Page 22 of Rescued By the Mountain Man Cowboy
"Credible is a stretch."
She smacks me in the arm with the back of her hand. Barefoot and wild-haired and smiling for the first time since she walked into Gabe's office, and the smile hits me somewhere under the breastbone, right where I told her to hit with her elbow.
Focus, Davis.
"Alright. Last one for this morning. Ground work."
"Ground?"
"Worst case. You're on your back. Man's on top of you. Your legs are your best weapon. Stronger than your arms. Longer. They buy you space."
"Oh."
"I'm gonna show you. I'm not gonna lie on top of you. I'm gonna kneel. You're gonna use your legs to push me off. Alright?"
"Alright."
She lies down on the mat. Slow. Arms at her sides. Hair spread out on the green foam. Sun coming over the cedars, catching her from the side. I breathe out through my nose and remind myself what I'm doing here.
I kneel. Knees outside her hips. Not touching. Hands at my sides.
"Bring your knees up. Plant your feet flat on my chest. Not on my ribs. On the meat. Right here." I tap my pectoral. "Then straighten your legs hard. Fast. Like a piston."
"Won't that hurt you?"
"I'll be fine."
She brings her knees up. Her feet press flat against my chest. Warm through the cotton. I can feel her heart going through the soles of her feet. Or maybe that's mine.
"Good. Arms up. Brace. Now push."
She pushes.
I rock back on my heels, stand, step away. "Good."
"I moved you."
"You moved me."
"Luke."
"Anna."
"This is the most fun I've had in a week."
"Bar's on the floor, sweetheart."
Sweetheart.
It comes out before I know I'm saying it. Her eyes flick to mine. Hold.
I clear my throat. "One more time. Faster."
She lies back down. Knees up. Feet on my chest.
I kneel back in. Close this time. Closer than I meant to. Her legs bracketed against my front. Her eyes up at me, dark and wide. Her hair fanned out on the mat. Her tank top rucked up an inch at the waist, showing a strip of skin I wasn't planning on seeing this early in the day.
Focus.
