Red After Dark (Blackwood Security #13) - Elise Noble Page 0,36
isn’t exactly a team player.”
“Because you’ll do your close-quarters combat training with me this afternoon.”
“With you?”
Rafael folded his arms, and his tanned biceps bulged under the flimsy sleeves of his T-shirt. I took in the rest of him. He was big, nearly as big as Alex, and his dark eyes were a whole lot more dangerous. Black hair, black clothes, black boots, black aura.
“What? You don’t think I’m capable?”
Oh, I thought he was capable of doing his job. I just wasn’t sure I was capable of doing mine.
“Yeah, but I thought you’d have better things to do. Like fighting orcs or eating kryptonite.”
“What’s an orc?”
“You haven’t watched Lord of the Rings?”
One of Lenny’s druggie pals had the whole set on DVD. I’d watched all three of the movies half a dozen times while the idiots went on their benders, in between checking for vital signs at regular intervals.
“I’m not big on TV.”
Preferred his violence in real life, did he?
“Well, whatever. Just get the punishment over with, will you?”
Rafael smiled for the first time, revealing a set of straight white teeth. Whose ass did he kiss in the gene pool?
“Take a half-hour break, then meet me in the gym. Sky Malone…” He gave his head a slow shake. “My uncle was right. You’re a real ray of sunshine.”
His uncle?
Oh, shit.
After the way Rafael flung Alex against the wall, I’d expected to finish the afternoon with broken bones or at least a full complement of bruises. But he surprised me again when he lay on the floor.
“Let’s do this differently. This time, you’re the aggressor. Choke me. You look as if you’ll enjoy that.”
Choke him? Presumably he meant the way Alex had tried to choke me earlier. Thanks to the break, I’d had time to steel myself for what was to come. To block out the memories of the past and focus on the here and now. Which basically meant lying on top of Gulliver here. When I knelt between his legs, I could barely reach his neck without sprawling on top of him.
“Do I need a crash mat?” I asked. He could toss me like a rag doll if he chose.
“Not today. But pick a safe word.”
“A safe word? What do you think this is? Fifty fucking shades of grey?”
“No, but I also don’t want it to be fifty shades of black and blue.” Rafael touched my forearm. “He bruised you.”
“Emmy said that the more I bleed in training, the less I’ll bleed in combat.”
“There’s more than one way to train. You’ll get bruises later, but you need to understand the tools you have before you can learn to use them properly. And it’s not just your body you need to keep in shape.” He tapped the side of my head. “Up here matters too. Pick your safe word.”
I could have come up with something awesome. Something funky and cool-sounding. But what popped out of my mouth was, “Piggles.”
“Piggles?”
Rafael might have looked all boy-next-door handsome when he laughed, but I still wanted to slap him.
“It was a toy I had when I was little, okay? A cuddly—”
“Let me guess… A sheep?”
“Shut up.”
“Piggles.” He started laughing again.
“Yeah, Piggles.” I had to own it. “What’s your safe word?”
“I don’t need a safe word.”
“You think? What if I kick you in the balls and mistake your gasp of pain for pleasure?”
“Fine.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Butt-Head.”
“Huh? You want me to headbutt you?”
“That’s my safe word. Butt-Head. He was my pet goat when I was a kid.”
“You had a pet goat, and he was called Butt-Head?” I asked, wanting to check I hadn’t fallen into an alternate universe, one where I wasn’t lying on an admittedly hot guy having just confessed to owning a cuddly pig named Piggles. Piggles had been my favourite toy until my father shredded him in a fit of anger. I forced those memories to the back of my mind too, my father’s yelling and his fists. They were easier to push away than the rape. I’d had years’ more practice.
“I did. And now we have our safe words, so choke me or I’ll spank you.”
“Did you read Fifty Shades?”
I tightened my fingers around Rafael’s neck. Rather than break them, he crossed his arms over mine and gripped both wrists. Then he pushed his elbows down, forcing my arms to bend and my grip to loosen. Half a second later, he tipped me to the side, got one foot on my stomach, and pushed me backwards.