Knock Out Curves (Plus Size Loving) BBW Romance by Adriana Hunter Page A

practicing different techniques. Shelby smiled
at the two punching bags, then arched her brows at the variety of
weapons she saw mounted on the walls.
    “Don’t worry,” a male voice said from behind
her, sounding amused. “They aren’t sharpened. And nobody’s died in
this dojo yet.”
    Startled, she turned to see a tall man
standing off to the side, wearing the same uniform as the students
but with an orange and white block-patterned belt instead of any of
the other colors. He had reddish blonde hair and warm brown eyes
that twinkled at her out of a classically handsome face. The cut of
his clothes revealed a strong, powerful body that didn’t look to
have an ounce of fat anywhere.
    Dawson instantly snapped his feet together
and bowed from the waist. “Sensei Wilson.”
    The man bowed back, and Shelby had to
struggle not to gape. He was the furthest thing from the Asian
martial arts guru she had pictured in her mind. Rather than old and
wise, he looked young and strong and very virile. A flush crept up
her cheeks as she realized she was openly staring, and quickly
looked away.
    “Hello, Mr. Carson,” he responded, and
Shelby blinked. Did they all refer to each other by last name? “And
how are you today?”
    “I’m doing great!” Dawson flashed his
customary grin, then tugged on Shelby’s arm. “I get to spend the
entire week with my favorite Aunt Shelby.”
    “I see.” The man turned to her with a smile
and held out a strong, powerful-looking hand. “My name is Jace
Wilson, and I’m the owner of this dojo. It’s very nice to meet
you.”
    “I’m Shelby Janson. It’s great to meet you
too.” Shelby shook his hand, mentally bracing herself because it
looked like he was the kind of man who crushed fingers, but was
surprised when he simply gave her a firm, but respectful handshake
that didn’t cause her knuckle bones to grind against one another.
The calluses on his palms did scrape her skin, but not in an
unpleasant way. “I’d heard that Dawson had been taking up martial
arts for a while, but I’ve never actually been to his school.
    She looked around. “Do I leave him here, or
do I need to stay with him until he’s done?”
    “You can leave him here if you want, but I
encourage you to stay and observe one of our classes. They’re
pretty fun.”
    Why not? It wasn’t as though she had
anything better to do. “I think I will.” Plus, if Dawson got hurt,
she wanted to be there in case she needed to rush him off
somewhere.
    Jace seemed to read her mind, because he
laughed. “Don’t worry. The last major injury we had in here was
over five years ago. But as I said, you’re welcome to stay and
watch.”
    The two of them walked over to the wooden
Japanese gate, bowed, then entered the floor. Jace called for
everyone to line up and they all scrambled to the middle of the
room, organized by rank. He shouted something in Japanese and they
stood to attention, turned to bow to the flag hanging on the far
wall, then turned back and bowed to him. It was all very formal,
and Shelby thought she understood what Dawson had meant when he’d
said his sensei was strict. Jace might not’ve looked like the
typical sterotype of a martial arts guru, but he obviously was a
traditionalist.
    She watched as they formed lines of three,
facing the flag, and Jace led them through a series of what looked
to be punches, kicks and blocks. They then put mats out on the
floor and proceeded to practice various sets of complicated moves
that involved grabbing, twisting and throwing each other. Shelby
winced as she watched Dawson go skidding across the mat, then
smiled as he laughed, bounced straight back up, and proceeded to do
the same to his much larger opponent.
    She admitted that while it was fun to watch
cute little Dawson, her eyes kept straying back to Jace. He
demonstrated each move before they practiced it, moving with a
fluidity and speed that seemed at odds with his tall, muscular
build. In fact, it was hard to