Millie's Second Chance (10 page)

* * * *

Hank tried to hide his smile. It appeared that Millie knew a hell of a lot more about martial arts then she let on. He was impressed as she moved around the mat with such grace and quick speed. He threw a few quick strikes and she was more than ready for them as she blocked and then countered. Round and round they sparred on the mat until Hank bowed before her then shook her hand. Lena, Sage, and the others cheered.

“You and I are talking after class,” he told her with a serious expression and then smiled before he addressed the rest of the class.

* * * *

Dalton watched from across the room. He could hear the intakes of breath from the small crowd and then the cheers. It had shocked him to see Millie was sparring a little with his brother, Hank. She had lied about her training and experience. But why?

“Hey, who is that over there?” his brother, Deputy Marco, asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow then took a slug of water from a water bottle.

Dalton felt his heart rate increase. Millie caught the attention of Marco, too? What the heck was this woman after, anyway?

“That’s Millie. She’s a friend of Stacy’s and Anna’s. Apparently, she used to live out here years ago then moved to New York.”

“Damn, she sure can move across the mat.”

Dalton looked at his brother and he knew his facial expression said it all.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Marco asked.

Dalton shook his head as the other men in their group began to leave, but not before making comments.

“Who is she?” Deputy Taylor McGreever asked and Marco filled him in.

Marco and Dalton made their way over toward the mats.

* * * *

“Damn, Millie, you sure know a lot of moves. Did you train long?” Lena asked, and she and Sage joined her by the back of the room where they grabbed water bottles.

“I trained for two years. Started off with self-defense classes and then the instructor showed me a lot of different techniques from many forms of martial arts. To tell you the truth, I miss it. I love doing it.”

“So why did you quit?” Lena asked.

“I didn’t want to. My ex-boyfriend wanted me to,” Millie stated without thinking and then she looked up to see both Sage and Lena shaking their heads. At first, she thought they were thinking she was an idiot.

“Yeah, sometimes men are such assholes. They think just because they’re interested in you they have a right to control you,” Lena stated.

Millie chuckled as she recalled the story about Lena’s survival on the streets of Detroit.

“Well, at least you can get back into it now, right?” Sage offered, and Millie smiled then nodded her head. With a glance up toward where Lena was looking, Millie noticed the four women from their class gathering around Dalton, Hank, and some other man whom she didn’t know. He was very rugged and stern looking. His expression as the women talked to him seemed off. He almost looked annoyed, but how could he be? The four women were very thin, acutely aware of their great bodies, and totally invading the men’s space.
My God, those women are really pushy. They sure are interested in Hank, Dalton, and the third guy.

“Those four women are Stella, Lisa, Paula, and Melody. All four are from Turbank and they come into town for a little action, if you know what I mean,” Lena offered, and Millie tried to act as if she really didn’t care. She picked up her small bag and tossed the empty bottle of water into a nearby recycling container.

“Well, men sometimes like women like that,” Millie offered.

“Not the Lewis brothers,” Lena replied and Sage shook her head in disgust.

“They are so trampy. I mean, look at the way Stella is practically wrapping her legs around Hank.”

“I think he’s showing her how to do the move from class properly,” Millie replied.

Lena snorted. “Yeah, right. If he doesn’t pull her off of him then she’ll have him on the mats in just a few more minutes.”

“Well, then let’s get the heck out of here. I don’t know about you, but I can’t take much more of the scene.” Millie began to exit the room. It was upsetting for some reason, to watch the men accept women hanging over them in such a way. They could at least try to act professional in the dojo and save the personal stuff for outside.

“By the way, the third guy is Marco Lewis. He’s a deputy with my Kenny,” Lena whispered and Millie looked back to see if she noticed the resemblances and caught all three men staring at her.

“Millie, could you stick around please?” Hank asked and both Lena and Sage waved good-bye.

The four women however, stared at her, giving her the once-over. She hated women like that. Millie was feeling pretty good about her body right now after such a great workout. Kickboxing and martial arts wasn’t for the weak or unserious. She took the workout seriously and knew that in just a week’s time she would be in better shape than she was right now. She would feel more energized and healthier.

“If you ladies could excuse us, we need to discuss a few things with Millie,” Hank stated with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Millie watched as Stella and Lisa both touched his arm and ran their hands down his forearms as they winked and swayed away.

“Talk to you later, Hank. Maybe we’ll see you over at Rocky’s,” Stella stated, and Millie noticed how Paula and Melody licked their lips and tried to gain Marco’s and Dalton’s attention, but the other two men looked aggravated.

The four women walked by Millie. She, in return, smiled and wished them a good day, which surprised them and apparently ticked them off.

When she looked back toward the three men, only Hank looked amused.

“So, care to explain why you didn’t come clean yesterday about your experience with your sensei?” Hank asked, and oh, God, the way he said
sensei
made her belly quiver.
My sensei? Oh Lord, does he sound incredible.

Millie shrugged her shoulders and thought she’d get away with a nice conversation about quitting but not getting into the details when Sensei Dalton yelled out, “Attention!”

Immediately, Millie found herself standing up straight at attention and Dalton walked around her.

“We don’t know one another. Understandable. However, I don’t appreciate being lied to, nor does my brother, Hank. Why did you lie about your experience?”

“I didn’t lie, Sensei.”

“No?” Hank chimed in.

She kept her eyes straight ahead and it was difficult, considering that she was standing in a dojo with three very large, capable men. Although she knew nothing about Marco, the man had a major body on him and she noticed his sparring session during her boring class. He now stood in martial arts pants and a tight black T-shirt that stretched across large pectoral muscles. His tattoos were peeking from the sleeves on both arms. The man was definitely attractive, but his facial expression was so very serious.

“Explain,” Hank said, interrupting her ogling over the hunk of man in front of her.

“You asked me my experience and I told you. I started off with self-defense classes and my instructor, my sensei, saw my interest and desire to learn more so he began to introduce different types of martial arts and fighting techniques to me. You never asked me to what intensity.”

“Did you move up in belts?” Dalton asked and she could feel him a few feet behind her in a stance that she knew would be attack mode. He was going to test her abilities, not Hank.

“I had to leave before my final test as a black belt.”

Dalton didn’t just make a move. She knew he wasn’t out to hurt her. She had been around martial artists, MMA fighters, and kickboxers for the past two years. They were always challenging on a moment’s notice, hoping that a student had truly absorbed their trainer’s teachings. Dalton and Hank would be no different, but she wondered how far they would push and whether she could handle it. It had been a few months, after all, and she was a bit rusty.

“Begin!” Hank stated. That was her only warning before Dalton gave a stomp and growl before his first strike. Millie turned, ducked, and counterstruck with a right punch. Her knuckles grazed Dalton’s gi on his wrist. His expression was surprise, but she knew he hadn’t meant to start off hard with her. Now she had the feeling that he would turn up the heat.

They sparred around the matted room. He gave a high kick and she would strike and step toward him in challenge. They did this for some time and the adrenaline began to take over. She loved sparring and felt alive and confident as she did it. Dalton got a little tougher, but he still held back. She wasn’t a fool. This was a test in her training and experience.

“Follow what I do if you can,” he told her and she gave a small, quick nod of her head. He came toward her in one of those wild
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
moves and then jumped into a roll across the mats, pushing up to his feet before standing upright, feet a few inches apart, fists ready to strike. She did the same move with little effort and she thought she saw a small smile on his face. But then he nodded and someone moved in behind her.

Quickly, she jumped to the left and Hank was there. The two of them began to move around her, taking different strikes while she countered two opponents. She had done that in her dojo, too, and wasn’t rusty as expected. In fact, her sensei knew her story and about how Frank attacked her. He prepared her as best he could to fight her fears and so many times she was challenged by four opponents at once. At that exact moment she sensed the third body shift to her right.
Oh crap, their brother, Marco, is going to join in, too?

She lowered, and then twisted, striking forward in a punch to Marco’s stomach and he grunted then raised his voice.

“I’m not fighting, I was just moving out of the way.”

She dropped her hands and grabbed on to him.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I totally didn’t mean to hit you. I sensed you move behind me and just assumed.”

Before she finished her sentence, someone swept her feet out from underneath her and she fell right on her ass in front of all three men.

Marco and Hank chuckled, making her realize she had just been tricked, and Dalton stared at her with a serious expression. He looked a bit winded and that made her feel pretty good.

He reached his hand out to her. “Nice job, Millie,” he whispered and when she reached up to accept his hand their skin touched and she nearly gasped at the intense sting of electricity.

* * * *

Dalton was trying his hardest to not show the attraction he felt to Millie. She was a dream come true if she were for real. However, she had already lied to them about her experience in martial arts and he wondered why.

He pulled her up a little harder than he meant and she stumbled into him. Immediately, Hank had his hands on her waist behind her and the thought of him and his brothers sharing this woman entered his mind. It was unreal and it scared the crap out of him. He steadied her then released her. Her abrupt move away from Hank and him caused some unnerving feelings to collide with his previous sexual thoughts. She appeared scared. Marco must have sensed the situation because he took over the conversation.

“I’m Marco, their brother, by the way.” Marco reached between Hank and Dalton to shake Millie’s hand. She looked a little unsure and Dalton wondered if she felt the same reaction to his touch that he felt from hers.

“Nice to meet you, Marco.” She smiled when their hands met. She locked gazes with Marco and her cheeks grew pinker. Marco smiled then released her hand.

“You looked fantastic out there, Millie. I’m really impressed,” Marco told her.

“Can I go now?” she replied and Dalton hadn’t expected that immediate response.

“What’s the hurry?” Hank asked her and Dalton waited to hear her response.

“I have work to do back on the Triple C and Lena’s giving me a ride over because my aunt’s truck was giving me some problems. I had to drop it at the mechanic’s shop on my way here.”

Marco and Dalton looked toward the front of the dojo. No one was around.

“They left, sweetheart,” Hank stated.

Millie looked like she was surprised and then a flash of something else caused a change in her facial expression.

“I must have forgotten to ask her. No big deal. I’ll just walk. Am I free to go now, Sensei?” she asked then smirked. Her attempt at trying to change the subject failed.

“Yes, you are released and Sensei Dalton and I will discuss which class would better suit your abilities. But you are not walking five miles back to the Triple C,” Hank stated.

“I’ll drive you, honey. I have to head home to shower and then be at work for a four-to-twelve shift,” Marco stated.

Millie stepped back and began to head toward the front of the dojo.

She was shaking her head.

“No, thank you. I’m fine, really. As a matter of fact, I could use the exercise.”

Dalton looked at her strangely. Did she think she was fat or something? Because from where he stood, she was definitely all woman. The gi couldn’t hide her large breasts and the way her waist dipped in then her hips curved out and then dipped back in at her legs. He wanted to see her without the gi on, that was for sure.