Liar (Madison Kate #2)(47)

I shivered with desire, letting the hungry grin curve my lips as I peered up into Kody's eyes. "Clear," I replied, my voice a husky groan of anticipation.

He held my gaze a long moment, then shook his head with an unsteady sort of laugh. "This was probably a terrible idea," he muttered to himself, putting a few feet of space between us. "How the fuck I'll make it through this without a raging hard-on, I have no idea."

Short answer? He didn't. But he also didn't let it distract him from his mission to teach me some basic self-defensive skills. Ways to break free from a larger man's grip and what to do if I was attacked from behind—again. Over and over, he simulated the same way I'd been grabbed in the diner, using that as a real life example of what might happen to teach me how to free myself.

It took more than a few tries before I stopped panicking on instinct as he grabbed me like that, but it was easy to relax when I reminded myself that it was Kody grabbing me. Kody... who I was more than comfortable being pinned down by.

"Come on, MK," he groaned after I found myself pinned to the mat for the hundredth time. I was face down with him pasted to my back, his hard length crushed against my ass. "You're fucking killing me. Learn this damn move so we can call it quits for the night."

"We could just call it quits now," I suggested, wriggling under him in a way that was far from subtle. Whatever, tact wasn't my strong suit.

He made a growling, frustrated sound, then pushed up off me. "And risk some creeper ending up in the position I was just in? Not a chance in hell, baby. Come on, you've almost got this. You just need to want to do some damage, or your attacker will always have the upper hand."

I grumbled but got back to my feet. "You should probably just piss me off or something. Say something douchey like Archer, and I'll happily knee you in the balls and run like hell."

Kody cringed and adjusted his hard cock in his sweatpants. "No thanks," he replied with a nervous laugh, "I still remember the noise Arch made when you nailed his nuts. No one is going to volunteer for that."

I chuckled at the memory. "Good times."

He just shook his head and swiped a hand over his hair. "You're vicious. No wonder Steele calls you Hellcat. Never heard a more appropriate pet name in my life."

I scoffed, grinning. "Nonsense, you hear me call Archer 'asshole' all the freaking time."

He groaned, hiding his laugh behind his hands as he scrubbed at his face. "Okay, let's do this again. Those tiny panties are legitimately driving me insane, and if I don't rip them off you soon, I might actually die."

"Dramatic much?" I teased, cocking my hip in order to draw attention to the panties in question. "You're the one who wanted to do this in the middle of the night while we're both half-naked."

Kody leveled a flat glare at me. "No one ever accused me of being smart, babe."

I rolled my eyes, folding my arms under my breasts. "You don't fool me, Kodiak Jones. Nothing seems to slip past you." I paused and pondered that. "Except last week when Steele made you think he was fucking around with another girl."

"That was just mean," he grumbled. "I was blinded by outrage on your behalf, babe. He'd been moping around like he was head over heels in love with you, and then all of a sudden he's banging some random chick? I was ready to break his fucking nose."

Nothing gave me more warm tingles than hearing a guy threaten violence to defend his girl’s honor. Yeah, I was totally aware how fucked up that made me. I also didn't give two shits, so there was that.

Crossing the padded blue mats, I reached up and looped my arms around Kody's neck. "You'd hit your friend for ruining his chances with me? That's all kinds of sweet, Kodiak Jones, but shouldn't you be encouraging him to fuck it up?"

His hands gripped my waist, his palms warm on my bare skin where my T-shirt had risen up. "I'd happily make him bleed if he ever hurt you, gorgeous. And I don't need him to fuck it up just so you'll pay attention to me. Humans have infinite, untapped possibilities, and I fully believe we're capable of equally strong emotions for more than one person." He dipped his head, bringing his lips to mine for a teasing kiss. "I'm also not so insecure I need him out of the picture. I know full well you want me just as badly as I want you."

He pulled me closer, bringing our bodies flush together and showing me just how much he still wanted me, even after an hour of failing his self-defense tutorial. He must be in pain by this stage, and I was about three steps away from begging to take care of it.

"That's a very mature mindset," I murmured. "So, you're okay with—"

"What the fuck are you two doing?" Archer's grouchy voice cut me off, and my shoulders bunched with tension automatically. His heavy footsteps padded across the floor, and I didn't bother turning around to face him. Why bother, when I could see him in the full-length mirrors behind Kody?

"Arch," Kody greeted his friend on a sigh. "You're up early."

The surly shithead just grunted a noise and made his way over to the section of the gym set up with cardio equipment. "Couldn't sleep," he muttered, then scowled at my back. I was perfectly aware that my ass was on full display, but seriously, he could kiss it.

"Seems like that's a common problem around here," Kody commented, releasing my waist and taking a small step away. "I was just trying to teach MK some basic self-defense moves to help if she gets grabbed again."