Part 4 (1/2)

”Harder. Bring the force through your body.” She ran her hand up his torso and down the length of his arm to demonstrate.

Narrowing his eyes, he tried again. She blocked the right hand blow with her forearm, twisting it around to lock his hand by her side. He was totally exposed. He tried to pull away, but she held him fast.

”Now I have a few options here.” Her eyes sparked with amus.e.m.e.nt. ”I could either pull you towards me and head b.u.t.t you, which is effective, but a little brutal. And if you get it wrong it hurts like h.e.l.l.”

He grinned.

”I could also punch you in the face or throat. Or I could grab your shoulder and pull you forward to knee you in the groin. But most likely, I'd go for your gut, it's soft, my hand stays unharmed and you get winded.” She demonstrated the move in slow motion. Their breath mingled as they turned to look at each other and she jerked back, releasing him.

Clearing her throat, she took a step away and swung her long braid over her shoulder to cover her collarbone. ”It's your best option with Jordan, because of his height and build. Once he's bent over holding his gut, you can bring your knee up to his face. That'll daze him enough for you to get away.”

”And if his buddies are with him?”

Her eyes went wide. ”Don't you dare try this if his buddies are with him! You run like you did this morning. I'm not teaching you this stuff so you can be a hero. The best option is to run. These basics will just give you a chance to do that.”

”Okay, okay.” He raised his hands and smiled.

The theater was pretty dark, but he was sure he spotted a faint blush as she bent her head.

”So, I don't suppose you mind running through that again, do you?”

She looked up at the screen, nibbled on her lip as if fighting a smile then gave a small shrug.

”Arms up, soldier.”

He did as commanded. They practiced and laughed their way through the pa.s.sionate love scene, the tearful argument and the screaming separation of the characters on screen.

Gemma corrected Harrison's technique with each hit, forcing the best from him. He could sense she was holding back. By the ease in which she taught him and the fluid movement of her body it was clear she was an expert fighter. He wondered how long she had been doing this kind of thing.

The image of a pint sized Gemma dressed in karate gear at the age of five made him smile and nearly scored him a fist in the face.

”Sorry!” Gemma pulled back. ”c.r.a.p, Harrison, you need to concentrate or I'm going to damage you.”

His smile was coy as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

”I think it's safe to a.s.sume that even if I was concentrating, you could damage me.”

He didn't want to admit how much of a turn on that was.

They both blushed.

”You're fast.”

He smiled. She frowned.

”Your Dad must be a really good teacher.”

Her chuckle twittered with nerves. ”He loves this stuff.”

A loud scream from the screen made Gemma look up. The heroine was running across a field towards a bleeding body. Dropping to her knees, she lifted his head into her lap and stroked his graying skin.

”You really know how to pick 'em, don't you, Hart? Talk about your feel gooder.”

A giggle exploded from her lips. The smile spread over her face, turning it to suns.h.i.+ne. ”That's just what Dom would say.” She shook her head.

”Your brother. He a movie fan?”

”Oh yeah. Last night he made me sit through a four hour Jackie Chan fest.”

”I love Jackie Chan!” Harrison jumped up on his toes and started dancing around like a martial arts idiot.

Gemma laughed. ”You're ridiculous.”

He aimed a high kick at her waist. She caught his ankle and tugged. He thumped to the floor with a groan.

”You are cruel.”

Her laughter was nervous, her expression a little guilty as she held out her hand to help him up.

He grabbed it, but didn't let go when he was hauled to his feet. She looked up with surprise and tried to jerk away. He held fast until she relented, then rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, sending warm licks of flame up his arm.

She gazed down at their connection then up at his face.

”Want to go somewhere?” He spoke softly.

Her eyes flickered with uncertainty and she tried to pull her hand away.

”I know a great spot on the beach. There's this huge pine tree. When you climb to the top, it's like you can see heaven. Up there with nothing but the ocean for a soundtrack, you can believe you're the only person on the planet.”

”I...”

”It's also slightly more soothing than screaming German.”

She smiled then caught her lip beneath her teeth. Her eyes traveled down to their hands then over the carpet and up to the screen before settling back on his face. Her pained expression gradually morphed to a nervous smile. Her nod was almost imperceptible and then everything changed.

Whipping her hand free, she stepped away from him. Her eyebrows were bunched together, her expression tormented.

”What's wrong?”

”I have to go.”

”What?”

Running up the stairs, she collected her bag and threw it over her shoulder.

”Wait a second. What did I do?”