Page 25 of Regally Binding

“Do you miss the club scene?” she asked as her elbow caught him unexpectedly. Quickly, he dived away, and his hands turned to fists in front of his face in a boxing defence stance.

“No, it was fun, but it was dangerous too. I did things I’m not proud of, but sometimes it felt like kill or be killed.”

Before she followed up with more questions, he changed the moves.

“Pinching an attacker can fuck them up. It won’t seem like it. Kids pinch others at school all the time,” he explained. “But trust me when I say that if you pinch an attacker, you can bruise and debilitate them before you run.”

She squinted at his covered forearms. “Okay, where do I pinch you?”

“Are you enjoying hurting me?” He backed off slightly before cautiously showing her the points on the back of the knee and the bicep. “Once you’ve pinched, you rotate slightly and pull. Trust me when I say it fucking hurts.”

“You’re not going to let me do it?”

“I bruise easily. Like a peach.” His cheeky smile made her heart swell. The softer side of Bear was going to destroy her. “You’ll have to practice your pinching on Strike. His skin is like leather. I swear he sneaks off to sunbeds once a week.”

She appraised Bear’s skin with a slow smile.

“Now you need to kick me in the nuts,” he requested with his arms wide.

“I didn’t know you were into that,” she quipped.

“Less of the jokes. Let’s see if you’re as quick with your tongue as you are with your hands.”

“Now you’re setting me up to be a smart arse.” She chuckled.

He grinned like a naughty schoolboy as he shook his head. “Nuts, Liss. Let me show you what you need to do. Run at me.” She backed up and squatted slightly. “For fucks sake. You’re not preparing to sprint in the Olympics. Run at me, woman.”

She rushed towards him, but in her haste, she caught her foot on the side table and face-planted into the sofa.

His giggles turned into belly laughs, and she moaned with a mouth muffled by the cushions, “I should have known your nuts would be too much for me.”

“Baby, you didn’t stand a chance. Now show me your blocks.”

He attempted to tap her around the face once she stood, but she blocked his hands easily.

“You’re the Tyson Fury of the princess world.” At his wink, her belly flopped. “Let’s go again.”

He was oblivious to the effect he was having on her. They worked on blocking a little longer. Each time she did well, he praised her. She tensed her thighs to ward off the arousal, but the deep timbre of his compliments was a reward she couldn’t ignore. If he knew he was affecting her, he didn’t show it. But then he was Mr. No Emotion.

Bear checked his watch. “We’ve got time for one more move, but we should probably get this coffee table out of the way. I don’t want any more injuries.”

She gave him a half-hearted shove as he slid the table to the side.

“I’m going to turn my back on you, and I want you to come at me from behind.” His eyes locked with hers, and she rolledher hips. He stared at her with an intent she didn’t understand. “Really go for it.”

She sighed inwardly. His shoulders were so broad. Her gaze slid down to his arse, and she teased her lip with the tip of her tongue. His bum muscles flexed.

“Stop staring at my butt and get on with it.” Busted!

“Maybe my plan is for you to get bored, and then I can pinch your biceps,” she said, wriggling her eyebrows.

He chuckled. “I’ve dealt with more dangerous and savvier attackers than you. I know all the tricks you might pull, so get on with it.”

Liss jumped on the sofa like she was performing a parkour move. She bent her knees and swiftly leapt onto his back. The action was accompanied by her hands high in the air as she screamed like a warrior bursting with adrenaline.

“The fuck?” he grumbled.

She slammed onto his back and held on tightly. The leverage from the sofa gave her an unexpected angle, and she wrapped her arms around his top half while her legs gripped him at the waist. Instantly, he turned and flipped her onto the sofa in a move worthy of a martial arts movie.

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