Page 12 of Married to the Mafia Monster

“Look a lot better if I was ripping them off your body.”

Karen claps her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Watch closely.”

She demonstrates a simple lunge attack on the nearest person to her. “See how my body shifts, my back foot meaning I’m off balance? Now, you try.”

I glance at Alex, who smirks slightly. “Ladies first.”

I take a deep breath and lunge at him, but he moves effortlessly, grabbing hold of me and twisting me so I’m trapped in his grip, my back against his chest.

I feel the length of his cock pressing into my ass for the briefest of moments before he lets me go. “You’ll need to move faster than that,” he says.

My cheeks flush with a mix of embarrassment and excitement. Karen watches us, her eyes narrowing. “Have you done this before?” she asks him.

“I picked up a couple of moves here and there,” he replies nonchalantly.

“Let’s see,” Karen says, stepping forward. “How about I demonstrate an attack on you and you see if you can defend against it?”

There’s a murmur of curiosity from the rest of the class as Karen squares off against Alex. I feel a knot of tension in my stomach as they face each other.

Karen lunges at him, but Alex moves with lightning speed, easily overpowering her and pinning her to the mat. The class gasps in surprise, and Karen’s face reddens as she scrambles to her feet.

“You’re good,” she says, trying to regain her composure.

Alex shrugs. “I got lucky, that’s all.”

“Do that again with her.” She points at me. “You, attack him.”

I turn to face Alex. “Give it all you’ve got,” he says.

I lunge at him with my fists clenched. He grabs me straight away, pulling me close enough to kiss me. “Good try,” he says, “But I could see that coming a mile away. Got to confuse me if you want to put me down, do something I’m not expecting.”

I think of what Lily told me and my knee automatically slams between his legs. He notices at the last second, twisting slightly so I only land a glancing blow.

It’s still enough for the wind to go out of his sails though. “That’s more like it,” he says, his voice a little strained. “Fighting dirty, clever girl.”

“Why are you here?” I ask, trying to steady my voice. “You clearly know more than the instructor.”

He meets my gaze, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. “I’m spying on you. That’s what you said last night, right?”

I roll my eyes, a small laugh escaping despite myself. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” he replies cryptically. “Maybe not.”

Karen shows us a set of moves, and each time Alex touches me to correct my technique, I feel a thrill of excitement. His hands are firm yet gentle, guiding me with precision.

As we move on to practicing with rubber knives, Alex shows me how to disarm him. “You’ve got to be quick,” he says, demonstrating the move. “Like this.”

I follow his lead. After a dozen attempts, I manage to disarm him successfully. “Good girl,” he says and I respond by wanting to melt into a puddle on the floor. How can two words have such an impact on me?

“Thanks,” I say. “I could have killed you but I felt sorry for you.”

“I appreciate the gesture. I haven’t got a Will written yet.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure all your stuff gets left to me.”

“So noble. Let’s do it again.”

The changing room is a hive of activity, filled with women chatting and laughing as they swap their workout clothes for more comfortable attire.

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