Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2)(49)

She opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again. Actually, though it had been born of sexual brain fog, it wasn’t a bad idea. “Yes. Ahem.”

“Do you want to do it right now?”

She stared at him. Why would he say that? Yes, she wanted to do it right now.

“Katrina?”

“Yes.” She gave that yes a little too enthusiastically. “Sure.” She glanced down at her clothes. “Are my leggings okay or do I need to change?”

He cleared his throat. “Leggings are good.”





Chapter Sixteen


KATRINA TOOK A moment to compose herself while Jas chugged another bottle of water. Be cool. Don’t freak out if he brushes up against you or something. You’re here to spar, that’s all.

Spar sounded sexual. How about parry? No. Never mind.

She bounced on her toes and made a right jab. “Okay, now I punch you, right?”

He cracked a smile that made her tummy flutter. “Not quite.” He motioned for her to come closer. The basement was no state-of-the-art gym. The equipment in it was at least a decade old, maybe older. But there was a fairly thick mat on the floor. “Do you know martial arts or something?” she asked.

“No. I know surviving.”

Ahh, that was a sexy answer. “Always good.” She stood a foot away from him. “So where do I hit you?”

“You don’t. First you breathe.”

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “What?”

“Close your eyes.”

Confused, she followed his orders and shut her eyes. His footsteps were loud as he walked around her.

“This is stuff you’re already aware of. When you’re scared or get startled, it’s instinctive to freeze up, hold your breath.” His voice came from right behind her. Every single hair on her neck sat up and paid attention. “Totally normal human response. But you can’t fight someone off if you can’t get oxygen to your brain. I see you meditating, doing breathing exercises. You know how to deal with your panic when it’s coming from inside you.”

She did. Before she’d started going out to different places for exposure therapy, Andy had coached her on running up the stairs or turning in circles. Getting used to the physical sensations she felt during an attack in safe spaces, so she could start to associate them with safety.

“Apply what you already know to that. When someone startles you, you can get scared, but you have to breathe so you can think. If you can think, you can react.” He released his breath in a big rush, and she echoed him.

“Good,” he murmured, now from in front of her. He inhaled, then exhaled, loud, and she followed suit.

She matched his breathing, eyes still shut. She imagined curling up in his lap while they did exactly this.

Breathing exercises were her kink now? Okay.

She didn’t know how long they stood there, but Jas was the one who finally spoke. “That’s good.”

She staggered back a step when she opened her eyes, the mild vertigo from keeping them closed hitting her. His hand hovered over her arm, but she caught her balance and he didn’t touch her.

Touch me.

“So no hitting you?” she joked.

He shook his head. “Fighting basics: run before fighting, but if you have to fight, fighting and landing an injury, any injury, is better than no injury.”

“Where’d you learn this? The Army?”

“Yeah, but before that, getting into fights as a kid.”

She glanced upward. “You got into fights here?” Granted, she hadn’t seen the rest of the town, but this little corner seemed so peaceful.

“My grandpa’s fairly well-known in the community, my mom was an unmarried teen when she had me, my dad was some outsider, and it’s a small town where all the locals know each other. Yeah, I got into some fights,” he said dryly. She wanted to hear more about all that, but he changed the subject. “Let’s talk about sensitive areas on a person.”

“I’ve watched enough TV. I know the weak spots.”

“Some of those weak spots are overrated. The groin kick? I’ve seen a man get up and still keep going after a hit like that.”

She would not be titillated. He was talking dispassionately about groins, almost scientifically. Besides, groin wasn’t even a sexy word.

Groin.

Groin.

Groin.

See?

“If you can hit the groin, of course go for it.”

Okay, so maybe he was saying it differently than she was, it sounded sexy coming from him. Katrina shook her head. “Got it. Groin if possible.”

“Show me how you make a fist.”

She fisted her hand and he reached out and adjusted her thumb. “Like this. So you don’t break a finger. Now hit me as hard as you can.” He pointed to his stomach.

“Finally,” she joked. Then she hesitated.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t actually want to hit you,” she confessed.

Jas’s lips twitched. “I promise, you won’t hurt me.”

“Ugh.”

“Try it.”

It was a halfhearted punch at best, like rapping her knuckles against a brick wall.

“Punching can hurt someone, but not if they’re braced for it.” He tapped her fist until she opened it, and arranged her fingers into a claw. “You know what really hurts? These puppies.” He touched her nails. “Scratch, claw. Go for the eyes for maximum impact.” He took a step closer. “Think of the other sharp parts of your body. You want to use them on the vulnerable parts of the attacker’s body.”