"Sorry," I muttered.
"I've got something on my mind."
He moved like lightning, tagging me first on one knee, then my shoulder with rapid-fire slaps.
"Do you think an attacker is going to wait until you're alert and ready before he comes after you?" I crouched, forcing myself to focus.
Parker crouched as well, his brown eyes hard and watchful.
His shaved head and cafe au lait skin gleamed beneath the overhead fluorescent lighting.
The studio was in a converted warehouse, which had been left rough for both economic reasons and atmosphere.
My mother and stepfather were paranoid enough to have Clancy accompany me to my classes.
The neighborhood was presently undergoing revitalization, which I thought was encouraging but they thought was troubling.
When Parker came at me again, I blocked him.
The tagging came fast and furious then, and I pushed all other thoughts aside until later, when I was home.
When Gideon came over about an hour later, he found me in the bath surrounded by vanilla-scented candles.
He undressed to join me, even though his damp hair told me he'd already showered after spending time with his own personal trainer.
I watched him strip, riveted.
The play of muscles beneath his skin and the inherent gracefulness in the way he moved sent a delicious sense of contentment sliding through me.
He climbed into the deep oval tub behind me, his long legs sliding in on either side of mine.
His arms wrapped around me, and then he surprised me by lifting me up and back, so that I was sitting on his lap and my legs were draped over his.
"Lean into me, angel," he murmured.
"I need to feel you."
I sighed with pleasure, sinking into the hardness of his powerful body as he cradled me.
My aching muscles softened in surrender, eager as always to become completely pliable to his touch.
I loved moments like this, when the world and our emotional triggers were far away.
Moments when I felt the love he wouldn't profess for me.
"Soaking more bruises?" he asked with his cheek pressed to mine.
"My fault.
My head wasn't in the game."
"Thinking about me?" he purred, nuzzling against my ear.
"I wish."
He paused, then switched gears.
"Tell me what's bugging you."