Savage Awakening (Alpha Pack #2)(41)

"The doc cleared you to be out running around?"

"Do you see a posse chasing me this time?" he pointed out.

"No." She grinned. "How about going a round on the mats, then? I still want my sparring match and none of those guys would cooperate." She flicked a hand at the others and made a disgusted face.

Damn, she was sexy. The thought of any of his friends laying a hand on her, even for an innocent wrestling match, had him smothering a growl. "Probably didn't want to hurt a woman."

"I'm not some helpless female," she said with a hint of challenge.

"We're not regular guys, though. But in the spirit of fun, I'll take you on."

"Human to human?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want things to be more uneven than they already are."

She shot him an evil little smile, and the glint in her brown eyes gave him pause. "Let's do it."

He offered her a hand up and she took it, getting to her feet with a bounce. Together, they walked over to the mats and Aric yelled at the two combatants. "Give it a rest, knuckleheads. The cop wants to kick my ass." He said the last with a touch of sarcasm, as if to imply she'd need a lot of luck.

All four of his buddies hooted with laughter, Jax and Zan pushing to their feet and getting out of the way, wiping sweat from their faces. A round of encouragement ensued as the jerks gathered, for Rowan to smear him all over the floor.

"Yeah, yeah. Root for the girl, see if I care." Kicking off his shoes, he walked to the center of the mat and bounced on his toes, motioning Rowan forward. "Come on, sweetcakes, let's see what you've got."

"You can't have what I've got, Red."

"Ooh, can't I?" He was thinking of their mutual dream, and saw that she got his meaning.

Though his friends didn't know the full story behind their exchange, it caused them to hoot even more, but Aric ignored them. He focused on Rowan as they circled each other, each sizing up the opponent. He had no doubt the woman was tough, given her occupation, but he was confident of his ability to best her. Even if he held back, which he refused to do out of principle, he was a former SEAL. A highly trained operative. She just didn't have his skill.

He waited for Rowan to make the first move, his strategy for learning hers while holding his close to the vest to start. As he expected, she took a few jabs with her fist, feinting left and right, feeling him out. Grinning, he thought she looked too frickin' gorgeous, eyes narrowed, all serious about their match, completely oblivious to the whistles and catcalls from the cheap seats.

Jesus, look at that rack jiggle in that tiny sports bra.

Which was why he was totally unprepared when his opponent shifted her stance, and in a move worthy of the Karate Kid, delivered a high kick to his jaw that f**king knocked him into the middle of next week. The blow reverberated through his skull and he felt himself falling backward, then hitting the mat with an undignified grunt. The loud consensus from his so-called friends was "Holy shit!" and he agreed.

"Not fair," he mumbled.

Her faces appeared over him. All three of them. "Which part? My foot in your face, or the loss of your pride?"

"Both." Blinking, he tried to get all the tripled figures to merge again while the idiots around him almost choked on their laughter. "Shut up, needledicks." The order didn't help.

"Beaten by a woman," Zan observed with a snort.

"By a cop. Got his butt served up, too!"

"That's 'cause he was too busy ogling the package to see the dy***ite!"

The four bumped knuckles and Aric sat up, glaring at the group. "Who wants to take her on next? Nobody? That's what I thought. Losers."

"Are you all right?" Rowan asked.

"I'm great." To prove it, he stood. His brain swam, but damned if anyone would guess.

"Why don't we go again, and this time keep your attention where it should be." she suggested, flicking her ponytail over one shoulder.

Fuck if she didn't make him half-hard! Thankfully, the loose sweats hid his problem. "Whenever you're ready, officer."

Determined to save face, he concentrated on her stance, how her muscles bunched. Anticipated her move before she stepped into his body and pushed, trying to unbalance him and get a foot hooked behind his ankle. Instead, he grabbed her hands and using her momentum as leverage, pressed the outside of his left knee to the inside of her right leg and twisted his upper body to the left. She was thrown off balance and easily overpowered in this type of hand-to-hand contest. He put her on the mat, but hung on to one hand to lessen the impact when she hit. No matter their deal not to pull their punches, he wasn't capable of unleashing his full strength on his mate.

Oh, God.

"Way to go, dude," Ryon said, and the others echoed the sentiment. "Go for the best of three."

Suddenly all he wanted was to be alone with her, away from all these curious eyes. "Nah," he said, giving her a hand up. He focused on Rowan, who dusted off her seat. "How about we go for a run?"

She brightened. "Sounds good. Then I won't have to let you win again."

The guys laughed and Aric rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Come on, let's ditch the idiots."

He let their comments and speculation roll off as they put their shoes back on. They were whispering, but he heard. Already, they wondered what was up. None of their biz. Aric led her from the gym. In the corridor, he absently rubbed his jaw.