Page 31 of The Scars of Us

Doing as Ryker said, I bucked my hips, using my entire body for momentum as I pushed against him. Slowly, I was able to roll us over until I was mounted on top of him again. A smile spread over my face as I impulsively put my arms up in the arms and squealed, “I did it!”

Embarrassment took over my happiness as I brought my arms down, the heat that was in my core now rushing up to my face. I looked down at Ryker, who had a proud smile on his face as he chuckled, “Awesome job.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

We practiced a few more times, and the longer Ryker was touching me, the more my resistance crumbled. I probably would have let him fuck me right there on the mat in front of everyone by the time we finally finished. Not really, but I was seriously contemplating it.

After class ended, Ryker walked me out to my car. Leaning against the driver’s side door, he praised, “You did really good today.”

“You’re just saying that,” I replied as I rolled my eyes.

“No, really, you did great. You’re progressing well—it usually takes people weeks to really get the techniques down.”

“Well, thank you,” I smiled. Our eyes met, and Ryker was looking at me with that sexy smirk that tightened my core while setting it on fire.

Uncomfortably squirming under his gaze, I spoke, “I better get going. I’ll see you Thursday.”

Ryker leaned in, and my lips parted in response to his closeness. I closed my eyes as I waited for his lips to meet mine, but instead I felt them on my cheek as he brought me into him and whispered, “Goodnight, Warrior.”

As he pulled away, my voice embarrassingly cracked, “Goodnight.”

Ryker stifled a laugh as he backed away, his eyes never leaving mine until he turned around and jogged back to the entrance of the gym.

As I sat in my car, I wondered how long I could resist him, if I would be able to at all. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t think of an outcome that ended well. One of us would end up hurt, most likely me, no matter which way I looked at it. No one wanted damaged goods anyway.

As I started the car, I sighed and made my decision. It was best for both of us if we didn’t get involved. No one would get hurt, and it was less complicated if I was going to continue taking classes. No matter how much my body wanted him, my head knew better, knew what was best to protect me from more pain. Now if only my heart would understand.

Kaiya had been coming to class for a few weeks, and her technique and form had improved greatly. But when we practiced certain defense maneuvers, her body stiffened and her grip was tight, her apprehension evident in her tense muscles and wary eyes.

She had become more guarded, keeping some distance between us and pulling away when I touched her for too long. I tried giving her the space I had promised, but it was getting harder with each passing day.

The sexual tension between us had increased over the weeks. Every detail of her silky skin had been committed to memory from touching her so much, making me want her even more. Since Kaiya was only comfortable working with me, that meant constant, close contact, which I didn’t mind at all, but she was always resisting, always fighting me, both in class, and in my personal advances. I could see the desire all over her face, especially in those eyes, but she always fought it, fought what I knew we were both feeling.My little warrior.

I hadn’t realized I had so much self-control—I wanted Kaiya more than I had ever wanted another woman. Her resistance only made me want her that much more. Any other girl would’ve been in and out of my bed by now, but Kaiya was different—I couldn’t do the same with her that I did with other women. That confused and irritated the shit out of me. My patience was running thin, and I wasn’t going to keep playing games with her.I’ll have her soon.

After working on the bags, I asked the group about what self-defense technique they wanted to work on. One of the students raised her hand. “Can we work on getting out of a choke?”

The other students voiced their agreement, but Kaiya stiffened. Her eyes widened, and her lips tightened as our gazes locked.

“Okay, get with your usual partners.” While everyone else split up on the mats, I walked over toward Kaiya, keeping my eyes fixed on her. “Everything okay?”

“I don’t know if I can do this.” She looked away as she reached for her neck. She stopped herself and pulled her hand away before looking up at me. “I don’t like having my throat touched.”

My eyes went to her throat. A thin scar spread about two inches long against her pale skin. I had to be looking at it just right to see it, or else it would be undetectable in the natural creases and curves of her neck.How the fuck did she get that?I knew she wouldn’t tell me what had happened, so I didn’t ask… yet.

Rubbing her arms, I leaned down a little so that my face was in line with hers, forcing her to bring her downcast eyes to look at me. “We can take it slow. I’m only trying to help you learn how to defend yourself—I’m not going to hurt you.”I’d never hurt you.

Even though she nodded, she still looked uncertain as she took a deep breath and shook out her hands.

“You can attack me first, and I can show you how to get out of it, like always.”

“Okay,” she replied softly. The other instructors had already started with the rest of the students, so I prepared to demonstrate the techniques with Kaiya. I lay down on the mat and patted my abs. “Get on me.”

She glanced around nervously, biting her lip before finally straddling me, framing my torso with her legs. Even though we had done this several times before, she was still embarrassed and self-conscious. She nervously looked down at me as her cheeks turned pink, and I wished we were doing this without clothes on, just like I wanted to every time. “Now, choke me.”

“What? No!” she exclaimed. “I… I can’t do that to you.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Just do it—you don’t have to squeeze hard. I’m going to walk you through the steps to get out of the hold.” I reassured as I softly rubbed the sides of her thighs.

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