“When you put it that way . . . yes. I’m tired of being scared of my own shadow.”
Amery squeezed her hand. “I know. Let’s focus on turning you into a badass no one wants to mess with.”
“Are you talking during class because you’ve already got all the answers?” Master Black asked behind her.
She jumped. When she spun around he took her wrists in one hand and lightly wrapped his hand around the base of her throat.
“Hey!”
“See how easy it is to get into trouble when you’re unaware?”
Damn him.
“You are here to learn.”
“I know that,” she retorted. Then when his stony face remained that way, she tacked on “Sir.”
“Prove it.” He did some fancy twisting maneuver and then he was behind her, dragging her off the mat. “Remember what to do if you’re put in a choke hold? Or were you too busy talking to listen to your instructor?”
“I can multitask.”
An arm snaked around her throat and he pinned her left arm behind her back. “Show me how to get out of this hold.”
Her heart rate zoomed. Her free hand came up to claw at his arm, but that did nothing to loosen his grip.
“Try again.”
She turned her head and opened her mouth over his meaty biceps, intending to sink her teeth into the marrow of his bones.
Master Black released her.
Score one for her. But Amery’s victory was short-lived. Then he wrapped his other arm around her neck but left both her arms free. “Again. Make me release you.”
She swung her elbow into his gut and attempted to scratch his eye out.
He let her go.
But he wasn’t done. She’d barely get him to release her and then he had her immobilized again.
The man was relentless in his drills.
During a short break, Amery noticed the rest of the class was working with partners too—just not instructors—and they were on the far side of the room, giving Amery and Master Black a wide berth. She’d give anything if she could just pick him up and throw him over her head on his ass.
She was fantasizing about the look of shock on his too-perfect face, not paying attention, and that’s when he wrapped his hands around her neck and stayed back, not in close proximity to her body. “Free yourself.”
Shoot, she didn’t remember this one. She tried to kick out at his knee, but he dodged. She tried to twist away, risking a neck injury, but he held fast.
“Come on, think,” he said evenly.
“I can’t. You’re choking me.”
“That’s the point.”
She attempted to gouge his forearms.
“Better, but not enough. Try again.”
“I don’t know! Let me go. I can’t breathe.”
Master Black released her and moved directly in front of her. “Calm down.”
“I am f**king calm.” Amery inhaled several deep breaths. His gaze never wavered from hers, which was disconcerting . . . and yet not.
Once she’d settled, he gave her a quick nod. “You try choking me.”
This would be fun because she didn’t intend to hold back. Amery stepped behind him, noticing for the first time that he’d pulled his hair into a stubby ponytail. Why in the hell did that look so sexy? And why did she have the overwhelming urge to slide the elastic band free and plunge her hands into those gorgeous black tresses?
“Problem?” he asked in that rumbling rasp.
“No, sir.” Amery tried to get her hands around his neck, but it was so muscular that she had to slide her hands up and down to find a decent position. Her hands on his warm skin released a heavenly scent.
Dammit. Why did he smell so nice? Shouldn’t he reek like sweat and suppressed anger?
“Are you finished fitting me for a necklace?”
Cocky man. “Maybe I’m fitting you for a noose.”
“Then you’d need a better grip.”
She dug her fingernails into his flesh.
“I still have my hands free.” He raked his fingers up the back of her arms and pinched the skin on the underside—not hard enough to bruise but with enough pressure she released him. “With that move you will definitely get your attacker’s attention.”
“Then what should I do? Because pinching someone that hard will piss him off.”
He studied her. “You should run.”
“And what if I’m caught again?”
“Then you’ll fight. The goal of this class is to make your reactions instinctive. To give you a tool and a solid mind-set to deal with a physical crisis situation where you don’t have time to think—you just react.”
Master Black had gotten close to her again, and spoke in the deep timbre that rolled over her like warm honey. “Since you’re short a partner, next week I’ll show you more options.”
They stared at each other, locked in an eye-fuck that was better than any sex she’d ever had.
“Sensei, if I may interrupt, you’re needed in the black belt class,” someone said behind him.
Master Black backed up and gave her a small bow. “Until next time, Ms. Hardwick.”
She returned his bow, not as smoothly. “Thank you for the instruction, Sensei.”
After class ended, some students were giving her suspicious looks. Including Molly.
“What?”
“It’s just strange, the fact that Master Black took interest in you and—”
“All but made me wear a dunce’s cap and sit in the corner when he wasn’t beating the crap out of me in front of everyone?”
“Um, that’s not how I saw it at all.”
Amery was moving her boots off her purse when she felt her phone vibrating. She picked it up but didn’t recognize the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Is this Amery Hardwick?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
“Officer Stickney, Denver Police. We received a call from your alarm company regarding a possible break-in. We arrived on-scene and discovered the front window is shattered. We’ve done a sweep of the main floor and the upstairs. Are you able to return to the property to verify if anything is missing?”
Amery’s heart hammered. Someone had broken into her building? Damn, damn, damn. Her computer with all her client files was on the desk in her office, right in plain sight.
“Ma’am?”
“Sorry. Yes, I’m on my way.” She jammed her feet into her boots.
Molly sidled up as Amery retrieved her keys. “What’s wrong?”