Page 63 of Hero Mine

Bear shifted his stance, hands up, watching Joy as she squared off against him in the training room at Linear Tactical. Her breathing was controlled, her stance solid, but he could see the flicker of doubt in her eyes—the moment of hesitation before she’d move.

“Weight on the balls of your feet,” he reminded her. “You hesitate too long, I’ll take you down before you can blink.”

Her green eyes flashed, a challenge sparking there. “You think?”

He didn’t even get the chance to respond before she moved.

Joy feinted left, then spun on her heel, aiming an elbow strike toward his ribs. It wasn’t perfect, but it was faster, stronger than last time.

Bear blocked, catching her arm, but she was already moving into the next attack. A sharp pivot, a knee lifting toward his stomach. He barely avoided the hit, sidestepping at the last second.

“Better,” he admitted, breath coming short.

Joy grinned, breathless but steady. “What’s the matter, Marine? Am I wearing you out?”

The pride in her voice hit him harder than any strike she could land. She was still fighting herself more than she was fighting him, but the improvement was undeniable. Each session, she grew more confident, more fluid in her movements.

“Not even close,” he replied, circling her on the mat.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to keep his focus here, in this moment, instead of drifting back to last weekend at the cabin—to the way she’d looked at him in the firelight, bare and open and trusting in a way that made his chest tight.

And he’d shown his scars to someone outside of medical professionals for the first time ever. While he appreciated, and even agreed with, Joy’s comments about telling his family, he wasn’t quite ready to act on them yet. Honestly, he wasn’t completely sure he ever would be.

He wished everything could stay as simple and secluded as their cabin in the woods. But that wasn’t an option. They’d been with each other nearly every night this week since coming home, but he’d also made sure they’d had time to continue their self-defense training.

Joy charged again, but this time, he didn’t hold back as much. He wanted her to feel her own strength, to see that she was capable of taking him down.

She dodged the first hit, but he swept his leg out, knocking her off-balance. She stumbled, barely catching herself—but instead of backing down, she lunged.

Bear saw it happening in slow motion, the moment she stopped hesitating. She used her momentum against him, twisting and taking him down to the mat.

He hit the floor, his back flat against the mat. And the next thing he knew, Joy was straddling his waist, pinning him with all her weight.

Her triumphant grin was the best damn thing he’d seen in weeks.

She panted, bracing her hands on his chest. “You were saying?”

Bear huffed out a breathless laugh, pride swelling in his chest. “You’re getting cocky, Davis.”

“Nah. Just finally getting my groove back.”

That—That. Right. There.—was what he’d been waiting to see. The cabin had given her a taste of herself again, but this? This was her taking it back.

And damn, if he wasn’t the proudest son of a bitch on the planet right now.

He lifted a brow, his hands settling on her hips before she could scramble away. “You know what this means, right?”

Her breath hitched slightly, but she didn’t move. “What?”

His smirk deepened. Then he flipped them.

In a flash, he had her pinned beneath him, his forearms braced on either side of her head.

Her breath left her in a startled exhale, eyes wide, but he saw no fear there. Just surprise.

And maybe something else.

Bear lowered his head slightly, just enough that his lips hovered over hers. “Means you’re still not fast enough.”