Page 82 of Hiding for the Holidays
My pulse quickens with excitement and nerves as I ask, “You want to spar? Right now?”
“Yep. Now, stand here.” He moves me to the center of the mat and takes a few steps backwards to put some space between us. “Try to not let me capture you,” he commands, then immediately marches towards me with a determined look on his face.
I know I’m supposed to flee or fight but he looks so fucking hot prowling towards me that I freeze, my body buzzing to life in hopes that he’s finally come to take me in the way I crave.
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me against him, my hands landing on his chest as I look up at him.
He frowns down at me in disappointment. “Rosie…”
“Sorry, it’s hard to pretend I don’t want you to touch me.” His frown turns heated and he kisses my forehead before letting me go and stepping back.
“Let’s try again.”
“It’s too hard, should we use Callum or Matt or something? It’d be easier to fight them. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Baby…” Asher says, his hand cupping my cheek. “You couldn’t if you tried.” He gives my cheek a tiny slap and my mouth drops open as he smirks and steps back. “Ready?”
I narrow my eyes with challenge. He wants to play that way—He suddenly lunges for me and I twist to the side, his hands narrowly missing me as we swing around to face each other. He reaches for me again and I manage to block his hand before ducking under his arm and running a few steps in the opposite direction.
I turn back around and see him smiling. “Much better.”
“Are we done?” I ask, starting to get breathless.
“Nope.” He lunges again and I squeal in surprise as I try to knock his hand away. But before I can move away he wraps one of his thick arms around my waist and pulls me down to the ground, his body cushioning mine before he forces me onto my back and pins me to the ground.
I tickle his sides, and he laughs before grabbing my hands and pinning them to the mat above me. His face hovers above mine as he tsks.
“You’re making this too easy for me,” he says with a smirk.
“Clearly not,” I huff, thinking of how much I’ve been wanting him and how he’s been holding back.
He leans closer, and my breath catches as he stops so close I can feel his warm breath on my lips.
“Good things come to good girls who wait,” he whispers softly as his lips trail across my cheek. “And you, Rosie, have been a very good girl.”
He kisses my neck, making me moan as my core starts to heat up.
“I changed my mind, if that’s sparring, sign me up!” I jerk in surprise at the unfamiliar female voice.
Asher quickly helps me to my feet as we face two women, probably in their mid to early twenties, dressed in sports bras and yoga pants. They must be brand new as I haven’t seen them before. We tend to cater to a more male clientele, but women are definitely welcome, too.
“Are you the sparring instructor?” Girl number one asks, eyeing up Asher.
“He only trains men,” I say quickly, not wanting him anywhere near her. My face heats as I sense Asher turn to look down at me, and I know if I look, there’d be a cocky smirk on his face.
“Looks like he was training you,” the other girl says with an accusing tone.
“Rosalie is special,” Asher says, placing an arm around my shoulders. My stomach tightens with delight, his words and actions claiming me.
The girls eye me up and down before girl number one speaks again. “Yeah, I can see she needs the extra training. Come on, Vanessa, let’s go use the treadmills.”
“Excuse me,” Asher practically snarls as he steps forward, placing himself between us. “What did you just say?”
“Hey look, I get it, she clearly needs more one-on-one training then we do.”
I feel my cheeks heat in embarrassment. I glance down at my stomach. My Iron Oaks shirt isn’t really tight but it’s not baggy either, and you can clearly see my stomach pushing through my yoga pants and shirt.
I wrap my arms around my waist in a futile attempt to hide myself as I quickly turn and walk as fast as I can back towards the staff room.
