Free Operation London by Elle Hansen Page A

carousing in his imagination, he put out his hand, offering to escort her around the facility.
    Ava took Miguel's hand and felt the air rush in and out her lungs, making her dizzy with need. This man emanated heat. Holding his hand, the smooth, hot skin of his fingers clasped around hers, the calloused rawness of his palms making her soft skin tingle, was more intimate and sexual than some of the nights in bed she had experienced with other men. If his hand alone could do this to her she shuddered to imagine his lean body over hers.
    A short, freckled woman with bouncing red curls interrupted her thought flow . She bounded over to Miguel and Ava, throwing her arms around them in a compact, strangling hug. Ava smiled at the unrestrained energy of the woman.
    "Miguel and friend!  Welcome to my humble abode!  What's your pleasure?"  Her green eyes danced as she surveyed the two . Her absolute radiance was infectious. Ava found herself wiggling her fingers free of Miguel's hold to clasp the woman's strong hand.
    "I'm Ava London . I was interested in kickboxing and Miguel recommended your place," she smiled.
    "Excellent!  I'm Piper, by the way . This is, as you can see, my house of pain," she said lovingly, gazing around with adoration in her eyes. "We just got a new kickboxing instructor from Scotland."  She winked at Ava and drew her close, whispering in her ear, "If you weren't here with Miguel I might let you know how adorable he is, but you can't scoop up all the cuties." 
    The girls giggled and Miguel scowled at what he guessed they were discussing.
    "Don't be so ornery!" Piper yelled at Miguel, eliciting a small smile from the large man.
    Ava discovered through the course of her evening that Piper had only one volume: loudest . The woman did everything at maximum energy, including speak. But every person in the place was appreciative of her attention, and no one could resist her happy scolding. As loud and crazy as Piper could seem, there was no denying a very real focus. She expected things to run smoothly at her establishment and she held herself personally responsible to see to it that everything did.
    Piper dragged Ava and Miguel across the room and towards a large man with jet black hair and brooding blue eyes.
    "Ava London, Miguel Gustan, meet Cormac MacGormaine. He's one of the finest kickboxers in the world," she said, causing the powerful man to blush.
    "She sings my praises without reason . I'm powerful good, but I ain't world class yet," he said in the strange Scottish brogue of his homeland. Ava could have swooned over that accent like any B-movie starlet if she hadn't been seduced by warmer tones earlier.
    "He's crazy," Piper said, as she handed Ava gloves .
    Miguel had initially wanted to watch a little, but the first few minutes of watching Ava getting touched by another man drove him crazy . He didn't like feeling so jealous over something so obviously innocent, so he made his way across the gym to find a better outlet for his energy.
    Cormac was very helpful and knowledgeable . He respected the fact that Ava knew very little about the sport and got her working on basics right away.
    "First thing is stance . You want to be sure that your feet are just shoulder length apart. Any more and you'll lose mobility, any less you're liable to fall on your face," he grinned as Ava set her feet. "Okay, good. Now, what hand are you dominant in?"
    "I'm a lefty," Ava said, checking to make sure her feet were a good distance apart.
    "Well, you're not conventional, then. That's what we call all them righties out there fighting. So you want to lead wit' your right,or your weaker foot. Good. And you want to be square wit' your opponent, not side to side. Very good, square hips. Good."
    Cormac positioned her hands high and encouraged her to keep her chin down .
    "Is this right?" she asked, making a mean grimace at him.
    "Oh, you're a natural," he laughed. "Wonderful!  You're very relaxed and loose in position. That's