Page 50 of Shallow

“Shy, that’s not what I meant.” Palming the back of his neck, he paces in front of me, the muscles in his back cording with everystep.

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “Fightme.”

Pausing his maddening strides, he lifts his head and raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“You think you can teach better than your protégées?” I challenge, pointing toward the door. “Then prove it, hot shot. You’ve wanted to get back at me for years now, so take your bestswing.”

“I don’t hit women,Shiloh.”

I tilt my chin and step forward. “Are youchicken?”

I have no clue what I’m saying. Words are tumbling out faster than I can reel them back in. Cary’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have. Only a complete moron would invite a skilled mixed martial arts fighter to kick herass.

“Shiloh, I’m not fighting you.” He chuckles, mocking me with a light tap on my cheek with his palm. “I can see your game coming a mileaway.”

Something in my head explodes. Like someone threw a baseball through a stained-glass window, causing a fall-out of multi-colored shards to cloud all rational thought. With lightning speed, I swoop around with my opposite arm and grab his wrist while landing a hard knee into his stomach. Just as he lets out a surprised groan, I twist his arm in a full three sixty and pin it to his lower back while delivering three blows with my elbow right between his shoulders. He falls to his knees as rainbow tinted dust finally settles in mymind.

Bending over, I let my long hair fall like a curtain over him and whisper, “Didn’t see that coming, didya?”

Once he manages to move to a sitting position, he rolls his shoulders and winces. “What the hell wasthat?”

The real answer? A combination of self-defense techniques with a little realistic fight training thrown in for flair. Courtesy of Lena and her need to protect herself from random fuckboys who took her “choke me, baby” suggestion a little toofar.

But that’s not what Isay.

“Krav Maga, sweetheart. You think men all over the world aren’t the same? The only reason those assholes got the jump on me today was because I was distracted. Otherwise they’d be picking their ball sacks out of tree limbs rightnow.”

When he continues to stare at the floor of the ring, I plop down beside him and tuck my hands in my lap. “I’m sorry I hurt you. But in my defense, I didn’t know you’d go down like a drunk virgin on promnight.”

Okay, so maybe apologies aren’t myforte.

“I’m not hurt,” he grumbles. “But remind me never to underestimate you.” Reaching over his shoulder, he rubs the spot I pulverized. “Your elbows are bony asshit.”

I just chuckle, neither of us saying another word. Finally, the silence becomes so deafening that Cary gives me a forced smile. “So, Krav Maga, huh? Where’d you learn thatshit?”

“You know, here and there. Mostly there. You’d be surprised what you pick up when you live out of asuitcase.”

“What was it like traveling all over theworld?”

“Exhausting,” I answer honestly, wiping a line of sweat off my brow. “Lonely. There’s a lot of pressure to always be thebest.”

“There always was.” Deep-set lines sink into his tannedforehead.

“Old habits diehard.”

He inhales a few times, as if dancing around the elephant in the room. “Speaking of old habits, we haven’t talked about what happened the otherday.”

“I’m okay withthat.”

“I’m not talking about between us.” He clasps his palms over his biceps and pins a serious stare on me. I’m doing a good job of avoiding his eyes until he hooks his foot under my thigh and drags me toward him. “I’m talking about the pills. I know they’re your mom’s. Are you using again? Because I can’t have that shit around theseboys.”

All I can do is shake my head because our nearness is doing things I’d rather not vocalize rightnow.

“Speak,Shiloh.”

Speak? Who the fuck does he think he’s talkingto?

“It was a moment of weakness. It won’t happen again,” I growl through clenched teeth. “And watch your tone,boss. Or I’ll kick your assagain.”