For Her Protection: 1 (Personal Protection) by Amber A Bardan Page B

happens.”
    Charlize took a breath then reminded herself to breathe out.
Told her hands not to shake at her sides.
    “But if you fail, I’ll take you how I want.”
    How he wants ? Her body rushed with adrenaline. Part
of her wanted to lose just to see which option turned him on. She wanted him
rough. As impolite as that might be, as much as it fell outside what she’d done
before, she acknowledged the desire—but this was different. This was saying it
out loud. This was conscious choice, deliberate. This was agreeing to some kind
of kinky role-play. None of which she could bring herself to accept.
    “How the fuck is there a win for me in that?”
    He closed the distance, made her look up at him, made her
breathe in the scent of his clean body. “Because it’s what you want, kitten.
But you’ve got to admit it.”
    Her tongue fumbled in her mouth, which had apparently found
new saliva glands. The idea of fighting him off sounded hot all right, but she
couldn’t do that. Not with memories of the parking lot so raw.
    But if he wanted to challenge her, then he could be
challenged too. With something equally as hot. “Instead of the fighting, the
other option is you do as I say.”
    “You want to bargain for that? Sounds less fun to me.” He
stepped back and positioned himself two feet in front of her. “Let’s get
started.”
    He ran her through exercise after exercise. Showed her the
vulnerable places on the body to target, how to sneak a hit to the throat
before an attacker saw it coming. How to break every kind of hold, but more
importantly he showed her how to look around. How to stop the world from
closing in and see the things around her, things she could use to protect
herself.
    Her muscles ached by the end but she knew she had this.
    “You been paying attention, kitten?” Connor asked.
    “Does it look as if I’ve fallen asleep?”
    He grasped her wrists. “You mean like you did last night?
You’re going to pay for that you know. I’m still aching.”
    “Only if I fail,” she whispered and twisted her arms free. “So
was that score one for me?”
    He chuckled and laugh lines dimpled his cheeks. “Sure. Are
you ready for the next one?”
    She nodded and stepped from foot to foot. He had her
ducking, twisting and even landing a hit to his “vulnerable” place. Not that he
reacted—the bastard. She was ready to savor the sweetness of victory when he
caught her from behind, twisted his fist in her hair.
    Breath evaporated from her chest. Fear streaked through her
limbs. The imagined smell of tobacco tingled in her nose.
    “Breathe, baby,” he whispered and air rushed back into her
lungs.
    Charlize slammed her heel into his foot, her elbow into his
stomach and twisted—breaking the grip on her hair. She dropped to the floor and
rolled out of reach.
    Connor pursued with his slow, confident swagger. “Congratulations,
you did well. So what is it, baby? Am I yours to command?” He tucked up the
legs of his sweatpants and crouched in front of her. “Or are you mine?”

Chapter Nine
     
    Her heart leaped into its exit strategy the same way a
toddler tries to beat his way through the floor with his fists—by having a full
tantrum against her ribs. Connor hovered above her sprawled body. His hungry
gaze reminded her of what would come next.
    Something told her she might not ever recover.
    But the choice was hers wasn’t it? He might be acting like a
boss now but she could have him crawling if she made the choice. She could have
him do anything—anything she wanted.
    Oh fuck there were some things she wanted.
    She’d never considered herself a dirty girl yet the ideas
slinking through her head would turn a porn star’s cheeks crimson. He did that
to her, made her base. Turned her primal.
    His eyebrow twitched. “So what do you say? Should I get on
my knees now?” he whispered, his voice husky and raw. He leaned over her.
    She dropped from her hands to her elbows. His words might
say he’d