Five
FIVE
Greyson
“So, what did you think?”
My eyes were riveted to the gorgeous woman in front of me, and I was sure she had no idea just how much she was affecting me.
It was early Friday evening, and Cierra and I had just finished our second private self-defense lesson.
I’d found myself constantly curious about her mindset. That was mostly because when I wasn’t teaching her, I was thinking about the next time I was going to see her. And since she still had moments of hesitancy throughout the lesson, I worried that she might decide to quit.
And I’d have been lying if I said I wouldn’t be bummed by that. Because I was enjoying this. Cierra and I had been taking our time in her lessons, going through the basic strikes and balancing exercises until she felt confident in the moves. She was slowly improving, her execution today a touch better than it had been two days ago.
She’d been very focused; the sense of determination she had was close to the strongest I’d seen from anyone in a long time.
That should have left me feeling reassured, but it didn’t. Beneath all that determination was something else, something I didn’t want to admit felt a lot like fear.
Having worked in this profession for so many years, it wasn’t uncommon. Many women wound up here because they’d found themselves in abusive relationships they were trying to escape. In fact, I’d been right there beside my best friend, Huck, as he helped his high school crush out of such a situation.
No matter who was experiencing something so devastating, it was always awful. But for me, there was something about the possibility of Cierra being in a similar predicament that hit me differently.
Was someone abusing her?
There were moments throughout her lessons when I thought that might be the case, where it pained me to think of that being a very real possibility. But there were other times when I trusted her reason for being here was precisely what she’d indicated from the start that it was—she merely believed it was a good skill to have.
I intended to watch closely until I could be certain one way or another, but the only way that was going to happen was if she’d continue to come to classes. So, I had been unable to stop myself from asking her after this lesson what she thought about it.
“Well, I’m glad to have learned some new moves today, and I feel just a touch more confident about my ability to execute the ones I learned on Wednesday, but there is one small problem.”
It took a massive effort not to show the panic I felt inside at there being a problem that might have her canceling our next lesson. “What’s wrong? Is there something you feel unsure about and need additional practice with?”
She shook her head. “Technically, I probably do need additional practice with all of it, but that’s not my issue. The problem I’m having is that as much as I’m feeling a little better about the work I’m doing and all that I’m learning here with you, I’m convinced my body is close to being ready to revolt and might actually do so by the time I crawl into my bed tonight.”
For a brief moment, a vision of Cierra crawling into a bed flashed through my mind. I imagined her on all fours, making her way from the bottom of the bed and up toward the top, where it seemed my vantage point had been from. Of course, that vision changed from being her crawling toward me to suddenly being beneath me, her head on the pillow with all that gorgeous hair spread out beneath her.
God, she was pretty.
Even in these classes, where she had her hair tied back away from her face, I couldn’t get over just how stunning she was. And that hair might have been my favorite physical feature of hers, which was something wholly unexpected.
Breasts, ass, and legs all made sense. Even eyes and a smile like hers were something I could understand the physical attraction to. But the hair caught me off guard. She had so much of it, so long, shiny, and soft-looking. Even with it pulled back, it still cascaded down her back in a way that had me constantly fighting the urge to drive my fingers into it, so I could wrap it around my fist when I angled her head up to kiss her.
“You’re feeling sore?”
She considered her answer. “I wouldn’t say I’m sore just yet, but I do feel fatigued at this point. My thought is that my body is going to feel sore tomorrow morning when I wake up.”
Her body.
While I’d certainly found myself distracted by her hair and her smile, that didn’t mean I hadn’t paid attention to her body. I could still recall her taking off her coat before our lesson on Wednesday. I’d always done my job to remain professional and never allowed primal urges to take over, especially in a situation like this, but Cierra was different.
For someone who claimed to have no athletic ability, she sure did find a way to keep herself in shape. Maybe it had been genetics that gave Cierra her petite frame. She had just enough curves in all the right places that would keep things fun, though.
With the intrigue and excitement that I felt being around her, I was going to regret what I was about to do. “Do you think you’ll be okay to have our private session tomorrow, or would you rather hold off and wait until Monday afternoon?”
Worry crept into her features as she pinched the skin at her throat. “Do you want to cancel tomorrow?”
I desperately wanted to see her tomorrow, so it took some effort not to react too eagerly. I shook my head slightly. “Not at all. But if you think you’re going to be too sore to get anything positive out of the lesson, we can just wait until Monday. I’m good with whatever you decide.”
Cierra inhaled deeply, her hazel eyes indicating just how hard her mind was working. “I think I’ll be alright to come to our lesson still.”
“Are you sure?”
She gave me a nod. “Yeah, I think so. I’ll just head home now, make myself some dinner, and grab a nice hot shower to soothe my muscles before I spend the rest of the night relaxing. I think that’ll do the trick, and I should be ready to go by the time I’m supposed to meet you back here.”
Although I knew it hadn’t been her intention, I’d gone from thinking about Cierra in bed to thinking about her being naked in the shower.
Damn. I needed to get a grip.
“That sounds amazing. I wish I was heading home to do the same thing.”
Curiosity and surprise washed over her. “You’re not? How late are you working?”
I sighed. “I’ve got another class I’m teaching tonight.”
In a move I hadn’t expected, Cierra’s gaze drifted away from my face and down over my torso. Her eyes lingered on my chest, shoulders, and arms, and I wanted to believe it was something bordering on desire I saw swirling in her stare.
When she returned her attention to my face, she asked, “Are you going to be able to get through our lessons tomorrow? Won’t you be sore?”
I laughed. “No. No, I’m used to this. It’ll be just like any other day for me.”
“Wow. I wonder if I’ll ever get to a place where I don’t realize I’ve used muscles that might not have ever been used in my entire life.”
“You will. Give yourself two weeks or so, and the aches you feel all over will vanish. Then it’ll just be very specific muscle groups that are sore when you learn new moves.”
She sent a tight smile my way. “If I make it that far, I’m going to have to find a way to celebrate.”
I hated seeing her doubt. “Don’t you think you can?”
She shrugged, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t know. Like I said, I feel a little bit more confident about what I’m doing, but I don’t think things are going to get easier as we go along. The skills are likely to increase with difficulty.”
“They will. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do them. I have faith in you.”
Her features warmed, the silence stretching between us for a beat. “I appreciate the vote of confidence. Maybe, if things go as you say, I’ll have to bake you a cake to show my appreciation, because I’m sure it’s only going to be your assurance that I can do it that’s going to push me along at that point. Or, well, do you even eat cake? Because you don’t look like a guy who spends time eating much cake at all.”
Throwing my head back, I burst out laughing, my body quaking with the force of it. I laughed so hard, harder than I had in such a long time, that I lifted my hand to my stomach to press against the cramp in it. I brought my eyes back to Cierra, saw her watching me, and teased, “Maybe my sessions with you are going to leave me feeling sore after all. I haven’t laughed to the point of getting a stomach cramp in a very long time.”
She blushed, the pink dusting her beautiful cheeks. “I’m glad you’re feeling amused, but I’m still not sure I know if you would eat cake.”
I took a step toward her, closing that distance between us to the point she needed to tip her chin up to look at me. “I eat cake, Cierra. I love cake. And if you make it, there isn’t a chance I won’t want to taste it.”
She licked her lips and swallowed hard. Her voice was a deep rasp when she spoke. “Alright. Well, I guess we’ll see where I am in the next two weeks or so.”
At least I’d have that much time with her. “That sounds like a great plan.”
Cierra took half a step back and nodded. “If there’s any hope of me making it here on time tomorrow, I should probably head out now. Thanks for such a good lesson today, Greyson.”
I loved the way she said my name. “You’re welcome. We’ll try to make tomorrow even better.”
Cierra moved to the corner of the room to grab her jacket and purse. “I’m not sure if that made me feel any better. My muscles are already screaming at me.”
“It’s going to be okay. I’d never do something to cause you harm. I promise.”
She looked over at me, something uneasy settling in her features. Just like that, everything changed, and I was back to thinking there was more behind Cierra’s desire for lessons than she had originally let on.
As quickly as that uneasiness was there, it was gone. She busied herself with getting her jacket on.
Cierra got herself bundled in it before pulling the length of her ponytail out from inside it. She’d done it so casually, probably not even thinking twice about it, but I stood there and watched that move with avid fascination, wishing she would have pulled the tie out of her hair, so I could watch it fall around her face and shoulders.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get my wish as Cierra made her way across the room and toward the exit. She stopped there, looked up at me, and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Greyson.”
“I’ll be here.”
Her throat bobbed with the swallow she took. “Have a good night.”
I wanted to cross the room, wrap her in my arms, and pull her in for a kiss. “You, too.”
Cierra didn’t linger, didn’t give me any additional indication that perhaps she was experiencing any of the same struggles as I was. With almost too much ease, she opened the door and walked out. It took me at least thirty seconds of standing there alone, staring at the space where she’d just been, before I could bring myself to move and exit the room.
I walked across the hall and into the training room where Huck and Kane had just finished teaching a class. The last of their students had just filed out as I stepped into the room.
“How was class?” I asked.
“Good. And yours?” Kane countered. There was a bit too much curiosity in his tone. Maybe I should have reconsidered coming over here.
“It was great.”
His lips twitched, and it was Huck who decided to press for more. “Alright, I’m just going to ask. I thought you’d tell us about it after the surprise of her on Wednesday, but since it doesn’t seem like you intend to share, I guess we’ll pry for information. What’s going on with your new trainee?”
“Her name is Cierra. And there’s nothing going on.”
He cocked a brow, shooting me a disbelieving look. “Are you sure about that?”
“I think I would know.”
“Would you?”
Kane’s question caught me off guard. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged. “I saw the way you reacted when she walked into this room on Wednesday.”
“And I saw it again today,” Huck added. “You seem very comfortable with her. I didn’t even know you knew that woman.”
“I didn’t. I don’t. Not really. She’s the librarian at Tucker’s school, and I happened to meet her the day I went there to pick him up.”
There was a beat of silence before Kane teased, “The librarian? I never would have guessed that.”
“Tell me about it,” Huck muttered. “So, are you telling us that you met her for the first time on Monday, and she showed up here the next day looking for lessons?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.” Both men narrowed their gazes on me. They might not have known exactly what was going on inside my head, but they definitely knew I wasn’t being entirely truthful. “I’ll repeat, she’s Tucker’s librarian.”
“And he’s your nephew, not your son. I don’t think there are any rules against something happening.”
I rolled my eyes at them. “She’s here for self-defense lessons.”
They winced, and Huck asked, “Is she coming out of a bad relationship?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Not that she’s shared. She said she believed it would be wise to have skills to protect herself.”
A long silence stretched between us before Kane declared, “She’s cute, Grey.”
Cute.
Fuck, they hadn’t even spoken to her, and they could see it. If I told them about her wanting to bake me a cake, they’d have so many more things to say.
“I’m trying to remain professional.”
“Trying?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “She’s really cute. Pretty, if you ask me.”
“I think you should find a way to ask her out on a date.”
At Kane’s suggestion, I balked. “What? Are you out of your mind? That’s not why she’s here. We don’t do that.”
“And yet, Brix did, I did, Jake did, and Huck would have, had it not been for the physical injuries Josie had sustained. Why should you be any different?”
He had a point.
I couldn’t say I didn’t like the idea of being able to spend some time outside of this setting with Cierra. It’d be nice to get to know her better, to take her out. To possibly get the opportunity to run my fingers through that hair.
“I don’t think she’s interested.”
“She’s interested.”
My brows pulled together. “You’re going to need to elaborate on that, Kane.”
He grinned. “Do you know she stood outside this room…” He pointed to the window at the far wall. “On Wednesday, before I urged her to come inside, she stood outside this room looking through that window at you. And I watched her do it for a long time as I made my way down the hall.”
Something tightened in my chest. Had that really been the case?
“She was just nervous about taking her first class,” I said, brushing it off. No need to get myself worked up over nothing.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“Okay. But in a few weeks, when you’re so caught up in her, I fully intend to tell you that I told you so.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
With that, I got to work on setting up for the next class I had to teach, but the information Kane had just imparted on me clanged around in my brain. Was it possible Cierra was interested in me beyond the self-defense lessons? Was it finally going to be my turn?