Big Girls Don't Cry (16 page)
Read Big Girls Don't Cry Online
Authors: Taylor Lee
Brady quirked a surprised brow then said with a salacious grin, “Yeah, man. I can see where that would be a hard choice.”
Chapter 16
Ignoring the gasps and gapes of the men who parted to let her through, Lexie sauntered to the far end of the dojo, staking out the punching bag in the corner. Tugging on her leather practice gloves, she slipped off her sweats and tossed them on top of her duffle bag. She yanked on the bottom of her abbreviated shorts to make sure they covered her butt. She’d long ago eschewed the regulation gi. An exercise bra and shorts allowed the unrestricted movement she needed for her rigorous practice. No matter what she wore, the men around her ogled her. May as well be comfortable, was her theory.
All Jake needed to find her was to follow the line of military grunts with their tongues hanging out and their hands discreetly over their groins. Across the huge room, he saw her blond ponytail and headed her way. Standing at a distance, he shook his head in admiration. He didn’t see how that bag could hold up under the fierce barrage of her feet and fists. He was so taken by her skill that he could almost ignore the fitted exercise bra and boy shorts that had every guy he passed refusing to meet his eyes. He thought with a satisfied grunt, at least he had done something right last night. After that exhibition at the bar, he doubted there was a soldier on the base that hadn’t heard about his outrageous claim. He grimaced. Nothing like marking your territory. He knew he should be embarrassed, but looking at the gorgeous woman attacking the bag with fierce determination, he wasn’t. His claim stood. Glancing around, he dared any man to cross into his territory.
She was so absorbed in her practice that he was sure she didn’t hear him approach.
He chuckled. “As Grandpa Peter John used to say, ‘leave some of that bag for the buzzards, darlin’.”
Lexie spun around, startled. Jake didn’t miss the flush that flooded her cheeks or the flash of excitement in her eyes. It was a good thing, because within seconds that unintended welcome was displaced by a scowl.
Her voice was curt.
“What are you doing here, Jake? Are you following me?”
He grinned. “Yep. That’s exactly what I am doing.”
He moved up next to her.
“I came to spar with you.”
Lexie started and stepped back. Giving her head a dismissive toss, she turned back to the bags and said over her shoulder, “Too bad! I didn’t come to spar today. I‘m working the bags.”
Jake arched a brow. His voice was soft. His eyes narrowed.
“That wasn’t an offer, sugar.”
He motioned to her duffle. “Get your things, Lexie. I’ve reserved a practice room for us.”
Lexie drew herself up to her full height and glared at him. Looking around, she saw the surreptitious glances of the fighters near them. Lowering her voice, she spit out a harsh whisper.
“Do you honestly think you can come in here and order me around like some flunky private?”
Jake flashed her a brilliant smile.
“The privates under my command are well trained. They rarely need orders. Now, you on the other hand…” He chuckled and reached for her bag.
“Let’s go, Lexie. The room is down the hall.”
She flushed, indecision warring across her face. She glared at him, then apparently deciding she couldn’t win, she reached over and grabbed the sweat pants out of her duffle.
Jake drawled, “Those aren’t necessary, darlin’.”
“Like hell they’re not,” she muttered as she pulled them on.
He grinned. “Too bad. Like every other guy in here, I’m kinda partial to those shorts of yours.”
He led her across the dojo to one of the private sparring rooms Master Wong set aside for training classes.
When they got inside, Jake closed the door behind him and leaned against it. Lexie’s eyes sparkled with anger.
“What are we doing, Jake? Why are you here?”
Jake studied her from half closed eyes. He worked hard to keep his anger at bay, instead said quietly, “Well, tell you what, Lexie. It’s like this. Since you’ve decided to take on the world single handed, I want to check out your skills.”
She stepped back in disbelief. “You want to test me? Fight me?”
He nodded with a teasing grin.
“Scared?”
He winked at her and dragged his t-shirt over his head baring a torso the likes of which she had rarely seen. She gasped and tried to swallow, but her mouth was long past spit. He was a perfectly proportioned male animal, muscular, hard -- and gorgeous. The black curly hair on his chest arrowed down his taut belly and below. The muscles on his chest and back rippled under his sun tanned skin. She couldn’t look away. She bit her lip, struggling against the sensations rioting over her when she saw the twinkle in his eye.
Tossing her head, she scoffed, “You really do think you’re hot stuff, don’t you?”
“Uh uh, darlin’, I don’t think it. I know it! Just like you know that you’re the hottest thing that’s been in this place since it opened. But, sugar, that’s beside the point.”
His grin faded. He moved away from the door toward her, a sleek dangerous panther.
“I’m serious, Lexie. You plan to prance into the world of murderers, drug lords, and scum of the earth? I want to see what you’ve got.”
Lexie glared at him, furious. Then her competitive gut clicked in. She jerked her chin toward the mat.
“You wanna fight, soldier? Fine. Prepare to get your ass kicked!”
A smile tugged at the corner of Jake’s mouth.
He kicked off his shoes and flexed his bare feet. He moved toward her and flicked his hand, motioning her to begin. Furious at his assumption to control the match, Lexie shrieked a fierce warrior cry and attacked. She spun in a circle and flew at him her heel landing a hard blow to his shoulder.
He grunted in surprise, then ginned in appreciation.
“Hot damn, woman! Let’s get it on!”
For the next five minutes, Jake evaded and deflected a fierce onslaught of kicks and strikes mixed with acrobatic flying leaps. She combined front and back flips with wild spins and vicious strikes. He was astonished at her aerial ability. Even among the Asian warriors he’d fought who made flying attacks their signature trademark, he had never seen anything like Lexie’s range of artistry. God, she was talented. And, it was a damn good thing that he was prepared and didn’t underestimate her because with any one of twenty different strikes she could have taken him down. But he knew the telling point was his superior strength. For most of the match, he played defense, only occasionally taking her on full force. Biding his time, he waited for a precise moment to catch her at a disadvantage. Turning one of her spectacular aerial leaps against her, with a practiced turn, he caught her high in the air, then flipped her over like a turtle on its back and pinned her to the ground.
She shrieked and fought against him. He saw the blind panic in her eyes, but rather than letting her go, he settled his large body over her and held her quietly not moving. He rested on his forearms his face inches from hers. She briefly struggled against him, then with a soft moan she gave up and relaxed into him. Jake felt her heart pounding wildly in her chest. He heard her soft raspy pants. Her cheeks and chest were flushed a rosy pink. There was no way he could hide his raging arousal. He didn’t try. Instead he went to the issue at hand.
His voice was hoarse. “You can’t stand to be pinned?”
She closed her eyes tight and rested her hot cheek against his hand. Her nod was barely perceptible.
He continued. “That’s what causes the panic?
She buried her face against his shoulder. “How did you know?”
He nuzzled her ear. His voice was soft, gentle. “I‘m a country boy, darlin’. I grew up hunting animals. I know the signs of panic when a vulnerable creature thinks it’s the end.”
When she didn’t answer, he waited for a moment to see if she would respond, to see if she would confide in him. When she was silent, he pressed further.
“Does this always happen when someone gets you down on the ground?’
She hesitated. “Not like before. And…not if it is you.”
He allowed himself to settle over her for a minute, to let her feel his calming strength. It was no mystery what hideous events in her past caused her terror reaction. He longed to wrap her in his arms and never let her go. If he could he’d spend a lifetime hunting down and killing the animals who had done this to her, he would. With a soft groan, he rolled off of her and sat up. He lifted her up and sat her in front of him.
She swallowed hard, then looked up and met his gaze.
He reached out and stroked her cheek. His voice was firm. “Okay, Lexie, we’re going to need to deal with this.”
She nodded.
He got up and went over to a small cabinet and grabbed two bottles of water. “Here, sugar, drink this.”
She took a deep swallow and sat quietly sipping on the water.
He settled back down next to her. “Want to tell me about it?”
She shook her head fiercely.
“Okay, then. How about this? Did Master Wan work with you on it?
She murmured, “Yes. And Anthony did. I’m much better than I was. It only happens if I’m caught off guard. Then, sometimes … I…I panic.
“Then what?
“In…in the beginning it would take three or four people to calm me down.”
Forcing himself to deal with the issues before him, he persisted.
“So in a fight situation, as long as you are in control, you are okay?”
She nodded.
He got up and started pacing across the room. He motioned to her to stand up and come over to him.
He chucked her under her chin.
“First off, Lexie. You are one hell of a fighter. You have moves, talents I‘ve never seen before. You are a formidable woman. The only way I was able to take you down is because I outweigh you by a hundred plus pounds and am nearly a foot taller than you are. Like you, I have been trained by the best. You’ll kill most fighters you encounter with your eyes closed. The problem is that three quarters of the grunts on this base are mixed martial artists like us. And every fucking gang member is not your average street thug. They are vicious, dirty fighters. They get a whiff of your panic and you’re dead meat.”
She lifted her chin dismissively. “So all I need to do is stay in control.”
Jake grinned at her defiance. Hell, no wonder she’s as good as she is. Nothing kept her down.
“Precisely. I’m gonna show you a few moves that are as dirty as any that will be thrown at you. I trained women in combat situations. Taught them self-defense moves to use against highly trained fighters twice their size. I’m glad to say that those moves saved more than a few lives.”
He waited a minute and when she didn’t answer, he said, “How about it, hotshot? Want to learn the dirtiest tricks in the business?”
She hesitated, then gave him an impudent grin. “Can I use them to beat off 6 ft. 4 inch hunks who annoy me?”
He held up his hands in mock defeat.
“Darlin’, you can take those guys down just by twitching that saucy ass of yours. It’s a guaranteed hunk killer.”
~~~
After four hours of rigorous training, Jake dropped her off at her house. As he turned to go, he called back over his shoulder.
“I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock.”
Lexie frowned, “What? What do you mean? Where do you…Where are we going?”
He gave her a hard look. “I’m giving you a ride to your new job. See you at eight.”
She stood in the doorway for several minutes, trying to absorb the enormity of his statement. Given his fierce attention to her fighting skills, she could only conclude one thing. He’d accepted that she was going to work at the Naughty Lady. Not only that, maybe he would help her. For the first time since Anthony died, Lexie dared herself to believe. Maybe she didn’t have to go it alone in this awful mission after all.
Chapter 17
The tense man sat at his desk musing over the scene at the dojo. He ran his hands through his short cropped hair. Overcome with fury, he thought about the tall dark haired soldier. His nemesis. He’d hated him for so long it was part of his DNA. He despised him for the way he’d skated past everyone, climbed over men twice his age. No one Gardner’s age should be a full bird. Maybe a captain or Lt. Colonel, but a full bird? Likely to be up for brigadier at any minute? No, way! The ignominy of it gnawed at his gut. Just because the guy was some kind of a fucking hero. He’d waited a long time for justice. But it wouldn’t be long now. Even heroes could be taken down, put in their place. Permanently.
He thought about the two of them at the dojo. Damn, the girl is beautiful. Shit, she does look just like her brother. And Gardner is obviously nuts about her. He flushed with pleasure. That made his work even more enjoyable. Nothing like taking that fucker down and letting him know what is happening to his woman before he dies.