Free Survivor (The Soul Mates Series Book 1) by Victoria Johns Page A

drawing in a calming breath whilst faking interest in the food in front of me.
    “Can you pass that fork babe?”  I handed it to him.  “Ketchup?”  I slid that in his direction too.  “Babe, what’s wrong?”
    That brought me to my senses, “Nothing just nervous I guess.”
    “No need to be,” Jake laughed, between mouthfuls of food.  “I’ll go easy on you.” 
    Picking up my fork, I gave myself a mental talking to, I had to pull myself together and see today through. 
    Whilst I was loading the dishes into the sink, Jake nipped back outside to finish the fight zone, as I’d jokingly called it, “Cara, OK, let’s do this.”  Ditching my chores, I nervously walked through the kitchen door, amazed to find the ground area shaded by trees, covered with floor mats.  “Kick off your shoes, we need to assess how well you balance first.”  Almost robotically I leaned down and pulled my sneakers off.  When I returned to an upright position, Jake had shucked off his T-shirt and was standing in just a pair of running shorts in his full tattooed glory.
    Magnificent.
    “Hey concentrate,” he laughed and right there and then I knew this could be my one and only chance to ever get to feel him.  I’d made my decision to leave at the end of the day and knowing I’d never see him again helped me find the last little smidge of confidence I needed to make a move and actually get to fulfill a desire I’d gone without for so long.
     
    *****
    Jake
    “Right, I’m going to slowly grab hold of you, nothing fancy, I just want to see what instinctual moves you make.”  I could see she’d freaked herself out about this over breakfast and I needed to remind her that I was here for her.  I had hoped losing some of my clothes would provide the distraction to stop her brain over thinking it and getting swamped by it all. 
    Ensuring that I retained her eye contact, I walked forwards until I reached her and I placed my hands around her throat.  I could feel her pulse quicken in pace and the blood swell her veins in panic.  Although she’d become athletically stronger, I still dwarfed her and training with someone of my size would be good practice for her.  Bad guys rarely picked small, weak motherfuckers to do their muscle work.  Her beautifully long neck was slender and it was a thrill to confirm that I could fully enclose it in my massive hands.  “What do you want to do?” I whispered gently, getting lost in her deep, engaging brown eyes.
    Cara reached up and grabbed my wrists, trying to pull forcefully and failing to drag them from around her throat.
    “Wrong move baby, let’s swap and I’ll show you.”  Because I was so much taller than her, she had to get close to make her arms reach around my neck.  I could feel every curve of her body against me and damn, if it didn’t fucking affect me.  Swallowing deeply, I felt my adams apple push back against her palms.  Her scent was magical and bewitching, all female and I was beginning to think this kind of temptation would be my undoing.  “Tell me what happens when I try and move your hands,” I asked her as I followed my words and with the actions, encasing her wrists in my palms.
    “You’re trying to move my hands, I… If I don’t grip harder to keep them there, you’ll be free,” she whispers.
    “Exactly, to make this effective you need to go against your natural instincts.  Watch,” this time when I reached for her wrists I gently pulled her into me.  Because she was braced to fight for her grip, the momentary surprise caused her to relax and it gave me that tiny window, when I could push her sharply back away from me, all while her brain was wondering what was going on.  “Your attacker’s human nature will kick in, their body will act to stop them from falling and injuring themselves.  The natural reaction is to loosen your hold and then brace to save yourself and avoid the pain.”
    The spark of intrigue and light that beamed