An Act of Obsession (Acts of Honor Book 3) (7 page)

She shrugs. “Not challenging, just stating facts.”

His buddies chuckle, punching him in the shoulder.

Rubbing his jaw, he assesses her. “All right, ballerina, let’s see what you got.”

I’m about to put a stop to this when Lia takes off her purse and shoves it against my chest, looking like she’s about to take someone down. Amused, I hold it while she follows the guy to the middle of the dance floor.

“Here are the rules,” he starts. “I get fifteen seconds then you do what I did. One wrong move and you’re out. Think you can handle that?”

“I think I can manage,” she answers blandly.

He smirks. “Let me help you with that scarf.”

I move as soon as he reaches for it but her reflexes are faster. She grabs his wrist midair. “Don’t touch. It stays on.”

Awkward silence fills the room just before he raises his hands in surrender.

“All right, it’s cool. Keep it on then.”

As he moves to the stereo, she looks back at me with a small smile. “That was some fast reflexes,” she whispers proudly.

“Very fast,” I agree with a smirk, a heavy dose of admiration filling my chest.

His buddies gather around me, chuckling, and I know it’s directed at her. It pisses me off and I start to worry, not wanting her to be embarrassed, especially with this newfound confidence I’m seeing. If that disappears, I’ll kick all their little asses.

“Uptown Funk” suddenly booms from the speakers. The kid walks back to her with a cocky dance in his step, his hands clapping to the intro as he moves side to side. Lia watches him, unimpressed. Once the beat kicks in, he lets loose, his feet moving with an upbeat rhythm as his body twists and contorts with ease, executing move after impressive move.

He’s really fucking good.

When he drops to the ground in one fluid motion, pumping himself up on his arms so his legs and body twist in the air, all of his buddies start cheering.

Once his fifteen seconds are up, he signals Lia to start. My heart begins to pound for her but it lasts only a second, because once she starts my jaw hits the fucking floor. She doesn’t only match his every move, she does it better than him.

All of the guys next to me start hollering and laughing, pointing at their friend who looks as shocked as me while he watches Lia. Even though her steps are quick, her body moves with grace. I figured she was a dancer when I caught her in the gym that first night, but I never imagined she could dance like this.

When she completes her fifteen seconds and the shock wears off her competitor, he nods in approval, his mouth splitting in a huge grin. “All right, ballerina. Let’s dance.”

Laughing, Lia joins him and they move together, thankfully not touching or I would have to kick his ass. This time, he’s the one who follows her steps as she leads. I watch the smile on her face as she loses herself to the beat once again. It’s as if I’m staring back at a girl I’ve never seen before. A girl who has no fear. Only confidence and…strength.

“Dude, where did you find this chick?” the kid next to me asks.

It takes me a moment to answer, my eyes never leaving Lia. “I didn’t. She found me.”

Once the song ends, the kid bows down to her then the others clap and congratulate her, but I find myself still rooted to my spot. When she looks at me, her vibrant smile punches me in the chest. It’s a smile that I’d make sure she had every second if I could.

Before we leave, I tell the guys to come by the gym and I’ll write them a check to send them to nationals. They flip their shit, cheering with excitement and thanking me, which I don’t need. They also invite Lia to come by anytime to hang out and dance.

Once we walk outside, she stops, pulling in deep breaths of air.

“Jesus, that was fucking amazing,” I tell her. “I figured you danced but—”

“Kolan?” she heaves, interrupting me.

“Yeah?” I suddenly notice how hard her lungs are working.

“Catch me.” My arms come around her just as her legs give out. Concern plagues me until she smiles. “I haven’t done that in a long time,” she says. “But I totally kicked that guy’s ass.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, baby, you definitely did.” Realizing what I just said, I clear my throat. “You good?”

“Not yet. Just give me another second, my legs are jelly.”

With a smirk, I scoop her up in my arms and start walking.

“Or this works, too,” she says.

“Where did you park?” Dread twists in my gut at the thought of saying good-bye already.

“I didn’t. I came on the bus. Just take me to your sister’s salon, the stop isn’t far from there.”

My feet falter, halting in their tracks. “Why did you take the bus?”

“Because I don’t have a car,” she answers slowly.

“What do you mean you don’t have a car?”

She frowns. “It means exactly that.”

“How the hell have you been getting home from the gym every night?”

“Walking.”

I glare at her. “You’ve been fucking walking?”

“Yeah. Why do you keep repeating everything I say?”

“Because you shouldn’t be walking at night by yourself. This is one of those things, Lia, where I told you to make smart decisions so you don’t end up in a bad situation.”

Her body stiffens in my arms. “I don’t have a choice since I have no vehicle,
Kolan.
”

“I would have fucking driven you!”

“I don’t need you to drive me,” she snaps. “I only live a few blocks from the gym. Now stop yelling at me!”

I blow out a frustrated breath and try to collect myself. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to yell. I just don’t like you walking home alone at night. From now on, I’ll drive you.”

“Honestly, Kolan, I can manage.”

“It’s not up for discussion. If you want to train after hours then I take you home.”

She glares up at me, looking like she’s about to argue further but thinks better of it. “Whatever…” she grumbles. “Can we just keep moving, Mr. Bossy pants?”

I quirk a brow at her. “You want to walk?”

“Not yet, keep going,” she orders, flicking her hand in front of us. With an amused grunt, I start walking again, the sound of her laugh doing funny shit to my chest. “I’m just kidding. You can put me down.”

“Nah,” I decline, enjoying the way she feels in my arms.

“It’s really nice of you to pay for them to go to nationals,” she says quietly.

I shrug. “They’re good. They should go.”

“You never told me you were a professional fighter.”

I was wondering when she was going to bring that up. “Does it matter?”

“No, I guess it doesn’t,” she says. “Why did you retire?”

I take a moment to think about how to answer that then settle with the truth. “Because I reached my goal. I made it to the top. So, when people fucked me over, I decided to leave with half of my dignity intact.”

Her gaze burns the side of my face, but I keep my eyes trained ahead. “I’m sorry people lied about you and tried to ruin your reputation.”

“Been doing some digging on me, have you, Lia?”

I hate that she knows, but I guess she was bound to find out sooner or later.

“A little,” she admits. “I found out yesterday you were a fighter. I didn’t know much about the EFC so I Googled it, and that’s when I saw what that girl said about you.”

My jaw locks down at the thought of that bitch Nikki. I wonder what else she saw, because I’m sure Annihilation showed up in that search, too.

Fuck!

“I never believed it,” she whispers. “Even before I found out you were cleared of the charges, I knew it wasn’t true.”

“How?” I ask, my eyes finding hers. “How could you know that when you don’t even know me?”

“What kind of rapist teaches a girl how to defend herself?”

I shift my gaze away, her response evoking a storm of emotions I’m not prepared to feel.

“I don’t need to have known you a long time, Kolan, to know you aren’t capable of that.”

“Some of the people who believed it knew me a hell of a lot longer than you.”

“Then they never really knew you.”

My eyes meet hers again, and I see so much trust reflecting back at me, something I can’t understand. The only person who’s ever had that much faith in me is my sister. “Don’t put too much stock in me. I’m far from perfect.”

That’s a major understatement.

“None of us are,” she says quietly, so much hidden in those few words.

Reaching my SUV, I place her feet on the ground and cage her against the passenger door, bracing both my hands on either side of her head. “And what about you, Lia?” I ask, dipping my head in close to hers. “Hmm? You know my secrets. What about yours?”

She might not know all of mine but she knows enough.

“What is it you want to know?” she asks, a slight tremble in her voice.

“I want to know who you are and where you came from. But more than anything, I want to know what you’re hiding under that scarf.”

The stark pain that enters her eyes strikes me to my fucking core. “Trust me, you don’t want to see what’s under there. I can’t even bear to look at it myself.”

“Nothing scares me.”

It’s a complete lie. She scares the hell out of me.

A heavy silence descends upon us, her pretty eyes wide and fearful.

“What are you so afraid of?” I ask.

Her breath hitches, emotion shining bright in her gaze. “Everything.”

There’s so much despair in that one word that I want to fucking kill whoever put it there. Unable to resist, I gently drop my forehead on hers, my jaw locking as I restrain myself from doing what I really want to do.

“I’m going to respect your privacy…for now. But one day, you’re going to tell me who made you so afraid. And if they’re still breathing—they won’t be for much longer.”

Her eyes fall closed, lip trembling as she tries to shield her pain from me. “Some secrets, Kolan, are best left unknown.”

“Not between us. The day will come when there will be no more secrets between us.”

Her eyes open, locking with mine, but she remains silent. I press my lips to her forehead then reach for the door handle. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Sophie

I
walk into the gym Monday evening to see Kolan headed toward the change room in nothing but gym shorts and a towel slung around his neck, his hard, bare body slick with sweat. The moment his eyes lock with mine, my heart skips a beat.

“Hey,” he greets me, his deep, smooth baritone making my knees weak.

“Hey.”

“Sorry, I lost track of time. I’m just going to have a quick shower. I’ll be out in five.”

All I can manage is a nod, my throat dry from images of him under the hot spray.

Don’t go there, Sophie.

As he disappears into the locker room, I put my gym bag down and climb into the ring to stretch, hoping it will distract me from my dangerous thoughts, but it’s no use. If I thought he consumed me before, that’s nothing compared to how much I’ve thought about him since our night together in Charleston.

It was the best night I’ve had since I lost everything. It felt so good to have someone to talk to and hang out with again. And it was even better that the someone was Kolan. I saw so much more of that kindness I had glimpsed in him this past week. From him buying me the bracelet because he knew what it meant to me, and the way he never hesitated to take pictures with the group of boys, then sponsored them to go to nationals. It showed just how truly generous he can be. A far cry from what so many people seem to think about him.

I’ll admit when I first met him, I was intimidated like so many others. He does give off an unapproachable vibe, but I have a feeling it’s a façade to keep people away. I’m just not sure why he does it.

The one thing that’s been consuming me the most since that night is the way it felt to be in his arms as he carried me back to his SUV. I felt…safe. A safe I haven’t felt in years. It’s dangerous and something I should never let myself feel, because as long as Daniel is still breathing, I will never be safe. It’s the cold, hard truth, and I need to remember it.

My depressing thoughts come to an end when I clue in to one of my favorite songs coming from the radio. Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.”

I let the beautiful words wash over me, blanketing my soul, and begin humming along with the melody, allowing my body to sway back and forth to the base vibrating from the speakers. The sound grounds me, anchors me in place while every bone and muscle in my body yearns to submit to the seductive beat.

Since the dance-off the other night, it’s as if something has broken loose inside of me, a piece of the old me returning. I’ve decided to grab hold of it and embrace it. Dancing is the one thing that always made me happy, and since I’ve been robbed of everything else, I’m going to take that part of me back. Even if it’s only in private.

I’m completely lost in my euphoria when awareness creeps up my spine. Spinning around, I see Kolan standing on the other side of the ring, watching me. My breath catches at the intensity of his gaze.

“There’s something about this gym that makes me want to dance,” I say with a smile, trying to lighten the tension filling the air.

“Dance away. I like watching.” His voice is as dark as his eyes—beckoning me. I should look away, break this spell he seems to have over me, but I can’t. If anything, I want to drown myself in it.

Without thinking about the consequences, I reach out to him, offering my hand. “Doing it is so much better than watching.”

He gives me that sexy smirk of his. “Sorry, baby.” My tummy dips at the endearment, just like it did the other night. “I’m all about doing but not when it comes to dancing. As in…I can’t. I’ve never done it before.”

A frown pulls at my face. “Never?”

He shakes his head.

“What about school dances? Or prom?”

“I never went.”

His expression remains stoic but those simple words have pain striking my heart. Everyone should dance at least once in their life.

Stepping closer to him, I take his large hand in mine and pull him to the center of the ring. My eyes train on his chest as he reluctantly follows.

“This goes here.” I bring his one hand to my lower back then show him how to hold my other as I move it between us. When I try to sway us, his feet remain planted, and that’s when I finally meet his eyes.