“Oh, I love a woman who tries to take charge.” I winked before I noticed red blotches on her cheeks and chest. Well, this was going to be fun.
ELEVEN
EVELYN
The universe was against me for whatever reason. It didn’t matter that Kaden Romano was the sexiest man I’d ever seen. His ego was enough to dampen that sex appeal. He was in my sanctuary. He was bursting my Kade-free-zone bubble.
Kade stood behind me, getting into the first position. The first objective was to get out of a chokehold from behind. Badger demonstrated the moves with Machine, who was visibly getting frustrated by each takedown.
“Ready?” Kade whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. The smell of his cologne overstimulated my senses.
“Yes.” The word sounded sharper than I had intended.Focus, Evelyn.This isn’t the first hot guy you’ve trained with!
His arm wrapped around my throat, pulling me flush to him. He wasn’t squeezing hard, which annoyed me even more.
“If you’re going to train with me, don’t baby me.” I tiltedmy head to look up at him. Any closer and our lips would touch.
“As you wish, princess.” He tightened his grip, cutting off my airway. I closed my eyes to center myself and ignored the thrill that was running through me. It took me a couple tries before I was able to complete the move and get out of the chokehold.
“Not bad,” he commented, rubbing his jaw. “Let’s try it one more time.”
I assumed the position and was able to get out easier than before.
“Were you even trying that time?” My face began to heat from anger.
“I didn't hold back. That was all you.”
I took a deep breath. “We need to switch.”
We did, and my face heated at the intimate position. Kade lay flat on the padded floor with me straddling his hips. His body was hard all over, including an area that hadn’t been hard a few moments ago. Shaking my head, I wrapped my hands around Kade’s throat. “Ready?” I asked.
“Give me your worst, princess.”
I choked him as hard as I could, watching the cords of muscles bulge as he maneuvered his escape. In a blink of an eye, he flipped me over and pinned my arms to my sides. We stared at each other, catching our breaths. I couldn’t tell if it was the endorphins from working out, the position I was in, or the intensity of his gaze, but my body was overtaken with need. My core throbbed, my pulse quickened, and my eyes dipped to his luscious full lips.
He smirked before rolling off of me.Fuck! He knew the effect he was having on me.However, I wasn’t the only one. He kept on trying to adjust himself inconspicuously but was failing, with the size of the bulge that I could see.
Doing the same position, we traded places, so he was the one choking me. He confirmed I was ready before he gripped my throat. This position was far more intense than the former. Panic consumed me when my vision began to blacken at the corners. I started bucking my hips and thrashing, completely forgetting the proper steps to get out of his hold. Sensing my distress, Kade released my throat and climbed off of me. I held my throat while I coughed and gasped, trying to get air back in my lungs.
“Breathe, Evelyn, breathe.” Kade’s voice was surprisingly soft and nurturing. He rubbed my back as I caught my breath. I braced my arms on my knees as I took deep breaths.
“That’s it, Evelyn. Good girl.” The encouragement sent a surge of heat to my core. He squatted in front of me.
“You want to try again or call it?”
I shook my head. “Not calling it. Go again.” My voice was breathy.
He dropped his head for a moment before those whiskey-colored eyes met mine. “As you wish. But this time we are going to take it a little easier and work you back up.”
Agreeing, I laid back on the padded floor. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Badger repositioning the class.
Taking a deep breath, I nodded to signal that I was ready. Kade wrapped his hands around my throat, this time not putting as much pressure.
He coached me through the move, like he’d done this a million times. I imagined, as the head of the Mafia, he had been in a fair share of fights.
Realizing that I was finally getting the hang of the move, Kade tightened his grip. “Don’t panic. Center yourself and think about someone who really pisses you off. Someone you wouldn’t want to take advantage of you.”
I listened, and pictured Anthony in Kade’s place. All of my anger surged through me and I put everything I had into getting him off me. I flipped Kade over and pinned him on the ground, straddling his chest and holding his arms down.
