Free Stone Cold Knockout (House of Pain Book 1) by Lavender Parker Page B

“Again.” She eyed him, adrenaline pumping her veins. She could see he was having fun. She was having fun too, she realized. She threw the punch, and he swung high again. She dodged his blow, countering with a fast straight to his face. He bowed his back to avoid her glove and let out a low whistle. “Keep that elbow down.”
    “ Like this?” she asked, demonstrating her fast straight again.
    “ Good twist at the end,” he said, nodding. Warmth flooded her chest and she couldn't resist a smile. She wanted to learn more, and she could tell Mikhail liked teaching her. The other people in the gym faded away. Gennifer couldn't worry about them. She focused on him, trying to soak up everything he offered. She was in heaven and she wasn't in any hurry for it to end.
     
    ***
     
    It was dark outside when Gennifer finally looked up and realized they were almost alone in the gym. Only Erica remained, sitting on the floor beside the ring.
    “ Can we spar now?” Gennifer asked, swiping sweat out of her eyes with the hem of her T-shirt.
    “ You want to get me in trouble?” he asked with a smile, but he was already pulling off the mitts like he was raring to go. Gennifer glanced up into the office. Hector was at the computer, his back to them. He didn't have any idea what was going on, she was certain. Her eyes back on Mikhail, she lifted her chin and worked her shirt over her head. He worked his jaw, watching her as she tossed it out of the ring. Mikhail followed suit, accepting her challenge. Gennifer felt a giddy shiver run through her as he pulled on his gloves. “You are not tired?”
    “ Nope,” Gennifer said, hopping from foot to foot to get the blood flowing. Eyes glittering dangerously, he stretched out his shoulders as she rolled her neck to release tension.
    “ No headbutts allowed,” he pointed at her accusingly.
    “ I thought you liked it,” she taunted, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head slowly.
    “ You have to learn to play fair, solnyshka ,” he said, in a low voice, holding out his gloved hands. Gennifer tapped his with hers and barely had a chance to dodge the jab he aimed at her ribs. She countered with a high jab to his face, but he hopped out of the way with a growl. He came back at her with a jab to the chin that sent her reeling. She lost her balance, but he hooked his arm around her waist to keep her from falling.
    “ Pay attention,” he said.
    “ Don't take it easy on me,” she said through gritted teeth. His eyes darkened in anger. After a second, he shrugged and let her go and she abruptly lost her footing and fell on her ass.
    “ G! What the fuck!” she heard Hector's voice before she saw him and she scowled, rubbing her sore backside. Mikhail let loose a stream of Russian and leaned on the ropes, shaking his head.
    “ We're sparring, Heck. Get used to it.” She put a gloved hand to her chin, wiggling it around until the throbbing deadened. Hector jogged down the stairs, pissed, but he stopped short when he saw Erica beside the ring.
    “ I was just watching,” Erica said innocently.
    “ She wants to learn how to fight, so I was trying to teach her,” Gennifer said, pushing herself to standing. Mikhail watched her but made no move to help her. His face was blank, but she could see anger raging behind his eyes. Hector shot her an annoyed look, but she shrugged, unconcerned. “That's what we do here, right?”
    “ So you were helping her out?” Hector said, like he didn't believe it.
    “ She was showing me the weights. And I learned how to jab,” Erica explained.
    “ What about him?” Hector motioned to Mikhail. “What did he teach you?”
    “ He's teaching me ,” Gennifer said. “He's my trainer for Bout It.”
    “ Christ,” Hector said. “ Quiere joderte , G. Don't be stupid.”
    “ So what if he wants to fuck me?” Gennifer replied in Spanish. “Stop being so overprotective!”
    “ You want me to just stand by and let you get beat up?” Hector asked,