Page 31 of Saved from Obsession

Rylan smiles at Georgia and jealousy flares hot in my chest. Even though I know it’s crazy—he’s not just one of my best friends, but he’s basically family—I have a momentary urge to smack him.

Turning back to me, he says, “She did a great job today. All the practice is really paying off.”

I manage to force out, “That’s good,” through gritted teeth.

Rylan eyeballs me, his brows jumping up to his forehead. After a moment, a smirk appears, and he chuckles under his breath. “Don’t worry,” he murmurs. “I kept it strictly business.”

“Shut it,” I mutter, trying to ignore my irrational jealousy.

Georgia is watching the two of us with a confused expression, her initial grin slowly fading. That’s when I realize I’m being a total idiot, getting jealous over my friendhelpingmy girlfriend. And I need to stop being stupid and show her my support.

I unclench my jaw and take a deep breath before smiling back at her. “That’s great, sweetheart.”

“Are you sure?” Her forehead is creased with little lines of worry. “I thought it was a good idea for me to learn self-defense, right?”

“Of course.” I cross the room and pull her into my arms, kissing the lines on her forehead away. “I’m really happy you’re learning how to defend yourself.” Pitching my voice low so only she can hear it, I tell her, “I was a little taken aback by how incredible you look in this outfit.”

“Oh?” Georgia’s voice lilts up with pleasure. “You like how I look in this?”

My hand drifts down to slide over the swell of her ass, and I pull her closer to me. I lower my mouth so it’s only inches from hers, a breath away from kissing her. “Ilovehow you look in it.”

Her eyes go from a clear blue to a dark sapphire, and her voice goes all low and sultry. “Good.”

Rylan coughs loudly. “I’m going to head back over now,” he announces, looking at me pointedly and with a giant grin stretching across his face.

“Oh!” Georgia pulls away and turns to look at him. “I want you to see me try to throw Leo first. Like how you showed me. Do you mind?”

Rylan laughs. “Mind watching you knock Leo on his ass? I can’t wait to see it.”

She turns to me, straightening and shaking out her arms and shoulders. “I threw Rylan before, but since you’re taller and bigger, I want to see if I can do it to you, too.” Moving in front of me, she says over her shoulder, “Rylan says the headlock is one of the more common attacks a man will try on a woman, so I want to make sure I can escape from it.”

Georgia says the words casually, but I don’t miss the thread of tension running through them. She must wonder how things might have turned out differently had she known self-defense when she was attacked in her apartment building. Could she have gotten away before he had a chance to use the knife? Would she still be unscarred, still working, still living in New York City?

Or could she have made it worse? Because it’s one thing to use these moves against an unarmed assailant. But for an inexperienced person like Georgia to try to throw a bigger man with a knife? The very thought of it makes my blood turn to ice.

I also don’t love the idea of putting her in a headlock to begin with. Even though she says she wants me to, how will she feel when I’ve got my arm around her neck? She may have practiced it with Rylan, but he’s five inches and fifty pounds smaller than me. If I do it, will my size end up scaring her instead of making her feel safe?

“Leo?” Georgia tilts her head to look at me. Her gaze is steady, looking calmer than how I feel. “Is it okay? If you don’t want to . . .”

Lowering my voice, I admit, “I don’t want you to be scared of me. Or trigger a flashback.”

“You won’t.” Her words are certain. “I trust you. I couldneverbe afraid of you.”

“Okay.” I don’t like it, but if she can do this and it makes her feel more confident… With a heavy sigh, I carefully wrap my arm around her throat, ready to step away if she shows any sign of panic.

Several seconds later, I realize I had nothing to worry about. Georgia did it perfectly, like she’s been practicing for years.

There was no hesitating, just a fluid sequence of moves—head down, a sweep of her foot, a sharp turn and then I was down on the ground—followed by Georgia’s little hoot of triumph.

“I did it!” Her eyes are glowing with pride.

“Good job, Georgia.” Rylan shoots her an affectionate smile. “Now I know who to call when Leo gets on my nerves.”

I stand up and cup her face in my hands, leaning over to brush my lips across hers. “That was amazing, sweetheart. I’m really proud of you.”

Georgia hugs me, her arms wrapping around my waist, curves fitting against me perfectly. There’s not a bit of her I can’t feel through the skin-tight fabric, and I would like nothing more than to sweep her up and carry her into the bedroom, kiss her all over, show her exactly what she does to me.

But Rylan is still in the room, his grin getting bigger by the minute, Cole is next door, and I’m technically on duty protecting Georgia. All good reasons to tamp down my rampaging lust and do the right thing instead of what my body wants.

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