This constant reassurance was exhausting, and frustrating for Amery, because it never seemed to stick with Molly. Still, she wouldn’t give up on her. “What if you can do every technique on the first try and everyone in class is jealous of you?” she countered.
Molly bit her lip. “I never thought of that.”
“We’re here to learn. You’re wrong if you think this stuff comes easily for everyone else.”
Sandan Zach clapped his hands. “Okay, ladies, let’s get lined up and warmed up.” He checked out Amery’s attire. She couldn’t help giving him a little wave that she was in the proper uniform tonight. She wasn’t sure, but he might’ve rolled his eyes.
She’d forgotten to ask Ronin why he required this class to wear uniforms. Made more sense if they wore street clothes to learn the defensive techniques since they wouldn’t always be in nonrestrictive clothing in the real world.
Amery and Molly ended up in the back of the class again. The warm-up consisted of kickboxing moves, focused on keeping a defensive stance while throwing punches. A few push-ups, jumping jacks—which surprised her because they were old school—side stretches, and a minute of running in place.
Before they could catch their breath, Sandan Zach said, “Everyone grab a partner, not the same partner you had last week. We’ll drill what we learned last class.”
Amery didn’t have to look at Molly to feel her panic. Luckily the young woman in front of her, around Molly’s age, snagged Molly for her partner. Amery watched as her classmates partnered up. With the odd number of students, she was left without a partner.
Then she sensed him behind her. How could she be so attuned to him in such a short amount of time? Yet she felt his power—the strength of his presence and how strongly he was drawn to her. Amery allowed a deep cleansing breath, but her lungs were filled with his scent.
As she waited for him to speak, she glanced at her classmates, who were unaffected by his appearance. Only Sandan Zach noticed. He bowed quickly to the man behind her and returned his focus to his other students.
Did that mean he was washing his hands of her?
“Face me,” Sensei said curtly.
When Amery turned around, she swallowed a stab of longing. The man before her was not the man who’d dripped candle wax on her br**sts and scraped it off with his teeth while giving her an explosive orgasm that caused her sex to clench in remembrance. He wore black gi pants and a black tunic-like top. Red lettering in Japanese and red embroidery started at the knot of his black belt and stopped at the fringed ends.
His voice was so low she strained to hear it. “Get into position and show me what you learned last week.”
Fuck me. That bossy tone of his did it for her in a bad way. As soon as she assumed the position, he shook his head.
“Defensive stance. I can knock you over with little effort.” Master Black put two fingers in the center of her chest and pushed.
Amery tumbled back a step. The movement hadn’t hurt anything but her pride. “Why’d you do that?”
“To show you that type of balance has no place here. Again.”
She resituated herself. This time he pushed his shoulder into hers and knocked her back a step.
“You are still fighting the form.”
“I’ve been practicing yoga for eight years. The concept of balance is pretty ingrained.”
“Watch me.” Master Black moved into a squat position. “Push me.”
She did and he immediately lost his balance.
“Watch how a small adjustment changes this into a defensive stance.” He dropped into a semi-squat but turned his right foot in, keeping his shoulders in line. “Now try and push me over.”
Amery placed her hand on his chest and shoved him. He didn’t budge. “Oh. Now I get it.”
“Face forward.”
As soon as she was in position, Master Black slipped in behind her. When his hands curled around her hips, she jumped.
“Relax. Concentrate.”
His heat and strength overwhelmed her. Amery wanted to turn her head and rest her face in the curve of his neck. Feel his pulse against her lips to see if he was as deeply affected by the touch of their bodies as she was.
“Stop.”
I can’t.
Master Black retreated.
Okay. So he wasn’t bothered by being in such close proximity to her.
His voice, so even toned and precise, melted into her ear. “Here you are the student. I am the teacher. That is all we are. Understand?”
She needed to pull herself together. “Yes, Sensei.”
“Return to position.”
The position she wanted to be in? Naked, on her hands and knees on the mat. Ronin would have one hand fisted in her hair, holding her head upright as he f**ked her from behind. His lean hips powering into her. His fingers digging into her skin, holding her in place for his sexual blitz on all her senses.
Amery could feel the give of the mat beneath her knees. She could hear the slap of his groin against the flesh of her ass as he thrust into her. Would Ronin come in silence? Would he roar?
Rough-skinned hands latched on to her chin, forcing her head up to meet his gaze. The dark pools of his eyes held no amusement. “Were my expectations unclear?”
“No, Master Black.”
“Resume the position.”
She moved her feet and threw her shoulders back. He pushed her, but she didn’t wobble as easily.
“Better. Now find the stance again.”
Amery shook it off and found the place between balance and aggression. He couldn’t knock her over, but he came up behind her and put her in a headlock. Her hands went up to claw at his arm.
“Remember the training,” he suggested as he calmly tried to choke the life out of her.
Fuck, f**k, f**k bounced in her brain. Think, Amery. She kicked out behind her and connected with his knee. That caused him to loosen the hold.
But he didn’t let go, which meant she still didn’t have it right.
She reached behind her and cupped his groin. His c**k was completely hard. In class.
“Let go,” he said in that deadly quiet, yet demanding tone.
Feeling bold, she managed to rasp out, “Maybe you should show me how you get out of this hold.”
In hindsight, she probably deserved to get thrown on her ass.
One second she’d had a loose hold on his groin; the next he’d twisted her arm behind her back, knocked her to her knees, and placed his elbow on the base of her neck while pushing her face into the mat.
Ninja skills: 1.