Page 33 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire
He had to remember that.
Part III
Chapter One
One week later
You must never ever look at him.The thought firmly plastered on her mind, Kassia lifted her chin, entered the dojo, and of course the first thing she saw washim.
Professor Alessandro Moretti.
She desperately willed herself to look away, but she couldn’t. He captivated her without even trying. Unlike most martial arts instructors, the professor didn’t don the usualkarategifor class. Instead, he wore a kimono, its white fabric making a stark contrast to his deep olive skin. Secured with a black obi, the kimono showed off the hard panes of his chest, now slick with sweat. It was terribly sexy – unfairly so, for someone in his position. The sight left her dry-mouthed even as her heart ached a little. She could remember the times she had her hand pressed on that very chest. And yet she couldn’t forget that another woman had surely touched him the same way, too.
In front of her, the professor moved in fluid motion, the loose soft cotton of his kimono flowing around his legs as he moved around the fighting circle, bending, twisting, and kicking while he took on three opponents at the same time. Kassia recognized them by face. They were some of the best students of the professor’s advanced class. Or at least they were supposed to be. The professor’s deadly, graceful dance reduced them into nothing better than stumbling novices. He knocked them down, one after another, without breaking a sweat or the smallest show of arrogance.
The bell rang, signifying the end of the class while the students groaned on the floor, unwilling to continue fighting. Applause broke out, feverish excitement rising from the professor’s crowd of female fans. When the professor helped his students up, the girls around Kassia gushed at his show of sportsmanship.
The professor and the students bowed to each other.
When the professor straightened, his heavily lidded gaze suddenly found hers.
Excruciating pain tore through her at feeling the professor’s eyes on her, and Kassia turned away in panic. The ache in her heart became heavier, like a knife twisting deeper inside her.
She could not get the professor’s face out of her head.
How can he look at me like that after what he’s done,she wondered dully. The professor was playing with her. He had to be. He had been doing so from the start. So why, oh Lord, why was she still affected?
THE STUDENTS BOWEDin unison, stepped back from their sparring partners, and assumed their positions. Each pairing was given a tiny amount of space to fight in, and the mechanics of winning were simple: one only had to do anything he could to evict his opponent from his fighting space. In the years that Alessandro had been teaching ookami-kata, the rule had proven effective in encouraging his students to be creative and utilize as much as they could remember from his lessons.
Or at least he used to think it was effective.
Now, not so much.
Not when it was obvious Jacob was using the rules to his advantage, provoking Kassia into making unwise choices that allowed him to playfully cop a feel.
His temper strained against its leash as Jacob continuously employed a defensive stance, locking her body to his in a clinch every time she tried to take a swipe at him. Essentially, it was to counter her offensive, but anyone with fucking brains could see Jacob was only doing it to feel her breasts against his body.
His jaw hardened when it happened for the fifth time. Why didn’t Kassia complain? Why didn’t she look at him to put a stop to it? Jealousy consumed him, a dark fire that threatened to eviscerate his control.
The urge to change form burned inside him. He wanted to turn Lyccan so he could slash the boy down and let him know just whose woman he was trespassing on.
The fight – the seduction – continued. Kassia had again rushed in to attack, and Jacob waited until the last minute before bluffing her with an attack of his own. She retreated, lost her footing, and would have fallen out of the circle if Jacob hadn’t pulled her back.
Kassia flashed Jacob a smile of relief.
Alessandro wanted to snarl. Didn’t she damn realize Jacob wanted her to keep fighting so he could keep touching her? Inside the circle, Jacob had every right to touch her, and no one would blink an eye.
His heightened senses latched itself to Kassia, now attuned to every beat of her heart, every breath Kassia drew. He listened for any sign that she welcomed the boy’s advances.
And if there was,his conscience demanded.What would he do?
The answer didn’t bear thinking.
For the boy’s sake, Kassia better not show any fucking amount of interest in him.
Another minute passed. Jacob was letting Kassia take a few swipes at him, and Alessandro knew it was the boy’s intention to lull her into a sense of complacency. She was frowning with concentration, her gaze scanning Jacob’s figure for the best part of his body to attack. She completely missed the look of hunger in Jacob’s eyes.
But Alessandro didn’t.
