Page 22 of Sunflower Persona (Classic City Romance #2)

I walk her through the maneuver several times before we swap places.

My arms have no difficulty wrapping around her frame, and the scent of soft citrus fills my senses.

How can she still smell so sweet after everything I’ve put her through today?

She stiffens for a split second before she relaxes into me.

Heat radiates from her body, seeping into mine as her ass brushes against my crotch.

That subtle motion—intentional or not—brings back that prickling sense of awareness to every one of my nerves as my cock stirs in my pants again.

It looks like Yellow isn’t the only one getting an exercise today. Goddamn, I feel like a high schooler with his first crush.

“You are supposed to try and escape,” I rasp into her ear when she doesn’t start the rep.

“Oh. Right,” she says and starts to wiggle in my arms.

Even without resistance, she struggles to free herself from my grasp without much success. It’s like everything I told her to do went in one ear and out the other. The only reason she escapes is her writhing makes my cock harder—painfully so—and I let her go before she notices my body’s mutiny.

“Did I do it?” she asks with a smile on her lips.

“Not exactly,” I tell her and try to will my dick back into submission. “Let’s try that again.”

I force thoughts of anything but the woman in my arms through my head to distract myself, and twist my bad leg in a way I know will send pain shooting through my knee.

It works…enough.

This time, Kori is more in control too. She still flails, but she remembers to make space and drop her weight to the floor.

Neither of us is expecting it when she slides out of my hold, and her foot catches on mine as she tries to steady herself.

The awkward misstep rips her balance from her, sending her tumbling toward the mat—and me.

My instincts from over a decade of training take over as she falls.

I clutch her to me and let myself go to the ground with her, twisting us so I take the brunt of the impact.

All technique is overshadowed by my need to protect her, and I hit the floor harder than I anticipate.

Stars swim in my vision as the air is knocked from my lungs, leaving me stunned while she lands on top of me.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

Her hands run over my face and body, checking me for injury as she scrambles to get off me. Her clumsy movement doesn’t help anything. A stabbing pain shoots through my side as her knee somehow connects with my kidney.

I stifle the groan and grab her hips to stop her squirming. “Easy now.”

She freezes under my fingers with her knees planted on both sides of me, her face flush and pupils blown.

“That’s it,” I praise.

Now that she’s calmed, I should let her go, but I can’t do it. She feels too right here in my hands—like she was made for me to hold her. Her curves mold perfectly in my palms.

Without thinking, I tighten my grip and stroke my thumbs over her waist. Her breath catches, and she starts to abuse her lip with her teeth again. Fucking hell, the woman is trying to torture me.

“Stop that.” The words come through clenched teeth.

“Yes, Coach,” she says in a sultry whisper as she rubs her ass over the front of my pants.

She gasps when she comes in contact with my rigid erection. This time, the burst of pain wasn’t enough to push away my arousal. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, enticing me even further from the boundaries I tried to keep.

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Kori.”

I try to lift her off me, but she squeezes her legs, locking herself in place. That spark of hunger returns to her eyes as her gaze roams over my face. Time freezes as she brushes her lips against mine in the most tentative, barely there kiss imaginable.

For a moment, I’m stunned as my brain and body try to reconcile what’s happening, and then I’m all in.

Before she loses her nerve and pulls away, I move one of my hands from her hip and bring it to her face.

The raging beast of need and desire demands that I ravage her—that I claim her and make her mine—but Kori deserves better than that, so I return her kiss with a tenderness I didn’t know I was capable of.

My lips match her shy energy, gently caressing and sucking with no move to deepen it.

It’s the softest kiss I’ve ever experienced, but it sets my body alight with need in a way the filthiest kiss never has.

She grinds down on me as her tongue slips out, tentatively probing for entrance. That turns my brain back on. Before we take this any further, I pull away, but my hand doesn’t leave her face.

“I shouldn’t have done that.” My eyes fall shut as my thumb strokes her cheek. “I’m—”

“If you apologize one more time, I’m going to…well, I don’t actually know what I’ll do, but you won’t like it. So save us both the trouble of finding out by keeping your mouth shut,” she snaps, jerking her face out of my grasp and clambering off my lap.

“I’m serious. That shouldn’t have happened.”

“You know what, you’re right. Lesson learned. I won’t be making that mistake again.”

“Kor, hold on—”

“For what? You made it pretty clear I misread that situation, which is fine. I get it. It happens. But please let me flee with at least some of my dignity intact.” Her voice cracks on those last few words, sending a crushing shockwave of guilt through me.

All I can do is nod and watch as she rushes out the door, knowing full well that I royally fucked up.