Free Sweet Revenge by Christy Reece

shouted, “How much longer am I going to have to work out like a demon before I learn anything?”
    Not bothering to lift his head from the magazine he was reading, Dylan asked, “You’ve not learned anything in the two weeks we’ve been training? I’m crushed.”
    “I’ve learned that you’re an ass.”
    His mouth twitched only slightly. “Took you two weeks to figure that out? You’re slower than I thought you were.”
    For once ignoring his baiting comment, she asked, “When do we start the self-defense training?”
    “When I say so.”
    He heard the slap of her hand as she slammed it against the treadmill to stop it. Another smile that he couldn’t allow tugged at his mouth. She would think his amusement was because of her frustration at him. However, it was the result of her frustration that he found amusing. For someone who looked like a spun-sugar fairy, Jamie Kendrick, he was learning, had a toughness he’d never anticipated. He could help her achieve a higher level of physical fitness and teach her self-defense skills, but Jamie had something that couldn’t be taught. She had an innate determination and resiliency.
    Each day, he put her through intense and grueling workouts. At night, she watched training videos, and during dinner, they discussed them. She was physically stronger than she’d been when she’d first arrived. Not only did she have a healthy glow, she’d gained muscle and a couple of pounds. She’d been soft and too slender before; now her body was becoming toned and tight, and the inevitable one-on-one training was going to have to begin. At that thought, his amusement disappeared.
    “What kind of answer is that?”
    Lowering the magazine, he glowered. “Just what I said. When I say so.”
    He watched warily as she jumped down from the treadmill and headed toward him. Since the day she’d arrived, he hadn’t been within two feet of her. Looked like that was about to change.
    “Do you want me to die?”
    “Now, why the hell would you ask that?”
    “Because if I leave here without learning what I need to, I won’t be able to defend myself if something goes wrong. Can you live with that on your conscience?”
    Dylan got slowly to his feet. “Let’s get two things straight. First, unless you storm out of here like a two-year-old, when you do finally leave, you will know how to defend yourself. Second, if you think I’d feel guilty for you getting yourself killed, then you’re sadly mistaken. If you die, that will be your fault, not mine.”
    “Then when are you going to teach me?”
    “You think you’re ready?”
    “I’ve been ready.”
    “Then turn around.”
    “What?”
    “You heard me. Let’s see if you’re as ready as you think you are. Turn around.”
    As she stumbled awkwardly around, showing him her back, Dylan gritted his teeth. He had known this day was coming but had somehow hoped that when it did, his attraction to her would have burned itself out from lack of fuel. Unfortunately, this kind of desire required no fuel and no encouragement from her. It was just there, like a never-ending and hopeless entity.
    Dammit, he had agreed to this job, and no matter how physically painful it would be to touch her, it’d be a million times more painful if something happened to her because she wasn’t trained. Yeah, he’d lied about that. Not his first lie, and it sure as hell wouldn’t be his last.
    Jamie almost stopped breathing in anticipation of Dylan’s touch. For two whole weeks he’d done nothing but growl out orders or tell her when she was doing something wrong. How the hell she could want him even within touching distance was a mystery to her, but her entire body felt alive, tingling with excitement, at the thought of his hands on her.
    A hard hand wrenched at her shoulder, pulling her around. Jamie forgot who was behind her, forgot that she was in the middle of a training exercise. She only knew that the hand felt like a threat. Whirling around, she