Temptation (The Temptation Series)

by K. M. Golland

“Jackie Chan, what a co-incidence, thank you for saving our lives?” I couldn’t possibly have sounded more sarcastic and unappreciative. He ‘smirked’ at me, of course, I just kept staring at him, partly because I loved looking at his immaculate face but also because I was in fact quite intoxicated and found it difficult to look away.

  “Jackie Chan?” He raised his eyebrows at me. Oh Shit, did that come out of my mouth? That was supposed to stay in my head.

  “Alexis, earth to Alexis.” It was Carls, when I didn’t respond she introduced herself to Bryce. “I’m Carly, you must be Mr Clark, I’ve heard so much about you.” Oh you have, have you? Carly Josephine Henkley I am going to kill you.

  “You have, have you?” He, was loving this, it was written all over his face, Carls had extended her hand. Lil, Tash, Jade and Steph were dead silent and pretty much drooling on the spot.

  “How are you ladies getting home tonight?” Carls seemed to be the only one of us who could speak.

  “Alexis is driving.” She cracked up laughing and playfully hit Bryce on the arm.

  “No, just kidding, we are catching a Maxi Taxi.” She practically sang it, I giggled again. Bryce put his phone to his ear.

  “Danny, can you bring the Limo round to exit door 8, thank you.” All six of us were stunned now, even Carly, this time I was the only one who could speak.

  “It’s fine Bryce, we can get a Maxi Taxi.” This time I sang it and everyone laughed, including Bryce. You are going to hate yourself tomorrow, Alexis.

  “It’s not negotiable Alexis, Danny will take you all home safely, it’s the least I can do after that creep gave you a hard time.” He really was enjoying this power over me and the fact that he could do it in front of my friends. When he opened exit door 8, there was a Limo waiting just outside, Danny helped all the girls in. I turned to Bryce and screwed up my face.

  “Thank you.” I was too tired and frankly too drunk to argue or interrogate him on how he just so happened to be there at the right time.

  “You’re welcome Alexis.” He eyed me up and down and ran his hand through his hair. I hated yet loved when he did that.

  “Fuck, you look good tonight, can’t really blame that arsehole for wanting to touch you, it’s taking every single bit of my strength not to touch you myself, especially your breasts, you have great breasts.” I couldn’t help it, I burst into laughter, it had to be the alcohol, there was no other explanation. I smiled at him and got into the Limo.

  Sunday morning was sleep-in day and my favourite day of the week, but this particular morning was not fun. Unfortunately I think Jade was right, I was too old for this, my head was throbbing and every time I took a breath it felt like I was sucking in a mouth full of dust. I couldn’t open my eyes, I was already anticipating the blinding light that would shine through when I did. I thought back to last night, how did he know I was there? Surely he just didn’t happen to be at the nightclub when we walked in, no I don’t believe that for a second, it had to be some form of ‘creepy research’. To be honest I was glad he had come to my rescue, looking back now I realise I may not have had the co-ordination nor strength to ward those arseholes off, I really did need to thank him properly tomorrow. Eventually when I opened my eyes Rick was not lying next to me, the house was quiet, which was very unusual. I got up to investigate this rarity and was spot on, the house was quiet too quiet for the kids to be here, Rick had left a note to say he had taken them to the football. We were members of the Essendon Football Club and went to as many games as we could, Nate loved the footy and was lucky enough to have his guernsey signed by all the players. Rick you wonderful man! I thought I would use this alone time, to get the washing, vacuuming and my personal grooming done. By the time they all got home I had a roast lamb in the oven, washing folded and ready to put away and not a skerrick of hair on my legs, bikini line or under arms. A Sunday well utilised Alexis! I mentally gave myself a pat on the back. My mobile rang, it was Tash. Shit, no go away, I don’t want a grilling, aarrggh!

  “Hi Tash, what’s up?”

  “How’s the hangover Luv? You missy, have some explaining to do, you fobbed us off in the Limo last night, but there is no way I am waiting any longer. Right, Mr Sexyarse Jackie Chan Clark, explain, now?” Jackie Chan? Shit that wasn’t a dream. Ah Crap, it was inevitable, I was busted!

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I had managed to spill only half the beans to Tash, basically only confessing to having an extremely sexy boss who liked to flirt with me, I brushed her off by explaining that he was a filthy rich bachelor who made a habit of it, so I was no one special. Thankfully she left it at that and just cursed me for ditching our coffee dates to go and work for the ‘Super-Hot God’!

  As I was getting ready Monday morning I was still sporting a slight hangover, Sleep I need more sleep! At least I didn’t need to spend half an hour putting on make-up. I’d remembered Bryce’s request to come in my gym clothes for a Self-Defence lesson. I was going to get punished, I had no idea how to participate in a Martial Art Class, he was going to love my lack of co-ordination and have a really good laugh at me at the same time, he seemed to love getting one up on me. I put my hair into a ponytail, grabbed my make-up bag and Burberry shirt dress.

  “I hope the two of you are ready and waiting by the time I get out there.” As I walked into the lounge Nate and Charlotte were ready and waiting like soldiers to attention.

  “Ah very good, at ease soldiers.” I bundled them into the car and headed off to school, thank goodness the school drop-offs have become less harrowing, Nate has discovered that before-school care is really not that bad, I think it may have something to do with another 9 year old by the name of Chantal!

  “Bye guys, love you, I’ll see you tonight.” I blew them both extra kisses as they walked into the office building.

  At first I was looking forward to this but seeing the abundance of women waiting here in the Hotel Gymnasium made me feel intimidated and unsure, I had a Gym membership but only ever did Weights or Cardio Machines, I hadn’t actually exercised once since starting my job so I knew this was going to be a challenge, not only physically but co-ordination wise as well. It shouldn’t really surprise me that there were a lot of women here, I bet none of them gave a shit about Self-Defence, nor payed any attention to the learning aspect of the class. Judging by the whispered giggling and obvious excitement when Bryce entered the room, they were only here for one thing, a bloody good Perve! I snuck in two rows from the back; surely I couldn’t do any harm in this little pocket.

  “Good morning Ladies, did we all have a good weekend?” The women all agreed in unison. Seriously? I felt like I was amongst a bunch of school girls!

  “Good, now that all your fun is over we need to get serious.” A lady behind me murmured ‘I’d like to get serious with him.’ Another laughed and agreed.

  “Do I have any newcomers today?” He started scanning the room, a couple of women put their hands up and he directed them to stand in the front row. I figured I’d stay and hide here, but he was on to it, before I had a chance to look anywhere else our eyes met and locked!

  “Ah, Alexis my lovely assistant. I’d like you all to meet Alexis, she is going to help me demonstrate a few defensive moves that may one day help save your life.” He held out his hand and then pointed to stand next to him. Oh shit, you didn’t just do that and you’re freakin smirking at me. I hesitantly and very slowly made my way up to the front and gave a sheepish wave to the class, who by the looks on their faces, all seemed to automatically hate me. He placed his hands on both my shoulders and positioned me next to him, I felt my cheeks start to redden and I knew I looked like that beetroot I so often resembled when I was around him.

  “Ladies, firstly I want you to remember the following 6 ‘soft spots’. Eyes, Ears, Throat, Groin, Fingers and Toes. By inflicting pain to these very sensitive areas, it can give you the best chance of disabling your attacker.” He started to pace the stage and every pair of eyes followed his every move.

>   “No matter how big your attacker is, his eyelids are always going to be just a thin layer of skin, this makes them a very vulnerable target to attack. A simple eye gouge with your thumbs, is all that is needed.” He moves to face me and demonstrates the action of sticking his thumbs into my eyes, although he doesn’t actually touch me.

  “Or, a quick hard jab to the eye sockets with the fingertips.” As he thrust towards my eyes I flinched and he laughed. Oh you are hilarious, you’ll pay for that!

  “Both these actions are great techniques to help you break holds, where your arm and/or arms are not restrained. The next soft spot is the Ears. The Ears are usually easy enough to grab onto and if yanked hard enough will cause a great deal of discomfort, another effective tactic is giving both Ears a hard slap with your palms at the same time, this creates such great air pressure that it may rupture an ear drum.” Still facing him, he instructs me to perform the last technique.

  “Alexis, with both your palms facing inwards slap both my Ears in unison.” He puts both hands over his ears. Dammit, he was on to me, oh well my revenge will have to wait. I did what I was told.

  “Excellent, hitting both Ears at the same time is paramount in this situation.” He moved quite close to me and placed his pointer and tall fingers to my throat, I tried not to look at him as his face was not far from mine. My chest started to rise and fall quite obviously and he picked up on my sudden change of heart rate.

  “The Trachea Well is the little patch of soft flesh here, at the base of the Adams Apple and just like the eyelids is only one thin layer of skin protecting a vital and sensitive body part. You attack the Trachea Well in the same manner as the eyelids, by a thumb gouge, or sharp finger jab, like this.” He repeated the quick jabbing move.

  “The second part of the throat area to strike is the Carotid Artery.” He firmly put his hand to my neck and squeezed gently.

  “Grabbing in a claw like motion on either side of the Adams Apple will no doubt cause your attacker a great deal of pain.” This demonstration made me feel quite uncomfortable and vulnerable, I couldn’t help but look up to the roof, Bryce relaxed his fingers stood behind me but left his hand resting on my shoulder blade, he gentle flexed his hand which gave me a sense of relief surprisingly.

  “The groin is always a popular attack point, because it causes a male severe pain.” There was a snigger around the room, one of the ladies in the front row was licking her lips. I wanted to slap her, hard! Better still I wanted to slap both her ears at the same time and poke my fingers into her Trachea. I found myself glaring at her.

  “If you are being attacked from the front and he has your shoulders pinned, a swift kick up into the groin with the top of your foot as hard as you can, will be effective, or if he is closer, a hard knee up into the groin can be just as successful. If you are able to grab his ears when you do this, it will one, give you more control and balance when kneeing him and two, cause pain in a second area at the same time. Now, as you are aware, men will not always attack from the front, in fact attacking from behind is more likely as it enables them the element of surprise. If your attacker has you from behind in a bear hug, there are many things you can do to break this hold, you can simply step to the side and perform a Hammer-Punch down into the groin like this.” He demonstrates his arm being raised to his shoulder with a clenched fist, then swung down and hard behind him, he walks up behind me and whispers.

  “Don’t even think about making contact!” Is that a threat Mr Clark? This was a good opportunity for revenge but I thought about his words and he had the power to make me squirm at the best of times, so I thought I would obey. He grabbed me hard from behind, I stepped to the side and swung my arm down firm and fast stopping just in time to gently brush his penis. I couldn’t help but keep my hand resting there. He twitched ever so slightly, I couldn’t move and I don’t think he wanted to move either, after seconds had elapsed he cleared his throat and stepped to my side.

  “Instead of a Hammer-Punch you could also grab the groin with force, squeeze really hard and pull your handful forward.” The licking lips lady smiled and battered her eyes. That’s it Bitch it’s on, you and me, right here right now.

  “Can everyone grab a partner please? The women all shuffled around until they were paired up.

  “Good, finally I want to demonstrate how to break a head hold, one of the most common ways a man will grab you is by the head. When you restrain the head you are gaining control of most of your victim’s body, which is why attackers tend to grab your head first. Now facing Alexis, I’m going to grab the back of her head.” He placed his hand quite firmly on the back of my head and looked me straight in the eyes.

  “Your attacker will try to lower your head as it enables him to gain the control that he’s after. I want you to push back against his hand and keep the control yourself. Now ladies on the left will be the attackers and the ladies on the right, the victims.” They all moved into position.

  “Good, attackers you are going to grab your victims at the back of their head with the intention to bring their head closer to you or with the intention to lower it, victims are going to push back with their head. Before you do this, do not put too much strength into your moves, we don’t want any injuries, use just enough force to allow you to feel how to perform the manoeuvre, Alexis and I will demonstrate first.” He looked at me and nodded.

  “Are you ready? Push back against my pull on your head.” He replaced his hand on the back of my head and I automatically wrenched my head up and back, I don’t think he anticipated my strength, he smiled in surprise and kept his grip.

  “The next thing you need to do is break his hold once you have somewhat of a control over your head. You can perform many of the soft spot tactics I mentioned before or, if he has grabbed you with his left arm, you can swing your right arm around to hit him in the elbow joint with your palm, to break his hold on your head and vice a versa if he has used his right arm. Hitting an attacker with force on the elbow joint is always a good defensive move to try at any point as the elbow is weak. Now as you hit him in the elbow turn slightly in the direction you have hit his arm in, this allows the grip to release easier on your head.” Releasing my head he came round behind me, he stood right up against my back and this time his twitch was not so gentle, it sent tingles up and down my spine, his close proximity sent my body into a frenzy. He picked up my arm ever so gently and like I was a puppet under his command swung my arm round in a swift punching motion.

  “Just like that,” he motioned to the class and performed the move with my arm again.

  “Everybody got that? Good, now Alexis are you ready?” This time I was the one smirking at him, he grabbed the back of my head and I instantly jerked up and back, I quickly swung my arm around and hit him directly in the elbow joint forcing his grip away from my head. I then finger jabbed his Trachea, but not too hard, enough to catch him by surprise though. That felt great! Revenge achieved. Take that Mr Use me as a guinea pig Clark. He grabbed his elbow with his other arm, then rubbed his throat and bending over slightly, looked up at me in shock. Shit, did I hurt him? He gave his arm a shake.

  “Very good Alexis.” He looked slightly annoyed but slightly turned on, I felt a surge of excitement and accomplishment, I grinned and stood back in my position.

  “Alright ladies, everyone give that a try please, minus the finger jab.” He shot me a ‘you are going to pay’ look. He began to circulate the room and assist the women with their moves, almost every single one of them needed some form of help.

  “Excellent, keep practising that and take turns for a minute.” He stepped back up on the stage, and whispered.

  “I like it when you are feisty.” I turned to face him, Oh you do, do you?

  “Good what’s next then?” I was ready for more, I had a sudden surge of adrenalin and I wanted to kick his butt, partly because he gives me the shits in a cheeky way, partly because we get up close and personal and I like the feeling of his twitching dick.
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br />   CHAPTER TWELVE

  The last of the women in the class were starting to get the idea that it was in fact time to leave, Bryce was very polite to the ladies that hung around him like flies and didn’t once give them the impression they were pestering him. He must get this all the time; it would have to be very annoying and draining, maybe it’s different for men, I don’t know but if it were me I would definitely not be as accommodating as he. I grabbed my bag and headed to the change room. Bryce was still held up by licking lips lady, so I gestured to him that I would see him back in his office.

  “Thank you Chelsea, I’m glad you enjoyed it, I’m sorry I really must go.” Brush off of the century, take that Bitch. He picked up his pace and caught up to me.

  “Alexis, where do you think you’re going?” He gently secured my arm.

  “I’m going to have a quick shower, before I see you up there.”

  “Not down here you’re not, I have 5 showers in my apartment you can use one of those.” Ok, I hadn’t even thought to ask to use one of his.

  “Thank you, I’d prefer that.” I really did, I don’t fancy gym showers they grouse me out. As we walked off, I noticed licking lips lady snatch up her towel and bag, she smiled sarcastically at me. She definitely was a piece of work this one.

  We headed up via his private elevator, it wasn’t that much different to the main ones. He punched in a code and it took us directly to the second level of his apartment, he opened the door to one of the guest rooms.

  “Please make yourself at home and take as long as you want, I’ll be in my room if you need me.” He stepped out backwards whilst ‘smirking’. He never ceases to amaze me, just so up front and God damn cheeky, if only I was single, I would take him up on that disguised invitation! I walked in to the room, it was gorgeous of course but again different from Lucy’s and Bryce’s rooms. The colour palette was neutral and green and reminded me of a country cottage bed and breakfast room. The bedside tables were of vintage style with white distressed paint, the room really was lovely. The view of Port Phillip Bay was divine, I could see the Spirit of Tasmania docked at Station Pier in Port Melbourne, I had been on the Spirit during a family holiday to Tassie and was so sea sick, I couldn’t bring myself to attempt another trip on it again.