Page 57 of Ruthless Mr. Ricco
“Ladies, this is Matteo Ricco, my boss and boyfriend.”My heart leaps at her declaration, and by the triumphant glint in her eyes, I know I’ll do anything for her even though I should slowly back out of the room.“He’ll be our first live dummy.Give me a minute to get him padded up, then you can give him all you got.”
She’s evil.I love it.
I love her.
She resolves the issue with the courier by taking the bag and setting it against the wall before motioning me over to her.
“I voluntold you and I’m not sorry about it.You told me you’d leave me alone all weekend,” she says through gritted teeth.
“I misunderstood the situation and overreacted.Look at me, little rabbit.I’m not exactly dressed to impress,” I say.
Hunger brightens her eyes as she gives me a once-over.She drops into a squat and straps a training pad around my shin.
“Every inch of you is impressive, you fucking jerk.If these ladies weren’t recovering from men like you, I’d be tearing them to pieces for looking at you,” she mumbles as she fastens a pad to my other shin.
She stands and speaks quietly as she fits another pad to my forearm.
“This is a self-defense class.Do not lift your hands higher than their heads and no grabbing without clear communication beforehand.Understand?”
Her tone brooks no argument.I nod as she straps my other forearm.
“Be their punching bag for an hour or two, then maybe I’ll forgive you for interrupting,” she says.
I bend my knees so she can drape a harness over my shoulders.
“I wouldn’t do this for anyone but you, little rabbit,” I murmur.
A hint of softness lurks in her eyes despite her scoff.
“Liar.”She tightens the chest pad and tests it with a few vicious tugs before slapping the center.“You have a bleeding heart hidden way down deep in there somewhere.Now shut up and let me beat on you like I’ve always wanted to.”
Excitement and dread pound through me.I’ve never seen this side of her before.
I’m obsessed.
She grabs the side strap of the harness and pulls me behind her as she crosses to the far side of the mats.I follow without resistance.
“First up is Audrey.She’s the mastermind behind this class, so it’s only fair she gets first dibs,” Brook says.
A redhead with bright green eyes and dark freckles on her pale face steps up to me.
She doesn’t pull her punches.None of them do.
Especially not my vicious little rabbit.
Fuck, I should have taken her more seriously, because she was right.
Rabbits kick.
Hard.
Chapter 15
Brook Simons
As the class memberspair up and head toward the door, I yank the pads off Matteo and try to hide my mirth as he winces.His focus intensifies on my lips and he frowns.My insides clench and fear skitters down my spine despite the laughter lurking in his eyes.
I drop the chest pads onto the narrow bench and reach for the disinfectant spray.
