Free Spitfire Suckerpunch (House of Pain Book 2) by Lavender Parker Page A
Authors: Lavender Parker
hands on his forearms and bumped her ass against him, trying to force him off.
She smelled good, he realized, just as she escaped his embrace. Like vanilla or something sweet. While he was distracted, she whirled around and shoved at his chest with both hands. He stumbled back at the force of it, barely having time to catch himself. He hadn't been paying attention and he was taken aback by the force of her shove. Before he could react, she lifted her knee and slammed it into his groin. He was padded but the little shock of impact was still an unpleasant surprise and he sucked in a deep breath. He blinked until it passed, still maintaining a straight face even though it was difficult. She shot him a look, her dark eyes dancing with excitement. She'd gotten a little taste of action and she'd enjoyed it, it seemed.
“Good! Good,” Gennifer said from the sidelines.
“Can we do it again?” the girl asked, then turned to Gennifer for the okay.
“Maybe after everyone else has had a turn,” Gennifer said with a laugh. The girl smiled and shot him another look over her shoulder. He could tell she was bursting at the seams for another shot at him. But she shrugged and made her way to the back of the group obediently. “Okay, who's next?” Gennifer asked the group of ladies. Tate groaned inwardly, wishing with all of his might that he could hop out of the ring and ditch the bulky padding. He would absolutely prefer to be in the corner with Austin, lifting weights. But he didn't. He'd made Gennifer a promise and he stuck to it.
For the better part of an hour, he steeled himself against the women's attacks, from the gentle—Erica's sister Joanna seemed afraid to hit him too hard, and Tiny looked like she was holding back out of familial obligation—to the overenthusiastic. Erica didn't pull any punches and his mother Maria seemed to enjoy smacking him a little too much. Meanwhile, he couldn't deny that most of his attention was on the girl leaning on the ropes at the edge of the ring.
She was still staring at him like she knew something he didn't. She caught him watching her a few times, but he would look away and pretend he wasn't trying to study her. He felt awkward and out of place and he didn't like it, not one bit. House of Pain was like a third home for him, a place where he knew everybody and everybody knew him. He never had to pretend to be something he wasn't. He never had to be nice if he didn't feel like being nice, or talkative when he didn't feel like being talkative. But the mysteriously familiar girl was suddenly invading his space and making him feel itchy. He didn't like feeling like every move he made was being watched. He also didn't like how distracting she was. She wasn't even doing anything and yet, she was still distracting.
“Alright, now we're going to go a bit further,” Gennifer was saying and he forced himself to pay attention to her. He wanted to know what torture he was going to have to endure next. “He's going to come back at you and you're going to go for his face. Push him, then take the heel of your palm and shove upwards toward his nose,” Gennifer said, lifting her hand as an example. Tate stepped forward without thinking, letting Gennifer run through the motions of the move. He made sure to lean his head back to avoid her blow, even though she didn't put much force behind it. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of any of Gennifer's punches no matter how soft, that was for sure. He was a big dude, but a she was wily, especially since Mikhail had started sparring with her. His sister had very little fear in the ring, and they would never say it, but the fact that she could kick ass was a source of pride for all the men in the family. At least it was for him. Seeing Tiny and Maria in the ring made him happy as well.
“Okay, who wants to go first?” Gennifer said, turning back to the group.
Of course, the girl at the back of the ring threw her hand up immediately.
“So
She smelled good, he realized, just as she escaped his embrace. Like vanilla or something sweet. While he was distracted, she whirled around and shoved at his chest with both hands. He stumbled back at the force of it, barely having time to catch himself. He hadn't been paying attention and he was taken aback by the force of her shove. Before he could react, she lifted her knee and slammed it into his groin. He was padded but the little shock of impact was still an unpleasant surprise and he sucked in a deep breath. He blinked until it passed, still maintaining a straight face even though it was difficult. She shot him a look, her dark eyes dancing with excitement. She'd gotten a little taste of action and she'd enjoyed it, it seemed.
“Good! Good,” Gennifer said from the sidelines.
“Can we do it again?” the girl asked, then turned to Gennifer for the okay.
“Maybe after everyone else has had a turn,” Gennifer said with a laugh. The girl smiled and shot him another look over her shoulder. He could tell she was bursting at the seams for another shot at him. But she shrugged and made her way to the back of the group obediently. “Okay, who's next?” Gennifer asked the group of ladies. Tate groaned inwardly, wishing with all of his might that he could hop out of the ring and ditch the bulky padding. He would absolutely prefer to be in the corner with Austin, lifting weights. But he didn't. He'd made Gennifer a promise and he stuck to it.
For the better part of an hour, he steeled himself against the women's attacks, from the gentle—Erica's sister Joanna seemed afraid to hit him too hard, and Tiny looked like she was holding back out of familial obligation—to the overenthusiastic. Erica didn't pull any punches and his mother Maria seemed to enjoy smacking him a little too much. Meanwhile, he couldn't deny that most of his attention was on the girl leaning on the ropes at the edge of the ring.
She was still staring at him like she knew something he didn't. She caught him watching her a few times, but he would look away and pretend he wasn't trying to study her. He felt awkward and out of place and he didn't like it, not one bit. House of Pain was like a third home for him, a place where he knew everybody and everybody knew him. He never had to pretend to be something he wasn't. He never had to be nice if he didn't feel like being nice, or talkative when he didn't feel like being talkative. But the mysteriously familiar girl was suddenly invading his space and making him feel itchy. He didn't like feeling like every move he made was being watched. He also didn't like how distracting she was. She wasn't even doing anything and yet, she was still distracting.
“Alright, now we're going to go a bit further,” Gennifer was saying and he forced himself to pay attention to her. He wanted to know what torture he was going to have to endure next. “He's going to come back at you and you're going to go for his face. Push him, then take the heel of your palm and shove upwards toward his nose,” Gennifer said, lifting her hand as an example. Tate stepped forward without thinking, letting Gennifer run through the motions of the move. He made sure to lean his head back to avoid her blow, even though she didn't put much force behind it. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of any of Gennifer's punches no matter how soft, that was for sure. He was a big dude, but a she was wily, especially since Mikhail had started sparring with her. His sister had very little fear in the ring, and they would never say it, but the fact that she could kick ass was a source of pride for all the men in the family. At least it was for him. Seeing Tiny and Maria in the ring made him happy as well.
“Okay, who wants to go first?” Gennifer said, turning back to the group.
Of course, the girl at the back of the ring threw her hand up immediately.
“So