Page 30 of The Scars of Us

Bringing our joined arms out by my sides, he shook them, trying to loosen my taut muscles. Then, he brought our hands up in front of my face as he positioned our bodies in the traditional fighters’ stance. Extending our right arms out towards the bag, he said, “Do you feel how we’re twisting slightly when we throw this jab? Every move needs to be like this, using your body as a power source. Our muscles are made to work together, just like when we lift something heavy or do other everyday tasks.”

As he pulled my hand back in front of my face, he twisted our bodies more as we threw a punch with our left hands, slightly pivoting our hips inward. Feeling his sweaty, firm body pressed against me, especially the lower half, was so distracting; I could barely focus on what he was saying. “Kaiya?”

“Huh? What?” I felt like I was under some sort of spell.

“Did you feel how we used more movement with the punch over the jab? Whatever side is behind will require more force to correctly execute.”

I couldn’t speak, not with him flush against me like that, so I just nodded. We continued working that way until other members started entering for class. By then, my body was sticky with heat from a combination of hitting the bag and Ryker’s proximity to me. All I could think about was how his bare body would feel tangled with mine.

Once we started kickboxing, I started to let myself go as I worked on the combo Ryker modeled. I loved hitting the bag—absolutely loved it. Even though I wasn’t very good yet, it was an amazing outlet for my stress and anxiety, not to mention my anger. It felt good to release it, free myself from all my negative emotions, at least for a brief time. They always slithered back, snaking their way inside and tainting my soul with their poison.

After the kickboxing segment of class was over, Ryker and I practiced the technique that he taught me the week before. I wasn’t as uncomfortable since I was becoming accustomed to his touch, so I was able to execute the maneuver better.

Constantly touching him electrified my skin, intensifying the sexual tension that was already present between us. My mind and my body warred—my body wanted to give in to Ryker while my mind protested, fearing that inevitably, I would be hurt by him.

I didn’t trust my body, especially since it betrayed me so many times in the past. I knew that I needed to follow my head when it came to Ryker, to be smart and not give into my emotions and desires so easily.

Ryker broke through my thoughts, “Let’s work on a common variation of this move since you seem to have this one down.” He lay down on his back before continuing, “Straddle me.”

“Excuse me?” I stammered nervously, feeling my cheeks heat.

“Straddle me. I’m going to show you how to escape if an attacker pins your arms to the floor.”

I hesitated briefly before climbing on top of him. His body felt so right beneath me.

“Now, pin my hands by my head.”

Doing what Ryker instructed, I leaned over, clasping my hands around his thick, tattooed wrists and pinning them to the ground.

“First thing you’re going to do is simultaneously bring up your right knee while shooting your left arm upwards, like this,” he said before modeling.

I felt his knee prop against my ass as he made me lean forward by jerking his left arm upwards. “Now, you’re going to roll to the right and pin your attacker.”

Swiftly rolling, Ryker had me pinned beneath him in seconds. “Once here, you can use the strikes I taught you last week to attack them. Elbows would probably be best from this position.”

Even though he was wearing loose shorts, I could still feel his semi-hard, yet still impressive erection pressing into my lower abdomen, muddling my thoughts as arousal flooded me.Focus, Kaiya.

Ryker smirked at me; I was pretty sure that my desire was written all over my face. “You want to try? I already have you pinned,” he pointed out as he lightly pushed his hips against me and pressed down on my arms.

Heat simmered between my thighs from the slight movement, from having Ryker’s flawless form hovering over me. My eyes trailed over the intricate tattoos exposed from his tight muscle shirt, which spanned his chest and spread over his arms all the way down to his hands. I had to fight the urge to trace them with my fingers.

Ryker cleared his throat before huskily saying, “If you keep looking at me like, I’m not going to be able to do what I said earlier.”

My gaze snapped up to his, and his eyes reflected the desire I felt. I wanted him so badly, wanted to tell him how I felt, but I couldn’t. I had too much baggage that he didn’t deserve to deal with; no one did. My voice cracked as I said, “Sorry. What do I do from here?”

“Jerk your left arm up while bending your right knee and putting it against my back.”

I doubted that I would be able to move my arm, especially since his were double the size of mine and his muscles were so big.

Jerking my arm above my head, I caused Ryker’s weight to shift forward as his arm went with mine, bringing his face only inches from my own. My eyes focused on his lips, the ones I had tasted only a few nights ago, and had thought about every night since.

Ryker’s grip tightened on my wrists as he gruffly reminded, “Don’t forget your knee.”

Shit, concentrate!I brought my right knee up, pressing it into Ryker. “Now use that leg to roll us over.”

Pushing with my right leg, I tried to roll us, but couldn’t; Ryker was so much heavier than me. “I can’t,” I sighed agitatedly.

“Yes, you can, Warrior. Put those hips into it—use your whole body.”

---