Page 5 of Mending Scars

She brought her worried eyes up to mine and linked our fingers together. “Please be careful, baby.”

The look she was giving me, combined with the pleading tone of her voice, made me feel terrible. Kaiya was my weakness.

Maybe I should take it easy.

Gently squeezing her hands, I stroked her smooth skin with my thumbs. “I will.”

It had only been a couple of weeks since physical therapy had ended and I’d started working out again. Kaiya was apprehensive about the idea, afraid I would injure myself more. I told her not to worry, but that was like telling her not to breathe.

Kaiya’s lips curved up slightly, and that small smile twisted up my insides.

Damn, the things she does to me.

I smiled back before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. My nose brushed her silky hair, and I breathed in her scent before pulling away. She always smelt so good. Students began coming in then, so Ky and I got ready for class. I liked that she still came, even though Kaleb wasn’t a threat to her anymore. I wanted her to be able to defend herself in case something happened and I wasn’t around. Anything could happen, especially with all the fucked up people in the world. Plus, getting to touch her during the techniques was an added bonus; I couldn’t get enough of her.

Once we finished the kickboxing segment, we went straight into self-defense techniques. The students had mentioned in the previous class that they wanted to practice defending against forward punch attacks. “Sometimes, attackers don’t try to grab you or subdue you first. Instead they come out swinging. Today, we’re going to focus on counters to this type of assault.”

After modeling with one of the other instructors, Mark, I had the class split up into their pairs. Kaiya and I went to our usual spot on the mat to get started. She got in her defensive stance and gave me a playful grin as she awaited my instructions. I smiled as I thought of how much progress she’d made since that very first class, when she’d been so tense and nervous. My warrior had come so far. “Ready, baby?”

Her grin spread. “You know it.”

I laughed. “Okay, throw a straight punch while coming toward me.” Once she did as I instructed, I moved closer to her while simultaneously shifting to face the arm she used to punch with, blocking the incoming hit with both of my arms. “Instinct tells us to back away from an attack, but the best thing to do in this situation is to get in close.”

Kaiya’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She looked so cute when she made that face. “Why?”

“An attacker isn’t going to throw just one punch—they’ll keep throwing them as they advance on you, and eventually, they will hit you. So you need to disable them before they land one.”

She nodded. “Okay. What do you do from here?”

“Grip their forearm with your outside hand, keeping them close to you. Then using your other arm, throw a back elbow to their face and follow it with a forward elbow on the opposite cheek.”

I softly modeled each move, careful not to hurt Kaiya. “Grip their shoulder and knee them in the groin before throwing a side kick to the knee closest to you. If the groin hit didn’t put them down for the count, the side kick definitely will.”

After releasing her, I walked Kaiya through the steps and had her practice a few times before moving on to a slight variation for if she was backed into a wall or car.

“Many attacks happen in parking lots at night. If someone ever pins you to a car and rears back to punch you, you can still use this same technique.”

Kaiya quirked up a brow in intrigue. “Really?”

I smiled at her. “Really. I actually think it’s more effective. A car can help you do more damage to the asshole attacking you.”

I led her to the padded side of the room we used for wall defense techniques. I gently backed her against it as I explained, “Typically, an attacker will push you into a car or wall if one is around, wanting to trap you.” Caging her face between my forearms, I leaned in closer to her. “As in every attack, you can’t panic, which is what most people do when cornered like this.”

Kaiya wasn’t afraid of me, but I knew my proximity would kick her heart rate up, just like it did mine. Her eyes focused on my lips, which curved up as I closed the distance between us and kissed her.

Even though I wanted to do more—much more—I broke the kiss and moved back slightly. Kaiya’s face reddened as she glanced around, checking if anyone saw us before she met my eyes and gave me a shy smile. I loved that I made her get flustered like that.

“Aren’t you supposed to be teaching me something?” she questioned playfully, looking up at me coyly and batting her eyelashes.

“Yeah, but I can’t when you keep distracting me,” I teased.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Me? I’m not even doing anything.”

“Yeah, you are.” My eyes ran up and down her body.

Damn, she’s so hot. Especially in those tight shorts.

I leaned to the side and craned my head to get a glimpse of her ass.

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