That was probably a good idea. “Like what?” she asked, thinking coffee would be an excellent thing to concentrate on. Yep, she could really concentrate on a cup of coffee.
“Instead of trying to flip me, how about if we work on close-in attacks?”
That didn’t sound like coffee. “What do you mean?”
He moved behind her and she knew this wasn’t a good idea. Definitely not good!
“I’ve been trying to show you how to stop someone coming at you with a direct attack. What would you do if I came up from behind like this?” he asked, wrapping his strong, incredibly wonderful, and oh-so hard arms around her shoulders. “What would you do?”
Besides lean back against him? Oh. Right. Defend herself. Nope, leaning back against her attacker wasn’t a good idea. But…yes, it would be lovely if her attacker was Tarin. Especially if he had a cup of coffee!
“Well, I’d probably…” she stopped, realizing she wasn’t sure what to do. “Scream really loud?” she offered weakly. Rachel blamed her lack of inspiration on a lack of coffee and not on the fact that this man had done this to her in her dreams last night, but with a completely different ending in mind.
“You’re not concentrating,” he said, his lips brushing her ear. “You’re distracted and that’s going to put you in a vulnerable situation. You have to be aware of your surroundings and know what to do.”
She wiggled, unaware of the impact her movement had on his body. “Maybe…pretend to faint?”
She felt his smile as his arms tightened. “Then you’re just a heap on the ground and in a more vulnerable position.”
Frantically, Rachel tried to remember what that one self-defense class had taught her way back in high school. Of course, in high school, she hadn’t been addicted to the beauty of coffee, so she’d been paying more attention.
“Isn’t there something about the inside of a person’s foot?”
“Yes. What is it?” he asked, his arm tightening as he pulled her against his chest.
“Um…shouldn’t I stomp on it?”
“Yes. Five minutes ago. Or you could reach up and poke at my eyes,” he suggested, his arm moving slightly. His hold felt more…sensuous now. Not at all threatening.
“Or your groin?”
He laughed. “Yeah. The groin on a man is pretty important. A good target, but you can’t really reach my groin easily in this position. So, what are you going to do?”
Licking her lips, she frantically fought the fog of desire that was overwhelming her thoughts. “I have no idea, Your Highness,” she finally admitted.
“Why don’t you use your elbow?”
She thought about that, but shook her head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He laughed, his arm tightening, but again, it didn’t feel scary. It felt…really good! She loved being held like this. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that he was her lover and he’d just come up behind her and…maybe he would kiss her neck. Or nibble on her ear. And slide his hand around to her stomach and…
Jerking upright, she spun around, pulling out of his arms. “I’m sorry!” she gasped.
“For what?”
She blinked at him, then looked around at the others in the gym. There were only two other people in the gym, both running on treadmills. “Um…well, I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
He moved closer. “You were on the right track. How about if we try again tomorrow and I’ll show you more basic moves?”
She nodded. “Right. Tomorrow. Basic.” She nodded stupidly, then turned around, almost tripping over her feet. She righted herself, glanced back at him, then hurriedly walked away, terrified that he’d notice the blush staining her cheeks.
Back up in the suite, she sighed with happiness when she spotted the coffee tray that had been delivered while they were working out.
“Good morning, Ms. Morris,” a voice called out from behind her.
Rachel was so intent on pouring herself a cup of coffee that she shrieked and spun around, startled. That’s when she spotted the other woman, who was just as surprised. After a brief moment, they shared a rueful laugh.
“You okay?” Tarin demanded, bursting into the room.
“I’m fine,” Rachel said. “I just…” she waved towards the other woman.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I’m the housekeeper and cook. I stepped out to ask Ms. Morris if she wanted something for breakfast and didn’t announce myself properly.”
Rachel shook her head. “No, it was my fault. I’d been down with the big guy,” she said, pointing her thumb towards Tarin, “and wasn’t concentrating on anything other than getting a cup of coffee.”
Tarin frowned at her and she could almost read his mind. “I know!” she sighed. “You were just warning me to always be aware of my surroundings.” She lifted her cup of coffee. “I was completely aware. Of the scent of coffee!” she explained. Feeling foolish, Rachel cradled her cup of coffee and headed for her bedroom.
Tarin watched Rachel leave, appreciating the view of her remarkably fine derriere outlined by the tight leggings. He didn’t have to hide his lust since she wasn’t paying attention. Her entire focus was on her coffee. The woman had zero situational awareness.
Frustration was like a burn along his entire body. Tarin suddenly remembered the presence of the housekeeper. “Thank you, we’ll have breakfast in about thirty minutes.”
The woman nodded. “Very good, Your Highness,” she replied with a dip of her head, then backed out of the room.
Tarin walked over to the silver coffee urn and poured himself a cup of coffee, then took it to his room, thinking that he needed a cold shower. His idea of giving Rachel lessons in self-defense had been a good one, initially. It would help her get to know him better and he would be free to touch her while giving her very valuable information.
Unfortunately,
