Page 45 of Sinful Restraint

chapter sixteen

A few days later,I decided to take Ri to the gun range in Wynwood to teach her the basics of shooting a weapon and increase her self-defense skills. I hadn’t missed how mousey she was during the attack at the gym and that shit just ain’t sit right in my heart.

Breathing in the smell of oil and gunpowder, I smiled at the look of awe on Santari’s face as she soaked in her surroundings.

“Who owns this place?” she asked after I led her to the station that was already set up for us.

“I do,” I told her. “Although Titan is here just as much as I am since he’s always in the mood to shoot some shit. Rev usedto be here a lot too. And Storm is the reason for the dark walnut paneling lined with soundproof walls. He stayed on my ass about making sure it had the right aesthetic, but I kept tellin’ that decorating muthafucka that this was a place to train, not lounge around.”

Santari laughed in a way that made me laugh right along with her. Although I’d never tell him that shit, Storm was right. The place looked dope as hell. The brushed brass fixtures and leather-upholstered viewing benches elevated the look and each shooting lane was separated by smoked glass partitions.

“Surprisingly enough,” I added, “Titan is the reason I keep a stocked fridge and a full bar in the rest area. He said if Storm was already makin’ my ass turn it into one of my damn clubs, the least I could do was go all in. So I call this place Trigger Fetish now. It didn’t even have a name before.”

“That name is soyou,” she muttered, giving me a warm smile. “Hopefully I won’t accidentally shoot anything other than that target sheet back there.”

I chuckled. “You won’t.”

After making sure she was wearing the right gear, we got to work. I gave her a quick safety lesson and prepared her to take her first shot. Within seconds of her releasing the first bullet, I felt her tense up as she stood in front of me with her back straight and her fingers clenched around the pistol as if it might bite her.

“Relax your grip,” I murmured, stepping up behind her. “If you keep holding it like that, it’ll kick back harder than it has to.” I slid one hand down her arm slowly while guiding her wrist. “Let the weight of the Glock workforyou, not against you.”

She glanced over her shoulder at me. “You like this, don’t you?”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Me having a gun in my hand.”

My lips curved upward. “Fuck yeah, I love you like this.”

She flashed me a flirty smile as I moved closer to her, her hair brushing my jaw, while her delicious scent wrapped around me in a way that felt much too sweet for the kind of place we were at.

“Feet shoulder-width apart,” I directed, feeling like we were back at my gym right before chaos ensued. “Bend your knees a little.”

When she did so, her ass rubbed against the front of my jeans.

“Yeah. Just like that.” My voice dipped into a rough whisper. “Now breathe and shoot again.”

She did as I instructed, releasing a slow exhale after she did so like the act of shooting a gun still made her uncomfortable. I brought my hand over hers again and guided the muzzle from the shoulder area of the target sheet to one of the kill shots since she was missing all the marks.

“Don’t aim to scare. Aim to kill.” I leaned in, my mouth brushing the shell of her ear and causing her to shiver. “When you point a gun at someone, it means they don't get to walk away alive. You can’t offer any leverage.”

She swallowed hard and I saw the way her fingers tightened on the grip. “I thought we were just practicing for fun, but you talk as if I’ll actually have to shoot a gun one day.”

If you stick with us, there’s a possibility.“You always need to be prepared,” I said instead. “Now squeeze with purpose and try not to jerk back.”

She didn’t listen and when the shot crackled through the air, she slightly flinched, and her body leaned back into mine instinctively. I wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her steady, noticing that despite the jerk, she was closer to a kill shot when I reviewed the target sheet.

“Not bad,” I said against her ear, the words softer than they should’ve been. “Now do it again.”

She slightly tilted her head and licked those plush lips that I was addicted to. Unable to help myself, I lowered my head to taste her. Our kiss was soft at first, but quickly turned messy as she moaned into my mouth.

“Do you always kiss your trainees after they make a good shot?” she asked after I allowed her to breathe.

I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows. “Only you.”

Her grin filled her entire face and when she fired again, the shot was clean and sharp, hitting just left of the bullseye. Her fingers trembled, but her body buzzed from adrenaline as she took another shot, hitting even closer.

“You're a natural,” I whispered, kissing the side of her neck as she took another shot at a kill zone this time. Even though I could tell she didn’t fully want to be shooting a gun right now, she looked too damn beautiful for her own good holding a Glock.

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