Out of my periphery, I saw Kade pinch the bridge of his nose. The blonde beauty rolled her eyes.
“Call me Badger.”
I would do no such thing. I took in her soft features and noted how innocent she looked. Like a bunny, not a brutish badger. My brows knitted together, and just as I was about to speak again, I felt Kade’s hand smack against my chest.
“Ignore him, Badger, I think he was dropped on his head too many times.”
I noticed Evelyn in the corner, chatting with some other women. Her smile faded to a scowl as she noticed us, and she crossed her arms as she walked over.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Just came to visit Badger here for one of her killer workouts,” Kade responded, giving her one of his signature smiles.
The guy was laying it on thick today. When I couldn’t take the awkward tension any longer, I butted in.
“He’s just sucking up because the new girl caught a cyberattack before him,” I joked.
Evelyn rolled her eyes before walking past us to Badger, who was now at the front of the room as people gathered for the class.Badger whispered something to her before giving fist bumps to the attendees.
“Alright, guys, line up,” Badger yelled, clapping her hands once. All the side chatter abruptly stopped. “Now, in today's class we will be focusing on hand-to-hand combat, specifically getting out of difficult scenarios. We’ll pair up and practice getting out of different holds. Do I have a volunteer to spar with me?”
I raised my hand without thinking, needing another shot at talking to the beauty before me. The other attendees kept their hands lowered and avoided eye contact with her. Badger looked at me and placed her hands on her hips before she rolled her eyes. My skin felt hot as I thought about the punishment I would give her for the disrespect; I’d have her eyes rolling for a different reason.
“C’mon,Tool. I mean Machine,” she said smoothly, emphasizing the new nickname.
I glared at my so-called best friend as a laugh escaped his lips before I walked over to Badger. The defined lines of Badger’s muscles left no doubt that she could hold her own, but I easily had eighty pounds of muscle on her. I joined her at the front of the class, towering over her. The class looked at me with apprehension. What was their problem? It's not like Badger was going to hurt me.
“C’mon, Bunny, give me your worst,” I teased, adding a wink for good measure.
That was when I should have known that I had fucked up. Badger’s nostrils flared at the use of a wrong version of her name, and she charged me. She lowered her shoulder, and before I knew what was happening, she swiftly flipped me over her, slamming me onto the mat. I lay on the padded floor, shocked. I wheezed as I tried to catch my breath. As I lookedover, Badger gave me a stunning, triumphant smile before turning to face the class.
“Alright, guys, pair up. Oh, come on, Machine, I barely threw you.” She squatted down next to me and patted my chest. Her touch sent a shock through my system, making me lose my breath all over again. “Maybe next time you won’t call meBunny.”
She gave me a sickly-sweet smile that told me what she was not to be fucked with. The look sent a shot of lust to my cock.Not now, buddy. Not in front of all these people.I gave her a sly smile in return, but kept my mouth closed while I struggled to regain my breath.
Badger turned to face the group once more, explaining the next objective. I stood up and got behind Badger, loving the sweet melon scent that wafted into my nostrils from her hair. The objective of the first position was to get out of a chokehold from behind.
“Try and get out of this,” I teased into her ear.
I didn’t need to see her face to know that I had struck a nerve. I wrapped my hand around her throat, and before I knew it, I was on the ground. Again.
Move after move, this chick was somehow getting the upper hand on me. I was the second-in-command to the Mafia, how the fuck was she able to do this? After the fourth take down, I was pissed and ready to show her who I was.
We switched positions so I was on the defensive. It didn’t seem like a realistic scenario given how small she was compared to me. I wasn’t expecting her to be as strong as she was. She gripped my throat effortlessly and began to squeeze.
“Give me your worst, Hammer,” Badger teased.
I practiced the maneuver with ease and flipped her onto the ground. She let out a soft grunt as I landed on top of her. Istared into her gorgeous blue eyes, and while I was distracted, she flipped us so she was straddling my lap.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, down boy, down! I internally yelled at my hardening cock.
Badger raised her brows in realization of what was happening before scoffing and standing up. I stood behind her and adjusted myself as inconspicuously as possible. Thankfully, everyone was already in position, so no one seemed to notice the tent in my gym shorts. I massaged my tailbone as Badger walked around the room, inspecting everyone’s form.
I focused my gaze on Kade, who was on top of Evelyn. It seemed like he was coaching her. In the blink of an eye, Evelyn flipped Kade over and pinned him to the ground, straddling his chest and holding his arms down. I couldn’t help but chuckle at my best friend’s expression of shock. A smug look spread on my face when I could tell that the pair was stuck in their own world, forgetting where they were.
“Kade, new girl can kick some ass, aye, bud? Probably a good idea not to piss her off at the office.” I called.
The class chuckled as my best friend closed his eyes and sighed. “Shut up, Machine. Badger has been showing you your maker this entire class.”
