Page 39 of Allure

“Try again.”

This time, his hands are a little closer to my throat.

I do the move again, hesitate once I’m free, and then opt to punch him in the nose.

“No. Never punch the nose. If you’re going to aim for the nose, use a palm strike.”

“Why?”

“You could seriously injure your hand with a punch there. A palm strike, if delivered with enough force and at the proper angle, will cause the guy’s nose to go into his brain.”

“I don’t want to kill…”

“If not a palm strike, then figure something else out, Doll Face, because I don’t have all day.”

Ugh, he can be such an ass sometimes!

“Not getting any younger here,” he chants.

“Again.” I pat my shoulders.

He places his hands almost on my throat, and I do through the move, but this time, once I’m free, I grab his shoulders, bring him down slightly, and knee him in the groin.

Only my knee hits against something hard.

And I don’t mean his cock.

“What the hell?” I snap.

“Knee, meet cup.” He smirks at me. “I’m not stupid.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“I think I just did. How’s the knee?”

“I’m fine,” I say through gritted teeth even though it does hurt a bit.

“What else you got?”

“One more time,” I insist.

And this time, he places his hands directly on my throat like he really is trying to choke me. Not with a lot of force but enough to feel pressure.

His fingers are warm. They’re nothing like the cold barrel of a gun.

“Come on, Brooke,” he snaps, but there’s something different in his tone.

I stare up at him, hating this fear welling inside of me.

“Fight me,” he says just before tightening his grip ever so slightly.

And I just react. I move my arms fast and hard, but I can’t break his grip, not this time.

“Harder,” he coaxes. “A real opponent isn’t going to let you go easily, right?”

“Choke me harder.”

“Fuck,” he mutters as he obeys my command.

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