“You seem pretty capable. I’ll bet you could do whatever you wanted.”
“Maybe. For now, I just want to keep learning how to fight, and get fit.” She patted her stomach. “The class has been great so far. It’s helped me get past a lot of shit.”
Cole seemed to startle slightly. He looked over at her briefly before breaking eye contact again and standing. “It does seem to have that effect on things,” he said, almost too softly for her to hear. “Think I’m gonna take a run.”
“Think I’m going to sit here and finish my breakfast.” She laughed and saluted him with the remaining bagel, kicking back in the sand as Cole watched her, a soft grin playing on his lips.
“Suit yourself.”
Payton would have loved to spend more time with Cole, getting to know him, but the guy was giving off serious mixed vibes. She couldn’t tell whether he enjoyed her company or couldn’t wait for her to leave. For the first few minutes of their conversation, Payton swore all she was doing was making him uncomfortable, but then he’d smiled at her and it was like the California sun had broken out across his face.
She finished the last of her breakfast and pulled herself up, dusting the sand from her pants. It would be amazing to just lie back in the sand all day, but Payton couldn’t slack. She had an hour before class and was in desperate need of a warm-up. The bagel, while delicious, sat heavy in her stomach and the cream cheese was rich enough to last a century.
She set off at a brisk walk, sighting Cole’s ever-retreating figure in the distance. The air was still cool that morning and the breeze rushed by her face, offsetting some of the heat already building in the day. Payton picked up speed and felt it flow over her body as she ran.
By the time she needed to get to class, Payton’s heart was pounding and she was completely drenched, exhausted from her run. The gym was mostly empty that morning, except for the handful of students who had managed to make it as far as she had. Sets of pads lay lining the back wall of the melee room, and Aaron began by passing them out. There were gloves, and boxing helmets to avoid direct blows to the temple.
“Alright! Line up!” Aaron stood at the front of the room. “Welcome to your first melee day, where we begin to put all of our hard work into practice. Although for your first time you won’t be the one in the middle, today we will be fighting real-time against one another, so I hope all of you have checked your drama at the door.” Several men snickered. “Safety is of utmost concern during your fight. The padding and the mats won’t stop any bruises or broken bones. Please don’t kill each other.” The group broke out into laughter. “If you do, rest assured I will kill you next.”
“Here are the basic ground rules. Groin shots are obviously not allowed. Hits to the temple, whether you’re wearing helmets or not, are completely unacceptable. You know the soft spots; pull your hits. If I ever see a single finger touching one, you’re eighty-sixed and you’re never coming back. You all signed the usual waivers when you started this class, but that doesn’t mean someone won’t still try to sue you, and any serious damage is likely to get you criminal charges on top. These are not real fights and you know it, so don’t forget that when we begin.”
The room was filled with the tense energy of racing adrenaline and Payton was riding the wave of excitement that pulsed over her body. She’d been waiting for this ever since she began taking the class. It was the first real test of what she’d learned so far and the first time she’d be actually fighting against other people. There was no way she was ever becoming a victim again. Whatever the class threw at her, she would overcome it.
“Alright. Everyone gather in a big circle, so that you can stretch out your arms on both sides without touching your opponents.” The students gathered around the center of the room with Aaron walking around inside the circle. “I want all of you to see what a real advanced student looks like. Cole! Come to the center of the circle.” Cole ran out and stood in the center, looking around at all of the students. “Cole has been training for nearly a year, and had already undergone other training outside the class.” Aaron looked up and grinned. “Anyone who’s able to take him to the floor gets dinner on me.”
Payton clenched her fists and winked at Cole, but he looked away quickly, refusing to make eye contact with her as he stretched. She folded her hands over her chest and looked at the instructor, trying not to show her disappointment. They were just casual friends, after all. She had no reason to be bothered by any attitude Cole might have, especially right before going into the melee.
Aaron spoke again. “Okay, I need six volunteers to go first. Who’s up?” This was it. Payton stepped up, along with several others from the class. Aaron nodded at them, smiling a little when he met her eyes. “Get your gear.” Payton ran over and grabbed a helmet along with boxing gloves. They fit snugly around her hands, but it felt a little unnatural after using just her hands in class for several weeks. They’d be harder to block with. “Now, come to the center.” They ran in, surrounding Cole, and everyone took their fighting positions. “Begin!”
Payton circled around to the other side of the group and watched as another man, who made it before her, got slammed to the ground. She watched Cole intently. He moved constantly and his mind seemed to be focused somewhere else. Despite that, every move he made was intentional and he didn’t miss a beat. If she just threw herself in without a strategy, then he’d block her or take her down in seconds.
Another man came at his side with teeth bared and Cole grabbed him by the arm, twisting it up behind his back and forcing him forward with Cole’s knee to his spine. The man struggled to get away, but no matter how hard he tried, Cole’s grip was too strong. After a while, Cole had to let him go and pushed him away as another man was creeping up behind him, intent on sweeping his feet out from under him. Cole spun around and did that to the man instead.
That was it. That was the secret.
Payton waited patiently, watching her fellow fighters to see who was going to come in. One man was circling closer and watching Cole, but he was slow. He ran in and Cole went to kick him, but the other man blocked him and went in to throw a punch to Cole’s face.
That was her chance. Payton ran to Cole’s side and hit him in the ribs with her knee as he was blocking the other man’s punch. Cole whipped around, effortlessly blocking the other assailants, picked her up, and then dumped her on her butt on the ground. Payton’s face heated as she pulled herself to her feet. He hadn’t hurt her, but the intent was clear. She hadn’t had a chance, and he’d known it. If it had been a real street fight, she’d be lying unconscious on the ground. She was still that girl, short and weak, and beaten in less than five seconds.
She stood and wiped her face with the back of her glove, trying to hide the burning in her cheeks. “Time!” Aaron ran to the center and Payton stood at the back of the room. Cole still hadn’t met her eyes and it was obvious he wasn’t interested in getting to know her any more than just as an acquaintance.
Better that way anyway. You’ve still got shit to get done, obviously.
She heard Aaron’s voice loudly over the mumbling of the other class participants, even though she could barely see either him or Cole from the back. That suited her just fine.
“That is the first in a long time I’ve ever seen a newbie successfully land an attack on one of the advanced students.” She could hear the pride in his voice. Who was he talking about? No one had taken Cole down. “Let’s give Payton a hand.” Her head shot up as the class stepped back to reveal Aaron clapping and grinning at her. Cole lifted his chin at her and gave her a small smile. A couple of the men in the class even cheered for her. Payton’s face burned again, but for a different reason. Shit, she’d actually done okay? She’d been so furious at herself for not taking Cole down, she hadn’t stopped to notice anything else. Aaron shook her hand and dismissed the class and a smile bloomed across Payton’s face.
As the class cleared, a group of the other participants came over to her. “That
was awesome,” one guy said. He was a lot to take in, with a spiked blond mohawk and cherryred skin, but his face was open and sweet. Before, Payton would have felt intimidated by his size with him standing so close, but she felt calm, relaxed, and—crap, almost actually happy for the first time in a long while.
She grinned in reply. “Thanks.”
“We’re gonna head over to the juice bar to celebrate,” a huge ginger added. He turned around and looked at Aaron. “You wanna come?”
“It was really great what you did out there, guys, but I gotta get a workout in. Thanks, though.”
“You in?” the blond asked Payton.
“Sure.” That gave her an idea. “Hey, Cole,” He looked back at her. “Come to the juice bar with us.” It was worth a shot.
To Payton’s surprise, Cole swung his bag over his shoulder and fell in beside her. “You did well. I didn’t think anyone would make it,” he said as they walked out toward the bar.
Good, but not good enough.
“I’m still not satisfied. I need to practice more.” They walked inside and sat down at a booth together. Cole looked at her intently.
“Why are you so hard on yourself?”
Payton shrugged. It was way too soon to tell him the truth. She wasn’t sure she was ever going to do that. “I guess I have high standards. I need to protect myself.” Cole lifted one eyebrow at her reply. Okay, well there was one thing she could tell him. “I work late sometimes. The other night, I was getting off work and a guy tried to attack me outside the bar.”
Cole’s eyes turned cold and his fingers twitched. Payton almost shrank back, but his touch was gentle as he picked up her hand. “Oh, my God. Are you alright? What happened?”
“A guy came in before we closed and slapped me on the ass—some old creep. We kicked him out, but he waited until after we closed and came at me in the parking lot.” Payton shuddered as the memories flooded her mind again. “He would have raped me, if he’d had the chance.”
Cole’s grip on her hand tightened, and Payton waited for him to disengage, pull away like he always had, but his gaze never left her face.“You got him off you, you got away?”
“Yeah, but at first I was so scared. I hesitated, then the training kicked in and I laid him out.”
“Who did you talk to at the station?”
Payton frowned. Did he mean the cops? “No one. I didn’t report it.”
“Why the hell not?” Cole sat back in his seat but continued holding her hand. His fingers traced over the back of her hand and over her wrist.
“That’s why I’m doing the training. I don’t want to have to rely on anyone but myself. I know you’re part of all that, Cole, but let’s be honest, they don’t always make it in time. That night, there was nothing you could have done. It was all over in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay. But if something happens again, I want you to call me.” Payton opened her mouth to protest and the look in his eyes intensified. “Me, Payton. Not a cop—you’re calling me, Cole. A man who wants to make sure you’re okay. That’s all.” He stopped for a second, staring down at the table. “Why did you hesitate today at the melee?” Her eyes shot to his. “You’ve always been so determined. Don’t get me wrong, you did great, but you’re always so hard on yourself, too.”
“I’ve seen the way you are, too, you know. You’re the same.”
“I’m different.”
“Why?”
“I used to be in a lot better shape.”
Payton looked down at his chest. “Is that even possible?”
He didn’t reply but locked eyes with her. A spark of tension flowed from Cole’s eyes to hers and Payton felt a small burst of heat bloom inside her.
“I mean,” Payton broke the silence, “you’re ripped. How could you not be satisfied?”
“I could say the same thing about you. Why do you push yourself so hard when you’re already gorgeous?” Her cheeks went red. “See. That’s what I’m talking about.”
“Hey, guys.” Lainey walked over, breaking the moment. “Sounds like you had quite the victory next door, Payton.”
“Until she landed on her butt.” Cole chuckled.
“What? No. I got him good.” Payton turned to Cole. “You can kiss my ass.”
“So you guys want anything today?”
Payton glanced over and found the rest of the guys from class at another table, talking loudly. No one seemed to be missing them, sitting over there on their own. “I’ll get a blueberry smoothie and a protein bar.”
“And you?” Lainey turned to Cole.
“I’ll just have a smoothie.”
“Great.” Lainey turned around and walked away.
Payton grinned at Cole. The man had a point. She’d done okay for her first time. Not that she’d ever admit it to him after that last comment. “Come on now. Why would you downplay my victory like that?”
“I got you, and you won’t admit it.” Cole sat back with his arms behind his head.
Payton started to tease him back again, but a woman walking past caught her eye. The brunette again, the same girl with the piercing green eyes. What was it about her? Was she staring at her again?
“Who is that?” Cole asked, noticing the exchange between them.
“I don’t know.” Payton quickly looked away before Cole could ask her anything further. The woman made her nervous. Nothing good could come from anyone recognizing her in San Diego.
A few of the guys from class came over and asked Cole for advice for the next melee. She took advantage of his distraction to look over at the woman. She wasn’t ordering anything or talking to anyone. She was just sitting there, holding a magazine she wasn’t reading, looking over at their group.
Payton felt an unpleasant tingle at the base of her spine. Was the woman a danger? She could probe the stranger’s mind and find out why she was there, but she still had no idea what would happen if she let her power loose on purpose. She might cause real damage, or just give her secret away. She sneaked another look and this time the woman’s eyes locked with hers. Deep green pools swirled inside. They reminded Payton of Keila’s eyes, the woman back in Chicago who said she’d had a vision of where Payton was being held. Both women had the same intense aura. There was something incredibly unsettling about them both. Something Payton could no longer ignore.
It was time to leave.
She turned back to their table and tugged on Cole’s shirt sleeve. “Hey, you wanna go have dinner later?” She wasn’t working that night and Payton wasn’t quite ready to sit alone in her hotel. Not until she knew more about what the hell was going on with the woman across the room.
He looked surprised at her question but then smiled warmly. “Sure, that’d be nice.” He jogged to the counter and grabbed a pen. Pulling her hand towards him, he jotted down a cell number on the back. “Give me a call when you’re free.”
Payton slid from the booth and made her way out into the sunshine. She looked over her shoulder, making sure she was alone. What little safety she thought she had been developing had been shattered in a few moments. This woman was a new development, something that couldn’t be ignored. Not when she reminded her so strongly of Chicago. Shit, she was starting to sound completely paranoid again. But that woman had been watching their group—no, watching her—so intently, and it wasn’t the first time.
9
Cole stood in his small closet, digging through the mess for something clean and nice that still fit. What did you wear out to something like this? He wasn’t even sure if Payton was expecting it to be a date. Maybe she just wanted to celebrate her victory in class a little more. He smiled at the thought. He couldn’t blame her. She was so small, but she had so much power inside her, so much energy, that she reminded him of a firecracker just ready to go off.
He chuckled to himself. He would not want to ever be on her bad side. The way she was taking to the training, it probably wouldn’t be long before she really took him to the floor. An image of her lying on
the floor beneath him entered his mind and his cock stirred in his jeans.
God. It had been months, no, more like a year, since he’d felt even the stirrings of arousal. What on earth was this woman doing to him?
He rifled around in his bedside drawer, grabbing a box of condoms he’d picked up a few weeks ago after Payton had caught his eye that first day at the gym, and slipped a couple into his wallet. The purchase had been on a whim, riding a rare high after she’d caught his eye that day. He hadn’t ever allowed himself to imagine he might actually meet her, take her out for dinner, and then…shit!
Cole’s head dropped forward and he forced himself to calm down. He had to stop his thoughts running away from him. He hadn’t done anything more than hold her hand. She was still so jumpy half the time. If he walked up to her with a hard–on, he was going to scare her off before he’d even gotten to know her.
Exactly, she doesn’t know you. When she does, this’ll be over, so forget about it.
Except he didn’t want to. He wanted this, going out to dinner with her. It should be so easy, so everyday. His heart shouldn’t be racing so fast it felt like it was going to beat itself right out of his chest at the thought of touching another person. Cole forced his body to relax, gulping in air. He could do this; he wanted to do this. Standing straight again, he forced his thoughts back to his clothing. It was mundane, easy.
It would probably be best to go casual and stick with a pair of fade-wash jeans and a nice dress shirt. He’d been working himself harder at the gym the past few months and his biceps would stand out in his navy button-down.
Wait, was that too formal?
He had a polo, but it just didn’t seem to fit. Payton deserved someone who would make an effort for her. The button-down would do fine. He needed to stop, breathe, and take things into perspective. If he walked in there looking like a fool, he was going to embarrass himself.
He’d tried flirting with her a little, and she’d seemed to like it. When their eyes had first met, he’d felt heat zapping through him. There was something there, he knew it already, and he wanted to explore it. It had been over a year, Goddamn it. He was way overdue to get the fuck over it and live his life.
Payton (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 3) Page 6
