shot to Jordon's. He wasn't
smiling, then again neither was she. His jaw was tense and his left
hand was clenched at his side. His right held a duffle bag that was
well worn and bulging with gear, just like his jeans. If Reed
didn't know any better she'd think he was just a regular guy on his
way to work-out.
Yeah, right .
Reed broke eye contact and turned to grab
the pads she discarded after sparring with Shay. She left the dojo
floor without a word, making her way to the locker room in the
basement. She didn't look back.
...
"Can I help you?"
The words were polite enough. The thread of
menace in the smaller man's voice wasn't. Jordon didn't bother to
look at the man until Reed disappeared down the stairs. He didn't
miss the way Reed smiled at the guy, or the easy way she touched
this joker before she started beating the crap out of the
man-shaped target.
The instant anger that seeped into his core,
like molten lava, when the man leaned in and whispered in Reed's
ear surprised Jordon with its intensity. He wasn't generally prone
to strong emotion of any kind, so he was at a loss as to how to
productively channel the rage running hot and cold through him. He
was more than ready for class, the burning urge to bury his fists
into flesh ran so hot it had him fisting his empty hand where it
hung at his side.
Once he could no longer hear Reed on the
stair Jordon focused his attention downward, into the man's cold
blue eyes.
"You can show me where to change." Jordon
said, more of a challenge than a request.
"You're a new student?" Dissatisfaction,
irritation and belligerent arrogance wrapped up in another
seemingly polite question from this man Reed was so comfortable
with.
Good .
Jordon smiled, brandishing his teeth like a
weapon. He enjoyed and excelled at this kind of polite warfare. His
eyes narrowed for a second on his opponent, but the smile on
Jordon's face never wavered. He was looking forward to taking more
than a few swings in this man's direction. Verbal and
otherwise.
"As of noon today. I met with Sensei
Schwartz and signed all the paperwork." Jordon widened his smile.
"After he called Sensei Nakazato in Japan, where I've trained on
and off over the past five or six years." Jordon didn't usually get
off on dropping names, but this time it was pure joy to watch the
reaction. He had trained for years with Sensei Nakazato in Japan,
the current head of the world karate system this dojo practiced.
This dojo and training under Sensei Schwartz were the primary
reasons Jordon didn't balk more at setting up an office in
Milwaukee. He needed to train, and this dojo was the best place to
do that outside of Japan.
"Follow me." The man said, in begrudging
respect to Nakazato Sensei's name. "I'll show you the locker
rooms."
Jordon said nothing as the man turned
abruptly, following the same path Reed had taken moments before.
With any luck, he'd be able to pull her damp body to his, kiss her
into a heated frenzy of elf demand, followed by submission, like he
had last night.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Submission wasn't in Reed's current
vocabulary. It might have been last night, but that was then and
this was now. There was no room for submission on the dojo floor.
Not for Reed. Not today. Not with this man invading her world, her
second family, her spiritual center that kept her sane. Here she
fought and trained and never gave up. She didn't accept him here,
she wasn't sure she accepted him at all. Although one look at
Jordon and she knew she still wanted him.
Reed railed against the thought. Want him or
not, she didn't like having Jordon Bennett invade her karate school
any more than she liked waking up in Las Vegas knowing full well
what she did the night before was her choice. She couldn't blame
Jordon for her actions, but that wouldn't stop her from beating him
out the dojo door.
"Line up." Sensei said, taking the floor.
"Bow to me." He turned and faced the Okinawan and American flags
mounted side by
smiling, then again neither was she. His jaw was tense and his left
hand was clenched at his side. His right held a duffle bag that was
well worn and bulging with gear, just like his jeans. If Reed
didn't know any better she'd think he was just a regular guy on his
way to work-out.
Yeah, right .
Reed broke eye contact and turned to grab
the pads she discarded after sparring with Shay. She left the dojo
floor without a word, making her way to the locker room in the
basement. She didn't look back.
...
"Can I help you?"
The words were polite enough. The thread of
menace in the smaller man's voice wasn't. Jordon didn't bother to
look at the man until Reed disappeared down the stairs. He didn't
miss the way Reed smiled at the guy, or the easy way she touched
this joker before she started beating the crap out of the
man-shaped target.
The instant anger that seeped into his core,
like molten lava, when the man leaned in and whispered in Reed's
ear surprised Jordon with its intensity. He wasn't generally prone
to strong emotion of any kind, so he was at a loss as to how to
productively channel the rage running hot and cold through him. He
was more than ready for class, the burning urge to bury his fists
into flesh ran so hot it had him fisting his empty hand where it
hung at his side.
Once he could no longer hear Reed on the
stair Jordon focused his attention downward, into the man's cold
blue eyes.
"You can show me where to change." Jordon
said, more of a challenge than a request.
"You're a new student?" Dissatisfaction,
irritation and belligerent arrogance wrapped up in another
seemingly polite question from this man Reed was so comfortable
with.
Good .
Jordon smiled, brandishing his teeth like a
weapon. He enjoyed and excelled at this kind of polite warfare. His
eyes narrowed for a second on his opponent, but the smile on
Jordon's face never wavered. He was looking forward to taking more
than a few swings in this man's direction. Verbal and
otherwise.
"As of noon today. I met with Sensei
Schwartz and signed all the paperwork." Jordon widened his smile.
"After he called Sensei Nakazato in Japan, where I've trained on
and off over the past five or six years." Jordon didn't usually get
off on dropping names, but this time it was pure joy to watch the
reaction. He had trained for years with Sensei Nakazato in Japan,
the current head of the world karate system this dojo practiced.
This dojo and training under Sensei Schwartz were the primary
reasons Jordon didn't balk more at setting up an office in
Milwaukee. He needed to train, and this dojo was the best place to
do that outside of Japan.
"Follow me." The man said, in begrudging
respect to Nakazato Sensei's name. "I'll show you the locker
rooms."
Jordon said nothing as the man turned
abruptly, following the same path Reed had taken moments before.
With any luck, he'd be able to pull her damp body to his, kiss her
into a heated frenzy of elf demand, followed by submission, like he
had last night.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Submission wasn't in Reed's current
vocabulary. It might have been last night, but that was then and
this was now. There was no room for submission on the dojo floor.
Not for Reed. Not today. Not with this man invading her world, her
second family, her spiritual center that kept her sane. Here she
fought and trained and never gave up. She didn't accept him here,
she wasn't sure she accepted him at all. Although one look at
Jordon and she knew she still wanted him.
Reed railed against the thought. Want him or
not, she didn't like having Jordon Bennett invade her karate school
any more than she liked waking up in Las Vegas knowing full well
what she did the night before was her choice. She couldn't blame
Jordon for her actions, but that wouldn't stop her from beating him
out the dojo door.
"Line up." Sensei said, taking the floor.
"Bow to me." He turned and faced the Okinawan and American flags
mounted side by
Similar Books
