think.”
“Your body did the thinking for you. That’s what your hard work has led to.” He let his arms drop, looking her up and down with a smile. “You get stronger every day, even if you don’t see it. And you have at least five years before Jared can breathe air as a free man. By then, you’ll know everything you need to know about protecting yourself.”
She considered his words and nodded. Finally, she was starting to believe him. “You’re right. Come on.” She motioned for him to come at her again with fingers sticking out of the sparring gloves.
“Getting a big head now, huh?” He smirked, loving her sexy self-confidence as they circled each other. “Let me know if you need to rest.”
No sooner had he gotten the words out of his mouth than Marilyn’s fist shot out and made contact with his gut. He grunted slightly then stepped back, using his longer limbs to his advantage.
He wasn’t fighting full-out, neither of them were, but they weren’t just practicing, either. He came at her blow after blow, quick and calculated, forcing her to think about everything. Her stance, balance, focus. She didn’t let him get a solid hit in and parried with blows of her own.
He had an advantage since he hadn’t already been working on the punching bag for God knows how long before they started. She was getting tired, but his feisty little warrior kept going.
He was about to call for a break when she threw a combo punch to his mid-section. He blocked it, then pulled his arms back up to block the right jab she favored. They’d have to work on—
She caught him with a left hook, mid-thought.
Blindsiding him wasn’t an easy thing to do. Soldiers with years of fighting hadn’t been able to do it. But she did it. Her gloved fist connected with his chin from a powerful blow he hadn’t even seen coming. He staggered back against the wall, a little dazed.
“Holy shit.” He reached up to rub his jaw. That was going to leave a mark.
She immediately fell out of her fighting stance, ripping off her gloves as she ran to his side. “Oh my God. Noah, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t—”
He held up a hand, pressing his fingers to her lips before tapping her chin with the padding of his gloves, the way she’d done to him but much gentler. “Don’t apologize. What you just did was sexy as hell.”
“What? I hit you!”
“You saw an opening and you went for it and it was amazing. Your left hook is a thing of beauty.” He let his thumb trace her jaw, her chin. “You’re a thing of beauty.”
He reached over and pulled the velcro from his gloves and slid them off. Maybe she’d just knocked all the sense out of him, but he wanted to kiss her more than he wanted his next breath.
He hooked a finger under her chin, eyes searching for any hint of apprehension. Doubt. Fear. Ready to pull back if he saw any of those things.
All he saw was her pretty face coming at him as she pushed him farther back against the wall and pressed her lips to his.
9
God, a man as strong and rugged as Noah shouldn’t have lips that were so soft and full. The two of them together like this shouldn’t be sexy at all. They were hot and sweaty and…
Oh lord, his tongue moving gently against her lips. Sipping, almost. Smooth and rhythmic. Lush.
When had she last been kissed this way? Had she ever?
Marilyn’s heart hammered hard enough to make her wonder whether he could hear it. No, he couldn’t have since he was too busy kissing her like a man with all the time in the world and nowhere else he’d rather be.
He gently nipped at her bottom lip before running his tongue over the sweet sting, his hand cradling her head like she was some precious thing. Heady warmth—which had nothing to do with her workout—flushed through her body.
She ran her fingers through his thick hair, testing its softness like she’d wanted to for so long, and pulled him closer. She wanted to keep kissing him like this forever.
And they might have if Corfu and Thing One hadn’t finally wandered into the barn and decided they wanted in on the fun. She felt Noah’s smile against her mouth as the dogs tried to butt their heads between their bodies.
She pulled back slightly, more than