Page 56 of Reckless: Collision

“Explain.”

“You’re teaching me to fight.” She gestures around the training room. “But what you really want is to understand how I think. How I move. What makes me tick.”

Clever girl.

“Is it working?” I counter.

“Maybe.” She stops moving, head tilted. “But here’s what I’ve learned about you—you’re all about control, but not the way Jinx is. He embraces chaos. You try to contain it.”

“Your point?”

“My point is,” she steps closer, challenge written in every line of her body, “you can’t contain me, Ryker. And it’s driving you crazy.”

Time to show her exactly what kind of control I possess.

“Again,” I command. “This time, I want you to close your eyes. Tell me every exit, every weapon, every advantage in this room.”

“Why? I just did this.”

“Because this time,” I move behind her, close enough that my breath stirs her hair, “I’m going to make it harder.”

Her pulse jumps—I can see it flutter in her throat. “How?”

“By hunting you.”

Color floods her cheeks, but she straightens her spine. “Fine. Don’t blame me if you end up on your ass again.”

“Eyes closed.” The words leave my mouth wrapped in alpha resonance that makes the air molecules between us vibrate. I watch her body respond before her mind decides to comply—pupils contracting slightly, a barely perceptible straightening of her spine, the infinitesimal tilt of her chin. Not submission, but acknowledgment. She closes those green eyes, but that defiant smirk remains etched on her lips like a challenge I’m increasingly desperate to accept.

“There are three exits,” she begins, voice steady despite the pulse visibly fluttering at the base of her throat. “Main door, fire exit, and the window—” her head tilts slightly, tracking some calculation I can’t see, “—though that’s probably reinforced.”

“It is.” I begin circling her, my footsteps deliberately silent against the training mat. The heat of her body reaches me even from three feet away, her lemon scent sharpening with each circuit I complete. Her skin pebbles with goosebumps as I pass behind her, though I’ve made no sound. “Keep going.”

“The equipment wall has the most potential weapons. Weights, bands, ropes...” Her voice trails off as I move closer. “The mirrors could be broken for?—”

I grab her from behind. She reacts instantly—a sharp elbow aimed at my ribs that I barely dodge. “Good. But you lost track of me.”

“Did I?” She hooks her ankle behind mine, and suddenly we’re both going down.

We hit the mat hard, but I manage to roll us, pinning her beneath me. Her eyes snap open, pupils blown wide.

“Now what?” I taunt, holding her wrists above her head. “You’re trapped. No weapons. No tech. Just you and your opponent.”

Her chest heaves against mine. “You’re assuming I’m trapped.”

“Aren’t you?”

That damn smirk again. “Rule one of situational awareness—your opponent’s body can be used against them.”

She arches up, and the friction shorts out my brain. In that moment of distraction, she gets a leg between us and flips our position.

Now she’s straddling me, her hands planted on my chest, victory bright in her eyes. Sweat makes her skin glow in the morning light, and all I can think about is how she’d look riding my cock with that same triumphant expression.

“Like that,” she purrs.

I should throw her off. Should reassert control. Should definitely not be getting hard while she’s pressed against me like this.

“Better,” the word escapes as a growl that vibrates through my chest into hers where our bodies connect. “But you’re still making mistakes.”

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