Page 10 of The Stolen Dagger
I had promised Tim, the owner, when he left about half an hour ago, I would lock up when I was done. He was a retired cop and owned the boxing gym with his brother, Ron.
I completed two more series of punches before movement caught my eye in the mirror directly ahead. I placed my wrapped hands on the swinging bag to steady it and turned to the woman who had occupied my thoughts for the last two weeks.
Kat wore similar clothes from the last class: a pair of leggings and a baggy Led Zeppelin T-shirt.
Her short brown hair was twisted up into twin French braids that trailed the back of her head, making the ends flare out to the tops of her shoulders. She clenched andunclenched her fist over the strap of her backpack as her brown eyes zeroed in on my torso.
I knew I was a fairly attractive guy, but as Kat blatantly stared at my bare chest, my ego soared. I tensed my abdominal muscles at her attentiveness, making them more pronounced as they were already shiny with sweat.
“I’m surprised to see you here.” I gave her my most charming smile.
Her eyes were wide when they suddenly met mine, and her mouth opened slightly, as if in shock at being caught ogling me.
Which I didn’t mind one bit, especially because her cheeks turned the prettiest color of pink.
“Your name’s Kat, right?” I asked. “My sister, Leah, told me about you. Is Kat short for something?”
“Katherine.” She nodded and cleared her throat. “Um, where is everyone? I thought there was a class tonight.”
I started undoing the wraps around my wrists and hands as I approached her. “We had to switch up our days this week because of the other instructors’ schedules. There’s a class tomorrow, though.”
“Oh.” Disappointment dripped through her small voice, and her brows creased.
Self-defense was therapeutic for some people. It could be a release for those who struggled with taking control of what happened to them, almost like a safety blanket.
From the look of defeat on Katherine’s face at my words, I suspected the same notion was also true for her.
The urge to soothe her was immediate and overwhelming. My mouth opened before my brain fully caught up.
“But you can stay,” I suggested as she turned to leave. “I’m willing to offer a one-on-one session since you missed the last two classes. If you’re interested.”
Katherine opened her mouth to respond but quicklyclosed it and bit down on her bottom lip. She thought about my offer for a few seconds before she released her lip from between her teeth and gave a small nod.
“Okay.” She sounded apprehensive. “As long as you don’t have anywhere else to be.”
I couldn’t stop my smile from taking over.
“I’m all yours, Katherine.”
KATHERINE
The wayhe said my name made butterflies erupt in my stomach.
That, combined with how close he was while shirtless and smelling all manly, I could barely think straight.
If I thought being in a class with him was distracting, then being alone with him was even more so as he instructed me through the first defense move.
What is wrong with me? He’s just a man. They’re not that special.
After finding out he was a cop, I knew I should have stayed away. It was too risky with my past, but I couldn’t deny the level of safety I felt just by being near him. Maybe it was, in part, being in a new town far away from Adrian’s reach, but a small part of me knew it was Drew, too.
So, after two weeks of contemplating it, I decided there was no harm in attending his self-defense class.
But then I walked in on him working out and completely froze. I could barely breathe. It was like someone had sucked all the air out of the room as I watched the muscles of his bare back shift and bulge with each swing of his arm.
A part of me knew I should have left right then, but it waslike my body had a mind of its own and forced me to stay and watch him.
Not like that was a bad thing because, holy hell, the man was in shape.
