The Girl in the Steel Corset - By Kady Cross Page 0,62
quite fit—like a classical statue—and though Finley admired his physique, she did not feel the strange flutter in her stomach that she often felt around Griffin.
But she was glad she wore a short skirt with her corset, undershirt and boots. She would have as much freedom of movement as possible.
Jasper leaned against the turnbuckle, as though he did this kind of thing every day. “They have a wager,” he whispered conspiratorially, pointing at Emily and Sam.
Finley glanced at them. “Really?” Jasper offered his hand to help her step into the ring, which she gratefully accepted. “I thought this was just a friendly training exercise.”
“So did I,” the American agreed. “Seems your friends have other ideas.”
Finley liked the fact that he thought they were her friends, but she wasn’t so naive as to totally believe it. Right now she was little more than a houseguest—a stray Griffin had taken in because he felt responsible for fixing her. She was all right with that for now. She’d rather earn their regard than simply have it handed to her.
Jasper wrapped his hands and then hers with thin strips of gauzy cloth. “It will help protect your knuckles,” he said, tearing a strip of material with his teeth. “And it will absorb any sweat.”
“Or blood,” she added.
Jasper’s gaze lifted, locking with hers. Good-natured amusement shone in the hazel depths. “Or blood,” he agreed. “Let’s hope we don’t spill too much of that.”
Finley shrugged. “I heal quickly.”
Jasper laughed. “I don’t.”
“Emily can fix you.” She nodded at their onlookers.
The cowboy shot a quick, appreciative glance over his shoulder. “I reckon she can do anything she puts her mind to,” he said—with the first amount of real seriousness Finley had heard from him. There was also no mistaking that Emily liked the praise, just as there was no ignoring the darkening of Sam’s face.
A love triangle, Finley thought. How very dramatic. She blinked. Sarcasm wasn’t something she usually tended toward. Griffin’s experiment must have truly worked. The two sides of her were coming together into one.
Their hands wrapped and ready, Jasper began by teaching Finley the basics of the martial arts. He showed her the proper way to stand and strike. He struck different poses to demonstrate the stances that made one’s attack more efficient. He also taught her how to fight so she didn’t hurt herself more than her opponent, and explained the importance of being quick on one’s feet. That was when he chose to reveal to her that his strange talent was the ability to move very quickly. So fast, in fact, that he was a blur.
Finley wasn’t afraid; she was excited. She wanted to see what Jasper could do. She wanted to see what she could do.
They started out slowly, Jasper alternating between instructing and baiting her as they moved around the ring. When Finley did something right—like a kick that would have struck his jaw—he praised it, and when she did something wrong, he stopped to correct her.
“Keep your guard up,” he ordered. “A dirty fighter will go for the places that will put you down the fastest—your head, stomach and groin.”
As soon as he pointed the places out to her, Finley felt the most devilish impulse come over her. She took a swing at his stomach—she wasn’t so mean as to target his…ahem…nether regions. But Jasper must have sensed her plan, because he moved swiftly—very swiftly—out of her way. He grinned at her, though.
“Exactly,” he said. “You keep those places in mind if a fella ever gives you a rough time, but try not to make your intentions so obvious.” As if to prove his earlier point, he tapped her on the chin with his knuckles. “Could have got you there.”
A few minutes later, both of them were breathing a little harder, but Finley felt she was finally learning the rhythm to this strange art. Her ear stung from a blow she wasn’t quite quick enough to avoid, but Jasper’s left cheek was red from one she managed to land.
“C’mon, Finley lass!” Emily cried out, bloodlust thickening her accent. “Take him down!”
Finley grinned at her opponent, who flashed his teeth back at her. He moved on her, but instinctively she ducked and came up with a fist into his hard stomach. They weren’t using the martial art techniques specifically anymore, and a little pugilism made an appearance.
“Oof!” He doubled over. She got him again with another in the jaw, bouncing on the balls of her feet with barely restrained energy.