didn’t realize this was what you wanted.” His smirk had heat settling into my belly.
I stole a fast kiss from his perfect mouth. “Get out of the hold.” I squeezed my fingers on his wrists.
Ari scowled and wriggled against me, not making a very good effort, although my cock was starting to enjoy what we were doing.
“Come on.” I slammed his wrists down beside his head again.
For a long moment he glared at me, then cleared his throat. “I don’t want to do the things to you I would to someone else, especially someone like Greenwich.”
“That’s why I asked someone else to come here.”
Ari strained again, and I loved feeling his muscles against mine.
Without thinking, I bit his neck hard enough that he moaned, and the sound rang around the room.
“Get out of my grip,” I whispered in his ear.
Ari growled and tensed again.
“Let go of his wrists.”
We both flinched; for a minute it had felt like we were here alone. I nibbled on his bottom lip, then let him tug his hands free.
