Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

herself strangely at the last moment and taking all of the

momentum out of her swing. She just didn?t like to punch things. It

didn?t come naturally to her. Hector couldn?t even watch.

?You?ve got the killer instincts of a houseplant,? he groaned, covering

his face.

?Maybe we should move on to grappling. It?d probably be more

useful for her, anyway, considering all of her attacks have been

close-quarter struggles,? Lucas suggested.

Helen readily agreed. She was a terrible fighter, but not even

Hector could deny that she was trying. The boys gave her a brief

rundown of dojo etiquette, and then she entered the ring with a

bow, as she had been taught. She was expecting Lucas to be her

teacher, but he stood back and let Hector go into the dojo with her

instead.

?I thought this was your specialty,? Helen said uncertainly to

Lucas.

?It is. He?s way better on the ground than I am,? Hector replied

for him with a grin. ?Now get down on your hands and knees. You

know, like you?re a dog.?

Despite the fact that Hector was deliberately trying to get Helen?s

back up, she stayed calm and focused on the instructions she was

given. Jujitsu was part physical, which was fun, but the main part

of it, the real challenge, was mental. She felt like she was trying to

solve a puzzle, trying to unwind out of the human pretzel that

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Hector had made out of her. A few times she pissed him off by giggling

and shying away from the sexually suggestive shapes he was

trying to bend her into, but he gutted it out and kept working with

her rather than let Lucas take over the lesson.

?Nah-uh!? Hector said when Lucas tried to enter the ring. ?You.