“Stop! Stay there,” Giant said when I went to move, and I didn’t argue because it was nice to have Ari’s legs around me. I smiled down at him.
Giant came over and squatted next to us with his hands planted on his knees. “There are about thirty things you can do if your hands are free, kid. What are you going to do?”
Ari bared his teeth at Giant, and I wasn’t ready for it when he slammed his fist against my jaw and rattled my skull, but when he brought his hand in for another punch, I dodged and swept his arms to the side, pinning them on the mat. I leaned my weight on him, and he growled and kicked his heels against my back, but I simply pressed down on top of him.
“I would never let myself get into this position with someone else,” Ari hissed, and it almost sounded like an accusation. “Why are you trying to humiliate me?”
My breath jolted. “I’m not.” I kissed his sweaty temple and willed him to believe me. “I want you to know what to do if this happens to you. I’m doing this because I want you safe.”
His jaw was tight and his eyes were too wide as he stared across the room rather than looking at me.
“Officer Rogers is right. If you do get knocked to the mat, you need grappling skills. A few good go-to moves can complement your style. He said you’re more of a brawler.” Giant smiled in that friendly way he had, but it wouldn’t do any good with Ari under normal circumstances, and it was useless the way he was acting right now.
“Let me take your spot, Rogers.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I turned to stare up at Giant. Ari squeezed his perfect thighs around me and leaned up, dragging his lips against my ear. “Do you want him all over me? I thought I wasyourkiller, Master.” He blinked wide eyes at me, and it didn’t matter that I knew he was trying to wind me up to be a shit, since he didn’t want to be doing this, because he’d worked out one of my weaknesses... and it was him.
“No, but I don’t want you dead, either.” I gave him a soft kiss, and he bit my lip. I could tell from the way he sank his teeth in he was planning to hold on for a long while, but I shoved him harder against the mat in warning and he unclenched his teeth.
I was slow to get to my feet, and my hands wouldn’t stop clenching into fists as Giant dropped down to cover Ari’s much-smaller body with his.
“All right, let’s do this.” He smiled over his shoulder at me. Giant was professional—he wasn’t rutting against Ari or trying to fuck him—and he immediately began instructing Ari in different grappling techniques, talking him through ways to dislodge an opponent of any size who might pin him. After a while I tuned out because all I could focus on were the coy little smirks Ari kept sending over Giant’s shoulder at me. He knew I wanted to snap the man’s neck for touching him—or try, anyway.
“Wrap your legs around my waist. I want to talk you through a double wrist lock. You might also hear someone call this move the Kimura.”
“Oh, that’s interesting,” Ari said, engaging with Giant verbally for the first time.
Giant blinked down at him and grinned, and I wanted to smash his skull in.
“You’re so much bigger and stronger than me.” Ari brushed his hands over Giant’s biceps. “How will I be able to do that?”
“Ari,” I whispered, and he grinned at me. Okay, so this was my punishment. I breathed through the urge for blood.
Giant didn’t seem to notice the undercurrent between me and Ari, or he was ignoring it like a champ if he did. “You’re going to want to take my arm and shift your body against it. You’re right, I’m much bigger than you, so you would have as much luck moving around a horse as me. You’re the one who has to change position. This move must be executed carefully. It hurts your opponent, and you could easily snap his arm.”
Ari’s eyes brightened and he flashed me a real smile. Giant kept talking, and Ari seemed to be picking up what he was saying very quickly, which didn’t surprise me because my little killer was special, and he didn’t look quite so irritated anymore, now that breaking bones would be the outcome of learning this wrist lock. I still fucking hated the big man so close to him, though. I hadn’t anticipated this awful sensation swirling in the pit of my stomach as I stood awkwardly to the side. Ari tightened his thighs around Giant and moved with the big man’s arm in his grip. I hated how intimate it all looked and saw red. I wanted to beat Giant to death.
“Okay,” Giant said, and he backed off onto his knees and hopped to his feet. “Let’s try it for real. I’ll get you back onto the mat, and when I do, you pull that move, okay? I’m not going to make it easy.” He blasted Ari with an indulgent smile that made my skin crawl.
Ari nodded, and I stepped back farther to give them room to work. Ari jabbed, clearly testing the waters, and Giant did the same thing, and then they circled each other for about twenty seconds before Ari belted Giant in the gut. The big man immediately returned fire, slamming his forearm across Ari’s cheek, and he grunted in pain.
Fuck this. I sprinted toward Giant and pulled him back, smashing my fist against his nose. He stumbled away from me, wiping the back of his hand over the small river of blood pouring from his right nostril, then glanced down at it with wide eyes.
“What the hell?”
“Get out of here now.” I pointed at the front door.
“Fuck you, man. I was doing you a favor. You’re not welcome at the academy again. You need to be gone when I get back out here.” He turned and stormed toward the entrance to the locker rooms.
Ari smirked at me and put his hands behind his back, rocking on his feet. “Wanna try your luck?”
My blood surged with the adrenaline already sparkling in my veins and I rushed him. Ari grabbed my shoulders and kicked my right leg, knocking me off-balance, and we both went down. I rolled him under me and bit the other side of his neck to give him a matching bruise. He ground his cock against mine, but when he wrapped his legs around my waist, I found out fast he wasn’t messing around because it hurt. I threw a short punch, and he latched onto my arm, jerking himself around to clamp his arms on it exactly like I’d watched him practice with Giant. He twisted his body, and I punched him hard on the side, but he didn’t let go. The pressure began to build up; my brain buzzed with white noise.
“You’re gonna break it,” I gasped out.
“Master,” he moaned. I could tell how much he was loving this, but I didn’t want a broken fucking arm, either.
Giant came back out and stomped closer to us with a duffel bag over his shoulder. Ari dropped me as he got closer, and then slid out from under me while I lay there catching my breath. I laughed as he patted my head.
