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"AlrightAz-hole. Get it out of your system?" I snapped, making sure my words dripped sarcasm.

"Oh, Princess, I'm sorry, but…" He said between deep breaths. "That's adorable. And hilarious; I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I needed that."

"Glad you found it amusing. Now, can we get on with this? If not, I can think of a hundred other things I could be doing right now." I clipped.

"Alright, alright, I'm done. Come here, we'll work on the very beginner level. Let me show you how to make a proper fist and aim your punches."

He worked me through how to make a fist that wouldn't cause me to hurt my hand when I did land a blow and how to aim them properly by having me punch what he called focus mitts, like cushioned gloves. When he was satisfied that I was hitting where I was aiming, we took a quick break. He had me shake out my shoulders and run through a few stretches.

He watched me and corrected my form in places, which he had to do several times because his eyes on me made it difficult to focus. I caught his gaze lingering a few times on areas not related to what I was doing. I didn't say anything, but as time passed, the way he'd snap his eyes to my face to catch my gaze said that he wasn't hiding it.

"Alright, Princess, come here." He pointed to where he wanted me. "We're going to work on breaking holds. I'm going to walk you through what to do, and then we'll practice it until you're sure you'll remember how. He circled behind me, standing so close that I could feel his chest against my back. My breath hitched, and I felt him tense slightly.

"I'm going to grab you so I can walk you through things, but my grip will be loose, okay?" His voice had retaken that low,husky tone. This time, it had me squeezing my thighs together slightly. "Just remember, I'm not going to hurt you. Okay?"

"Okay," I said, my voice more breathy than I wanted it to be. Az wrapped his arms around me, pushing my arms against my body.

He pulled me back against him slightly. I felt my brain short-circuit for a moment as he held me against the hard planes of his chest; then he started talking, and I remembered he was instructing me. I gave myself a mental shake and tried to focus on what he was saying.

"...real tempting to start struggling and squirming when you get grabbed like this. But what you're going to want to do is drop yourself down like you're going into a squat. Lowering your center of gravity is going to make you hard to be picked up or moved against your will." He paused, and we stood there momentarily with his arms around me. "Princess? At this rate, I could just drag you off and do whatever I wanted to with you if you don't stop me."

I blinked several times and shook my head. "Right… Drop down. Like this?" I dropped my weight downward until I was just above a squat.

"Like that. Good girl. Push your feet a little wider apart. They should be just wider than hip width to give you a solid stance…." He paused again, waiting for me to comply. His breathing was slightly ragged. I shuffled my feet to the stance he'd directed. "Good. Rotate and shift your hips to the side… Yes, like that. This will give you a direct path to your attacker's groin. One or two good open palm strikes like this should have their grip loosened if they don't just drop you."

I nodded my understanding, shifting my weight to one side.

"Lunge forward, bringing an elbow back if they didn't drop you with the first attempt. Hit him hard with an elbow and try to twist as you lunge so you're harder to hold on to. Once you'vebroken his grip, run if you can." He paused so I could simulate those parts of his instructions.

His grip loosened as I pushed forward to lunge away with my upper body, and I stepped out of his embrace. I felt strangely cold without him wrapped around me, and it took a herculean effort to push the thought away. He stood up straight again, and the way he looked at me was pure heat.

"Understand, Princess?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wide stance, drop weight, rotate, groin shot, lunge and elbow." I repeated a simplistic version of the steps back to him.

"Good girl. If you can't run, start raining punches down on the weak spots of their head and face until you can. Then make your way back to us, and we can take it from there." He instructed. He crooked a finger at me to come back to him. "Now we're going to practice it until you can do it without me letting you go."

"But–"

"Just… don't hit me in the balls for real," he said, sounding like he was only half joking. I took the same position back in front of him. He traced a finger up my spine, making me shiver all over. "Ready?"

Before I could answer, he had me in another bear hug; this one was a little tighter and rougher than the instructional one. He pulled me against him, making me gasp at how he handled me harshly. My mind blanked until he shook me slightly.

"Pay attention!" He snapped, not cruelly, but enough to work. "Get away from me."

I shifted my legs apart and moved through the steps he'd instructed me on, ensuring the groin shot stopped short and I didn't elbow him in the stomach on my forward lunge. He released me and straightened up as I turned to face him.

"Gotta keep your head in it, Princess; every second counts. Again," he demanded.

We reran the break again and again. Each time Az wrapped his arms around me, it was a little harder and more demanding when he pulled me against him.

"You've got the steps, work on the speed. It has to catch your attacker off guard. Again."

I started to feel my heart rate pick up, and my breathing was rapid as I stepped back into position. I moved through the steps again, but when I simulated the groin shot, my hand brushed against him, and his hard-on was evident. I moved to my forward lunge, but he didn't release me this time, and I collided with the cage he'd made with his arms. I started to twist to face him, but my foot caught him, and before I could stop or right myself, I felt my back hit the mat. I closed my eyes and braced for his impact, but he caught himself and hovered above me, perched on his elbows.

"And that's why a wide stance is so important. Because, Princess, you've just created a whole new problem for yourself." I opened my eyes and stared directly into his blazing blue gaze. He wore an expression I didn't think I'd see again, and my breath caught in my throat. "Now, what are you going to do to get away from me?"

The thought crossed my mind, and I acted before the logical part of my brain could protest. I reached up, wrapped my arms around his neck, pulled him down, and kissed him. He stiffened before he softened and kissed me back. His hand went to the back of my neck, and the other tugged my hair out of its bun to thread his fingers through the curls.