Warnings and Wildfires

Jesus Christ, I’d like to tackle her from behind.

Rein it in, cowboy.

When I actually think about her question, combined with her eagerness to start these lessons, it bothers me. “Aubrey, be straight with me. Is someone hassling you?”

“What? No,” she answers too quickly for my comfort.

“Aubrey.” I level a more serious stare at her. “You seemed to be in a hurry for the private lessons. And you’ve got real specific scenarios in mind. What’s wrong?”

She hesitates and her cheeks turn even redder. “Look at me, I’m short. People think I’m an easy target. Too small to defend myself.”

“You look fine to me.”

Unprofessional much? “Sorry, what I meant was, I understand.”

“How could you understand?” Her gaze roams over me, taking in my arms, and chest, then dropping to my legs. “You’re a big, strong man.”

I’m not the kind of guy to waste a second puffing up my chest at the observation. “I mean, that’s why many women take self-defense classes.”

Her pillowy lips push into a pout and it takes a lot of strength to hold back and not kiss her. “I want to be able to make someone regret messing with me.” There’s a touch more conviction in her tone.

Something’s still not right about her motivation and it occurs to me that I may know her favorite flavor of ice cream and have her employee application practically memorized, but in reality, I know squat about Aubrey and her past.

It makes me want to protect her. I’m usually all about teaching women to protect themselves and not depend on someone else to keep them safe.

But Aubrey?

I want to wrap her up in my arms and murder anyone who looks at her sideways.

Sully doesn’t hold back and I appreciate that. He doesn’t hurt me, but he doesn’t go easy because I’m so much smaller than him either.

I do my best to ignore the way his muscles effortlessly bulge with every move. Not even his easy manner hides the raw strength he holds. More than once my eyes linger where they shouldn’t.

I’m flushed and sweaty when a buzzer goes off near the front counter.

“What’s that mean?” I pant out the words.

He still has his arms around me. His eyes search mine, but neither of us speaks for a second. “Private lesson’s up,” he says without pulling away.

“Oh.”

This heavy, heady moment hangs between us. Lips almost touching. Sharing a breath. Our eyes meet. Impulse takes over and I reach up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his.

His posture stiffens. Not returning the kiss. Not even moving. His hands drop to his sides, away from my body.

Oh, shit.

What am I doing?

I stumble backward breaking our one-sided kiss. “I’m so sorry.” My voice rises in pitch. “I don’t know why I did that.”

“Aubrey,” he says, reaching for me.

No. I can’t take his kindness. Not after doing something so foolish.

“Give me a minute and I’ll drive you home,” he says, slowly backing away.

“Th-that’s okay. I can walk.”

“Aubrey.” He reaches to grab my arm, but I skirt by him, jerking my bag off the floor and running for the exit.

“Aubrey, wait,” he pleads.

“I’ll see you Tuesday,” I mumble on my way out. He doesn’t follow.

On the sidewalk, I sling my backpack over my shoulders and break into a run.

I can not believe I kissed him!

And worse, he recoiled as if a spider had crawled up his leg.

Okay, maybe not that bad.

But he definitely wasn’t happy to find himself in a lip lock with me.

CHAPTER FIVE

All morning long, I watch the door, waiting for Aubrey.

I spent yesterday punishing my body in the weight room. Trying to work off the need to see her.

A hundred times I thought about swinging by her apartment. Just to talk.

Or to kiss her for real.

Yeah, that sweet, awkward kiss she planted on my lips after our private lesson?

Can’t get it out of my head.

My dick’s gotten way too well-acquainted with my hand since that kiss.

She took me by surprise and I handled it so badly I’m afraid she won’t show up for her first shift.

Jake wisely decided to spend his afternoon somewhere else.

To my relief, Aubrey arrives on time. Nervous and awkward at first. Pretending it didn’t happen. But I recognize embarrassment when I see it. She tries to hide it by asking me generic questions about the job. The pink blush staining her cheeks says more than the words coming out of her mouth.

“Come on, let me give you a full tour.”

“Is this okay?” she asks, pointing to her outfit.

Because I’m a jerk, I’ve kind of been avoiding looking directly at Aubrey. Once I do I won’t be able to drag my gaze away from her.

Her request forces me to take her in. All of her. The tight black leggings with blue and green stripes running down the sides. They happen to match the colors of my sign out front. So does the snug blue polo shirt she picked out.

“It’s perfect. If I ever design a uniform for the place, that would be it.”

A relieved smile spreads across her face. “Good.”

She has her long, dark hair pulled into an elaborate braid but a few pieces have sprung loose and before I realize what I’m doing, I brush them off her cheek.

“I wanted my hair out of the way,” she says, tucking the strands behind her ear.

“You look pretty…I mean, professional. Thank you for taking the job seriously.”

“Of course I take it seriously.”

“Well, you’d be surprised.”

“You’ve just hired the wrong people.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

There’s a lull in the studio around one o’clock, so that’s usually when I eat lunch. I toss a menu on the desk and ask her to pick what she wants.

“It’s okay. I brought something.”

“Save it. I want to buy you lunch on your first day.”

She’s tense as she scribbles down her order and hands the menu back to me.

It’s not until we’re sitting behind the desk together about to dig into our sandwiches that she breaks.

“I’m sorry about the other day, Sully,” she blurts out.

I sigh and sit back, dropping my sub on the wrapper and wiping my hands off before answering. “I’m not. It was sweet. You just took me by surprise.”

“I don’t go around kissing everyone I interact with. I want you to know that.”

“So, I’m special?” I tease.

She doesn’t even crack a smile. “Yes. I like…I like you a lot. And I haven’t liked anyone in a long time.”

Jesus, she’s killing me here. “I like you too, Aubrey.”

“I feel a ‘but’ coming on.”

“But, you work for me. I don’t want to complicate things.” Could I be a bigger asshole?

The disappointment in her eyes intensifies my guilt, but Aubrey’s brave. She flashes a quick smile. “Well, I guess that’s that. I’ll follow the rules and keep my lips to myself from now on.”

I only have one response in mind. Thankfully, I don’t say it.

Rules are meant to be broken.

I survived lunch with Sully. I didn’t choke on my sandwich or embarrass myself in any other way.

Most importantly, I didn’t kiss him again.

The job isn’t bad. He wasn’t kidding about things picking up in the afternoon. I’m busy greeting customers, answering the phone, and signing people up for classes.

I expected to feel a little self-conscious among all these fitness-focused people, but the only ones who pay any attention to me are the guys who show up in the afternoon.

Sadly the only person who interests me is Sully.

He pretty much defines drop-dead sexy. I’m not the

only one who notices either. His sinful mouth, ripped body, and dark, brooding eyes have every woman who takes a class with him stumbling over their sneakers.

“You’re doing great, Aubrey,” Sully assures me after closing.

“Thanks.” I drop into the chair behind the front desk. “I’m exhausted, even though I don’t feel like I did very much.”

“You did plenty.” He glances at the front door before turning back to me.

Lost in the intensity of his penetrating gaze, I don’t stand a chance.

“Everything okay?” he asks, his warm voice full of sincerity. Even if he’s aware of the effect he has on women, he never seems to exploit it.