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Allie. "I don't think that's such a good "
"Just dump your things over there." He pointed to the far wall. "Hey, girls,"
he called. "Come on over here for a minute. Your mom and I have a little
demonstration for you."
"
Cutter
," I hissed.
"What? You're going to be taking classes with your kid. Don't tell me you're
embarrassed to fight in front of her. That's gonna make class a little
cumbersome."
"Fine." I glared at him again, feeling a bit like we were having a marital
spat. My fights with Stuart just never involved actual fighting. "We'll spar."
There really wasn't any reason not to. I'd get a feel for his skills, and I
figured I could tone my own skills down a bit for Allie's sake. Besides,
Cutter was right. Allie would get the full sense of what Mom could do soon
enough.
As the girls sat cross-legged at the edge of the mat, I headed toward the wall
to drop off my purse and shoes like Cutter had suggested. The studio walls
were mirrored, so I have no excuse for not seeing him coming. All I knew was
that a split second after I passed him, he grabbed me around the waist, one
hand going over my mouth to prevent me from screaming.
What the hell?
I could hear Allie yelling in the background, but I couldn't focus on her. All
thoughts had faded from my head, replaced only with a deep desire to nail
Cutter's sorry ass. I wasn't thinking, I was just doing
 and
I'll admit it felt good.
I got both my hands on his one over my mouth, then tugged downward, managing
to sink my teeth into the soft flesh beside his thumb. As I did that, I
twisted, but his arm held fast around my waist despite his howl of protest. I
slammed my left arm back, leading with my elbow, and caught him just under the
rib cage. He exhaled with a whoof
, and his arm loosened just enough for me to twist to the side, hook my leg
under his, and send him sprawling backward onto the mat.
"Mom! Mom! Wow, Mom, that was awesome
!"
A split second later I was straddling him, my hands tight around his neck,
thumbs against his windpipe.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked as Mindy and Allie raced toward us.
Blood pounded in my ears, and although I wanted to twist around and flash a
reassuring smile at my daughter, I couldn't quite manage. All of my attention
was still focused on Cutter. "Why did you jump me?" I demanded.
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"You said you used to be good," he said. I could feel the tremor of his vocal
cords beneath my hands. "I
just wanted to see how good. Sorry, I should have asked."
"Yes, you should have." I was being tested a lot lately, and I didn't much
like it. So far I'd done better defending myself than I'd expected. For that,
at least, I gave myself Brownie points.
"Are you gonna get off him, Mrs. Connor?"
"Why should she?" Allie answered. "She totally nailed him. That was so
awesome."
"Pretty awesome," Cutter said, agreeably. "Not that this isn't cozy, but if
she got off me, maybe we could show you two a few more maneuvers."
"Will you, Mom?"
"Not today, hon," I said. My adrenaline rush was fading, replaced by the keen
awareness that I was sitting on the chest of one very good-looking man. At
least, I hoped he was a man. At the moment I was leaving nothing to chance.
"Oh, come on, Mom!"
"Sorry, kid. We have to get to the grocery store next."
"Oh, good," Cutter said. "A reprieve."
I made a face as Mindy leaned over us. "Can you teach us how to do that? Flip
guys, I mean."
"Sure, kiddo. That's why we're taking classes, remember?"
Allie circled me and Cutter, her finger pressed to her mouth, her expression
serious. "I dunno, Mom.
Should we take lessons from him
? Maybe we should find someone better."
"Oh, for crying out " Cutter began. "Your mom definitely knows how to defend
herself. I promise I can teach you girls the same thing."
"Hmmm," Allie said. I tried to hide my amusement as she turned to Mindy. "What
do you think?"
Mindy shrugged. "He's got all sorts of awards and stuff hanging on the back
wall. He'll probably be okay."
"Tough consumers," Cutter said. "Not that this isn't fun you sitting on me, I
mean but do you think I
could get up now?" He met my eyes, his dark with amusement and something else
I wasn't inclined to examine too closely. "Or we could just stay like this
indefinitely."
"Very funny." I climbed off of him, but stayed at the ready, standing over him
while he looked up, bemused, from a prone position. The truth was, I did need
him alone. Just not for that reason.
Demon-testing was not for the faint of heart. Neither was it for my daughter
to see. "Girls, run over to
7-Eleven and get me a soda, would you?"
"A soda?" Mindy repeated.
"She just wants to get rid of us," Allie said. "She's going to chew him out."
"Smart kid," I said. "I'll meet you two outside in a minute."
"Alone at last," Cutter said as soon as the door shut behind the girls.
I glared at him.
"Hey, a beautiful woman just laid me out flat. All I've got left is my sense
of humor."
I had to admit that, on the whole, he was being a pretty good sport. "You
spooked me," I said simply.
"I guess so. So how long before you get unspooked and quit looking at me like
that?"
A very good question. I suppose he could have been a demon, lying in wait in
the off chance I decided to train at Victor-cum-Cutter's studio but I had to
admit the odds were slim. Of course, three days ago I
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would have said the odds of a demon catapulting himself through my window were
nil.
I didn't intend to take chances.
My purse was still looped over my shoulder, and now I stuck one hand inside so [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]