She stood in her sports bra and shorts. I hated it when she wore this. It was so d.a.m.n distracting. Her t.i.ts were outlined and her a.s.s was round and tight. My thoughts strayed a few times, losing focus on the task.
"Let"s do some weight training." I grabbed a few dumbbells and set them down.
She stared at them for an instant then looked back at me. "I don"t want to do any weight training. I"m already thin and toned."
"And you need to lift weights if you want to stay that way."
"I want to learn how to fight, Liam." The determination was in her eyes.
I showed her as much as I could without making it too intense. There was nothing left for me to teach her unless we sparred. That was the only way to learn how to fight, practice and repet.i.tion. "There"s nothing more I can teach you."
She didn"t back down. "Let"s spar."
"No." The words came out of my mouth quicker than my brain decided to form them.
"Liam, I"m not scared of you. I know you would never hurt me. I can do this."
Was she just saying this to prove herself to me? Did she mean it? "I can"t risk it..."
She took a deep breath then released the air from her lungs. "I"m ready. I"m okay with getting a few bruises. I"m okay with getting a little banged up. I want to train and be stronger. Do you have any idea how liberating it was to be hit on at a bar and not be scared?" I stared at her face while I listened to her. "Do you know how nice it felt to walk to my car and not feel afraid? A year ago, Scotty had to take me everywhere because I couldn"t even walk outside my front door without him next to me. I"m never going back to that. I want to be even stronger, to be fearless. Finn took so much away from me, but now I"m getting that all back." I hated hearing his name. I hated it. "I refuse to be afraid. You told me I needed to be the stronger one in this relationship, at least for now. Help me get there."
I was a little more convinced but not completely persuaded. "I"ll never hurt you, even if we spar. But this still makes me uncomfortable. I"m three times your size and almost two feet taller than you. You"re practically going up against a bear. You will be afraid, Keira."
"Not with you." She held my gaze, the emotion and strength shining through. "I couldn"t do this and feel safe with anyone else but you."
My eyes softened at her words.
"He"s almost gone from my nightmares and my thoughts. You"ve chased most of him away, but I need to do the rest. Giving me the ability to defend myself will help me finish. Empowering me is the greatest resilience you could ever give me."
How could I say no to those words? "I"m afraid I"ll lose you... If you walk away again, that"s it. And I"d rather avoid that at all costs."
"I"m not going to walk away." She stepped closer to me. "I would never risk losing you. But I know I can do this. Please." She grabbed my hand and placed it over her heart. "Please."
I hoped I wouldn"t regret this. "Okay."
A slight smile stretched her lips and her eyes coated. Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed me gently on the lips. "Thank you."
"Just trust me," I whispered.
"I do. I really do."
We stood in the center of the mat. She faced me, wearing her gloves, and I stood across from her, shirtless. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might give out. I"d never been nervous for a fight, but Keira made me anxious. I couldn"t stand the sight of her sprinting up the stairs, tears splashing down her face. I couldn"t handle it.
Keira pulled her fists to her chest and tucked her chin. Her feet were planted apart and her shoulders were back.
She already looked like a pro.
I took my fighting stance and studied her face. There was no fear in her eyes. She watched my every move, waiting for me to strike. "If your opponent is bigger than you, let them strike first."
She waited for me to attack.
I stepped toward her then aimed a punch at her face. I timed my blows so I would never hit her, just giving her the illusion that I would.
Keira failed to block it. I moved too fast for her to follow. My punch would have hit her square in the chin.
"You missed. Now I"m directly on you. You need to evade before I can hit you again. If I do, you"ll be down." I pulled my hands to my face, ready to strike again. "Don"t waste your energy attacking me."
She was naturally quick and agile, so she dodged out of my way and maneuvered back to the other side of the mat. She bounced on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet, watching me.
I moved in again, aiming a blow to her stomach.
This time she blocked it. Her knee moved up, taking the punch that had no momentum.
"Good, "I said. "You"re learning." Before I stepped back, she hit me square in the jaw with more force than I expected. I jerked back slightly.
She didn"t slow down. She moved across the mat, looking for another opening.
I dropped my hands, surprised by the jab she just made. A smile stretched my lips. "That"s my girl." For the first time, I thought we could actually do this. I rushed her and grabbed her arm, pinning it behind her back. She thrust her head back to hit me in the face but I kept my head out of her reach. I held her tightly, not letting her go. "Don"t give up."
She tried to kick my knee but I held her too far away.
"I"m not letting you go until you figure this out." I tightened my hold on her.
She thrashed in my arms and tried to twist her arms but nothing she did worked. Then she did something I never expected. Using my body as an anchor, she flipped upside down until I was forced to release her or break my wrist.
Keira got to her feet then danced out of the way, sweat dripping down her forehead and her stomach.
Was this the same girl I met a year ago? When I just raised my hand to give her a high-five on the basketball court, she flinched and sprinted away, running to her cousin for help. She ran away from me dozens of times even though I proved time and time again that I would never hurt her. But now she was different. She was strong, fearless.
"You"re amazing." It was the best choice of words I could fine.
She gave me a playful look. "You won"t be saying that when I kick your a.s.s, Liam Hayes, the former best fighter in California."
"Former?" I asked with a smile.
"Yep. Because I"m the new champion." She rushed me then got a punch to my stomach. When I blocked it, she faked to my left then landed a punch on the right side of my face. I felt blood form from my mouth, but I didn"t feel the pain. All I felt was joy.
I wiped the blood away then tackled her to the ground. I pinned her hands above her head and kept her frame down with my weight. "I"d like to see you get out of this."
She smiled up at me. "Maybe I don"t want to get up from this..."
That made my spine shiver. "Really?"
She leaned her head up and pressed her lips to mine despite the blood in my mouth. My body reacted to hers immediately. My hands released hers and I grabbed her hips, ma.s.saging her while I deepened the kiss.
Suddenly, she rolled me over and pinned me down. "Tricked ya."
I smiled. "Sneaky."
"Now you"re all mine."
"What are you going to do to me?"
She gripped my hands and pinned them against the mat. Then she leaned over me, her hair falling over one shoulder. "This." She pressed her mouth to mine and our heated kisses continued. The training session was abandoned.
But neither one of us cared.
"Did you get my email?" Theresa asked from across the table.
"Yeah. I made the corrections to the paper." I tossed it to her.
She flipped through the pages, looking at the red ink. "Cool."
We were almost finished with our business ethics project. I was looking forward to the end of the semester, especially since I wouldn"t be coming back. I didn"t like school and fighting was far more interesting. My career wouldn"t last as long, but if I saved my money and invested it, I"d be fine.
She sipped her coffee then returned it to the table. "How"s it going with that girl?"
"What girl?"
"The one you"re hung up on."
I smirked. "She and I are back together...for the most part."
A smile lit up her face. "That"s great. I"m happy for you."
She seemed sincere. "Thanks."
"She"s cute."
"Do you know her?"
"No, but I"ve seen her around. But what do you mean by "the most part"?"
I shrugged. "We just have some problems we"re working through...but I think we"ll be fine."
"Is she okay with me being over here?"
"It seems so."
"Well, that"s good." She made some notes on her computer then stared at the screen.
Theresa was a pretty girl with noticeable curves. She was the type that didn"t stay single long. "Are you seeing anyone?"
She sighed. "No, not right now."
"Oh."
"I just want to be single for a while. I"ve had a bad history with c.r.a.ppy boyfriends."
"On behalf of my s.e.x, I apologize."
She shook her head. "No. You"re nothing but a gentleman and nothing like them. Don"t apologize."
I hadn"t been very nice to her, and sometimes I was purposely rude. "Thanks."
"So, are you going to fight full time? You"re really good."
I nodded. "This is my last semester at school."
"Cool. I wish you luck."
"Thanks."
We worked for the next few hours and perfected our paper and presentation. I didn"t like Theresa at first but she was caring and smart, not like most girls I knew. I actually saw her as a friend. "I"m sorry I was rude to you before."
She gave me a quizzical look. "When have you ever been rude to me?"
Tons of times. She was obviously used to being treated like s.h.i.t. And that made me sad. "I just wasn"t very friendly."
"It"s okay. I never noticed anything." She packed up her things and shoved them into her bag. "I should get home. I"m starving."
"Me too." I wanted to invite Keira to dinner. We hadn"t been on an actual date in a long time. And I wanted her to sleep over. The best nights of rest I got were when my body was wrapped around hers, anchoring her to me.
I walked her to the door then opened it.
Keira was standing on the other side, a plastic bag of take-out in her hands.
Why did she always show up when Theresa was here?
Theresa glanced between us. "Well, goodnight. I"ll see you later." She walked pa.s.sed Keira and headed to her car.
I knew this didn"t make me look good. I stared at Keira, waiting for her to react.
She didn"t. Her face was stoic and unreadable.
I waited for her to ask why Theresa was here, to make a.s.sumptions.
She never asked. "I got Chinese if you"re hungry..."
"I"m starving." I grabbed her hip and pulled her to me, kissing her hard on the mouth. "But not for food."