She didn’t mean to laugh.It just burst out the second he said it, and it lingered through her words. “All right, now Iknowyou’re just fucking with me.”
“Nope, I’m not fucking with you. Try it.”
“You seriously want me to hug your arm with mine.”
“If you can manage it, yes.”
“I can manage. I think,” she said, though she wasn’t really sure until she tried. She turned toward him and swung her arm around and over his, like a clothes peg over a sheet.
And, of course, as soon as she did, she understood.
She felt his arm bend under the pressure of hers.
Felt the way that it locked them together, and put her in control.
“Oh my god.”
“You see?”
“It pushes your arm down.”
“Uh-huh. And even better—”
“You’re trapped, now. I could just hit you in the face.”
Her voice went way too high and hushed onhitandyouandface.
Almost as if the idea excited her—though truthfully, there was no one in the world she’d ever wanted to punch less. Up close, his manner waseven more soothing than it had seemed from far away. He didn’t look at anything but her face the whole time she held him, even though she knew her tits were practically thrust in the air. And though this had to be a tense moment for him too, he didn’t let it show.His curl of mouth didn’t thin down to nothing. Those liquid ink eyes stayed heavy lidded and serene.
Even his voice didn’t waver, when he finally answered her.
“Absolutely, you could. You can use your free hand to hit me, to shove against my shoulder and get me down on my knees, to punch me in the side. From here, there are a ton of moves you could make—though chances are you won’t have to. The last thing a man who grabs women wants is a shock. He wants to be the one who shocks. He is sure is grip is strong and his control absolute. You bring that arm up and he’s immediately on the back foot, even if you don’t manage to break his hold.”
“Yeah. Yeah that makes a ton of sense.”
“Good. So now we go again. You ready?”
“I am. I think,” she said, as he stepped away.
But she wasn’t. He reached for her again as slow as anything, yet somehow it just didn’t go right. She practically elbowed his arm, instead of hooking her own over it. And even worse—she sort of stumbled a little. As if the aim has been to run into him.
Not that he seemed bothered by that.
He didn’t even roll his eyes.
He just explained as he stepped back, “Almost. But you’re trying to hook before you turn.”
“Yeah, I can feel that. It’s like with the handshake. I’m too eager.”
“Of course you are—but to be honest, that’s good.”
“I don’t see how. It just makes me super clumsy.”
He nodded, as firm and reassuring as a hug. “It does. But that’s how you’d be if it really happened. So, everything we do now, everything we train into you, is something you can do under duress. Make sense?”
“Totally makes sense.”
“Good. Now: again.”
