twenty-eight

Penelope

P rotecting what he loves means spending the next two weeks trying to constantly surprise me by grabbing me, tossing me around the house, and teaching me ways to get out of his hold.

“Good, Penny, keep your arms in next time.”

I glare at him. “I know all of this is your way of controlling the situation, but you’re killing me.”

“No, I’m trying to keep that from happening,” Miles says after flipping me over.

This week, we’re doing choking maneuvers. I swear, he’s enjoying this a little too much. However, since doing this with him, I feel a little ... calmer.

“If someone grabs you, where does this arm go?” He lifts my right arm.

“I hook it under and twist,” I say.

“Exactly, love. You duck at the same time you twist.”

I can really see why he was such a great teacher. He’s smart, calm, and explains things in a really clear way. Last week, we talked about what to do if someone grabbed me, all the ways to break a hold, if someone grabbed me by my hair, but Miles was adamant I learn how to get out of a choking situation.

Today, he’s shown me if they grab me standing up, or against a wall.

“You do realize that even if I get out of this, it doesn’t mean they won’t grab me again,” I remind him. “There was more than one person.”

He nods. “I don’t think the others like to get their hands dirty. Killing someone isn’t as easy as it sounds. I would guarantee the reason they had their henchman is because they don’t have the stomach for it. You just worry about one person, and their weakness. Then you run, and you do whatever you can to get away.” His hand cups my cheek and then moves to my neck, his eyes staying there for a moment. “You get away and find help. What is the other thing you do?”

I roll my eyes. “I call for help and make a lot of noise.”

Miles grins and leans down. “Good, now I’m going to choke you, and I want you to break free.”

I exhale and grab his wrist, twisting the way he showed me. “Ha!”

He chuckles. “Just like that. Okay, now we’re going to go through what I think will be the most likely way they’d try to choke you.”

Great, more choking. “You know, if this was my kink, we’d be doing something totally different. We could be naked and sweaty, instead ... we’re sweating for another reason.”

Miles’s eyes go wide. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be naked and sweaty very soon. Now stop trying to distract me.”

I tried. “All right, show me how not to die.”

Miles grabs me quickly, putting me on the floor and mounting me, his hands going to my neck. Fear fills me instantly. I know he would never hurt me, but I don’t think I can get out of this. His eyes are focused on me. “If someone has you this way, it’s the most dominant and probably likely to hold. I have complete control. All of my weight will push onto your neck, making it a much easier way to choke you. You have six seconds before you’ll pass out, and if they continue, you’ll be dead.”

“Miles, I can’t,” I say, panting, my anxiety the highest it’s been. They killed Edward by choking him to death.

“You can. Look at me, Penelope. Get your elbows in as tight as you can get them against your side.” I follow his instructions. “Now take your right arm and cross it over your chest, hooking my wrist.” I do that and he shakes his head. “Put your thumb next to your fingers, not wrapped around.”

“Why?”

“Remember how you can break a hold because the thumbs can’t hold body weight? Same applies here.”

Okay, that makes sense. I adjust my grip.

“Like this?”

“Perfect. Keep your elbows tight to the body and move your left arm to hold my tricep. This makes it so I can’t pull my arm out to break your hold. Right now, you have control of this arm completely.” Miles tries to move his arm side to side and out, but he can’t. “Hook your leg over mine. Other foot in the center.” I move that one. “Now keep your arm locked against your side and use your hips to push.”

There’s no way I’m getting him over. He’s got at least fifty pounds of solid muscle on me.

However, I try it. I push up with my hips, keeping my grip as tight as I can, and he rolls. I break the hold and I’m running the way he’s shown me.

“I did it!” I say when I’m at the door. “I rolled you! Did you let me?”

“Did it feel like I let you?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Because you used my hold against me. This isn’t a fight. This is break and escape.”

He walks to me, hands up, indicating he’s not about to push me against the wall to choke me. “Come here,” he says softly.

I eye him suspiciously, because he did this to me before. “Truce?”

He grins. “Truce. I need to kiss you, Penelope. You have red marks on your neck, and I can’t look at it.”

My heart melts when I see the regret filling his beautiful eyes. “You’re teaching me.”

“Still, I don’t like it.”

I go to him and he dips his lips, kissing the angry skin. “You’d never hurt me on purpose,” I say, running my fingers through his hair as he places feather-light kisses on my mouth.

“No, I wouldn’t. ”

I dip my head back to look in his eyes. “Again. I want to see if I can do it again.”

He nods once and then grabs my legs, putting me back on the floor, and we keep going until I can do it when he’s at full strength.

It’s a Sunday afternoon and we’re at the Ultimate Frisbee Championship. Who knew there was such a thing?

Miles, Everett, Lachlan, and Killian have been here since seven in the morning, setting up, getting loose or whatever, and preparing for what will surely be an ass kicking.

Their first match is at noon, and I’m in the car with Ainsley, Kai, and Rose.

“This goes all day?” I ask.

“All. Day,” Ainsley says with a huff. “Although, this is the first time they’re competing in a championship in this league, so it actually may go really quickly since they suck so much.”

“Daddy said they’re going to win,” Rose pipes up.

“I hope so!” Ainsley says and then gives me a look saying there’s not a chance they do.

We ride the thirty minutes, laughing and talking about Ainsley’s job. She’s heading to Washington, DC, to cover a story she thinks is going to blow up. She spends about one week a month up there as she works for a newspaper in New York.

“I really think there’s something off about this senator,” she says as she makes a left into the parking lot.

“Is that what you’re investigating?” I ask.

She nods. “There’s just a hunch I’ve had, and my boss has shot the story down like ten times, which is weird, because we’d want to be on the breaking side of it. I have a source who is adamant I need to dig in. All the places I’ve looked so far have come up empty, though. I guess I get why my editor isn’t all in. I need something concrete before I can spend weeks on it.”

I know nothing about journalism, so I’ll take her word on it. “Can you tell me who? ”

“I wish I could, but I really can’t. Not that I think you’re not trustworthy, I do. I just have to protect the story always.”

I can’t help wondering whether it’s a certain senator I know. I wonder whether Ainsley knows and could ... I don’t know, help.

No. I’m not dragging her into it.

“Don’t apologize, your discretion is actually admirable,” I say softly.

“If I’m wrong, which I could be, that could destroy his or her life, you know? I don’t ever want to be that person. Accusations can do just as much damage as facts sometimes. We see that constantly in politics.”

“In life too,” I say.

“True. People often overlook things based on their own opinions. It’s just the way it seems lately. It’s why I’m very cautious with any story I put out. I protect my source as well as making sure all the information is verified.”

I respect that completely. “I think that’s what makes you a good journalist.”

Ainsley smiles brightly. “You think?”

“I do.”

“Well, who knew that me writing about the love of my life and Ultimate Frisbee would’ve been the break in my career I needed.”

“The last part especially,” I say with a laugh.

She sighs deeply, glancing at Rose in the back. “It was the break in my life too. It brought me to Ember Falls and to Lachlan.”

We pull into the parking lot, and there are hundreds of cars. Frisbees are flying around, people sitting at the backs of their cars with grills, tents, and chairs everywhere. I had no idea this was such a big thing.

“Yeah, they do Frisbee big in these leagues,” Ainsley says when she sees my face.

“This is . . .”

“Yup. Just wait, the guys have a great setup, and hopefully they brought a physical therapist this time, because one of them is bound to pull something.”

I laugh. We park and then I turn to Ainsley, wanting to ask her something, but I’m not sure I should.

“Penny?” she asks as I stare at her. “Are you okay? ”

Here goes nothing. Ainsley has been a friend, and she probably understands the fear I have about all of this.

“Were you scared?” I ask her. “When it came to Lachlan?”

Ainsley’s eyes flash to mine, and there’s a mix of understanding and sisterhood in her gaze. “Very. Love is terrifying. At least I think so. Moving to Ember Falls after fighting so damn hard to be a reporter in New York was also a big risk. I think that without taking any chances, you never know what rewards might be awaiting you. Look at you and Miles. If you hadn’t come here, you’d never have met him.”

“That would’ve been a really sad thing,” I say with all the honesty in the world. “He’s a great man.”

“He’d do anything for you, Penny.”

“I know he would.”

She reaches her hand out, gripping my wrist and squeezing. “I’m glad you came to Ember Falls.”

I cover her hand. “Me too.”

“Now, let’s go watch them lose and pretend we care.”