Unraveled (Mastered 3)

Her stomach flipped at the sound of his voice, but she ignored Knox and hit the heavy bag three more times. Finished with that, she moved to the next station and added kicks to her strikes against the training dummy. She felt Knox’s gaze studying her every move, but she knew he’d find no error in her technique. She didn’t let his intense scrutiny rattle her. Now, if Ronin stood behind her, silently critiquing her, she’d make a misstep or ten. When he was in Sensei Black mode, he was intimidating as fuck.

She finished the sequence with a couple of practice sweeps and an uppercut and a jab from the ground. She stayed on the mat, her wrists resting on her knees, and tried to even out her labored breathing.

“Looks like you’ve been going to Deacon’s Muay Thai classes.”

“It’s free and I’m not teaching during that time, so why not? Every discipline offers different techniques to keep opponents off guard.”

Knox knelt down and handed over her water bottle. “Opponents? You plan on joining the underground fighting scene?”

“Maybe.” She swigged her water. “Maybe I’ll ask Blue to schedule me for the next Black and Blue promotional smoker.”

“I’d advise against it.”

Her eyes met his. “Why?”

Those piercing blue eyes roamed over her face with such intensity she suppressed a shiver. “Because you don’t have anything to prove, Shiori.”

WTF? Knox rarely called her by her name. She waited to see what he’d say next.

“You tired?”

“Winded. Why?”

“You held back in class last week with the overwrap to back move. I sensed your frustration that I’d done something wrong, and I appreciate you not calling me out on it in front of the class.”

She took another swig of water and realized this was one of the few no-bullshit moments between them. What she said next would determine their future interactions. “I respect you, Knox. You are in charge of the dojo while my brother is gone. And I’m sorry about how the first meeting between us played out months ago, because it set the way we deal with each other. That’s not what I wanted.”

He grinned—not the arrogant twist of his lips she was used to seeing, but that heart-stopping genuine smile. “Bull. You wanted to make a point with me. You made it. And I deserved to get my face shoved into the mat when I thought I could best you and recoup my pride.”

She smiled back. “Okay. I’ll admit there is something very appealing about throwing a big man like you on his ass.”

“I’ll bet. So can you show me what I’m doing wrong with the overwrap?”

“Sure.”

He stood and held out his hand to help her up.

Knox’s gigantic hand engulfed hers. For the thousandth time she cursed her small stature, which would always put her at a disadvantage, regardless of how much martial-arts training she had. “Are you warmed up?”

“I ran four miles on the treadmill.”

“Then let’s go. Hands and knees.”

A strange look crossed his face before he dropped to all fours on the mat.

Shiori positioned herself beside him, one arm curled under his neck, the other banded across his back. “Now, the first instinct is to put the power into your shoulders and use that force to get the body flipped around.” She lifted and pushed, but his torso didn’t move off the mat, just his arm. “See? I’ve got no leverage. If you drop your elbow, you can roll me over, flat on the mat. Try it.”

Knox shifted his weight, and she had two-hundred-plus pounds of male muscle crushing her. If he’d moved sideways, he could’ve pressed his legs across her upper body, pinning her head and neck down with the back of his knee, yanking her arm up and locking it to his chest as he put her into an arm bar.

She tapped to get his attention, and he rolled forward. “Jesus, you’re a solid man.”

“And I wasn’t even resting all of my weight on you.” His breath fanned over her cheek. “Wouldn’t take much to pin you down completely.”

“I appreciate your restraint.”

He muttered, “You have no idea the amount of restraint I have when it comes to you.”

Holy fuckballs.

Was Knox flirting with her? Ignoring the way her pulse leaped at that thought, she resumed her earlier position—one arm curled around his back, the other stretched underneath his chest. When she paused, trying to get her bearings, she became hyperaware of the clean cotton scent of Knox’s gi and the underlying salty scent of his skin. She felt the heat and hard muscles of his back against her chest.