Sophia Sasson - The Sergeant's Temptation

“Told you, man, she’s small but mighty.” Rodgers said in a gloating tone as they stepped out of the Plexiglas cube so the next team could take a turn.

“Okay, I want each of you to figure out how your partner got the better of you, then switch partners. It’s important to know your own weakness, acknowledge what your partner exploited,” Luke instructed. The guys had told Alessa that unlike Ethan, Luke spent a lot of time in running exercises himself.

They worked at the exercise for the better part of two hours until Alessa had pretty much kicked all of the men to the ground.

“C’mon guys,” Luke yelled. “I want at least one of you to find Parrino’s weak spot. Get inside her head.”

“She’s made of titanium,” Dimples quipped, his characteristic smile lopsided as he grabbed the side of his head that Alessa had slammed into the wall.

“Everyone has a weak spot, guys, and you need to find hers,” Luke said firmly.

“Oh, yeah? If you think it’s that easy, why don’t you do it?” Rodgers shot back. Alessa sensed that Rodgers had been a little hesitant on their second fight and she’d told him his fear was what made him an easy target. He’d been afraid of her based on their previous encounter, which made him tentative, and that hesitation would be the death of him in a real combat situation. She didn’t have the strength that the men did, so she got the better of them through lightning-fast moves.

“Yeah, Lieutenant, why don’t you show us grunts how it’s done,” Dimples jeered.

Alessa looked at Luke and smiled at the panic evident in his eyes. It would be fun to kick his rear end to the ground, put him in his place. She cracked her knuckles.

“What, you afraid to get whooped by a girl?” she taunted.

He narrowed his eyes, then gestured to Alessa. Luke stepped onto the rubber mat and held the door while Alessa stepped across the threshold, unable to contain the smirk on her face. Luke closed the door behind him.

He stepped toward her. The guys wouldn’t be able to hear them with the door closed but he kept his voice low.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

Of course not. Her stomach fluttered as she studied the stormy blues of his eyes. Fighting with someone meant close body contact. His proximity at the computer had been enough to supercharge her senses. Was she really ready for that again? He raised his brows, giving her a way out. All she had to say was no. She wasn’t required to do this training. After all, she was only the logistics person. Fighting him was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

“It’s on,” she said, chin raised.

His eyes darkened and he stepped back from her, his jaw set. There were no rules in this exercise. The idea was to take down your opponent by any means necessary using your bare hands. The rest of the team was watching intently behind the Plexiglas. Her gaze was laser focused on Luke.

Alessa’s martial arts training had drummed into her the importance of looking into the opponent’s eyes to anticipate his next move. It usually worked for her, but not this time. Looking into Luke’s eyes was like watching the swirls of a tornado. Get it together!

He wouldn’t make the first move. In a disciplined fight, offense was not always the best defense. If she moved first, it would give him time to react. He would get to decide whether to evade, block or retaliate. He’d be the one with the choices and she would give away her preferred fight mode. The movies often showed two adversaries circling each other ready to pounce, but neither of them did that. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours but was in fact mere seconds.

Luke wasn’t going to budge. Alessa had to make her move. She led with a kick, hoping to throw him off balance, but he was expecting it and blocked her deftly. She anticipated a counter punch, but it never came. She successfully twisted away from him and they were back in the face-off.

He’d had the perfect opportunity to at least get a jab into her, and he hadn’t taken it. Why? While it was understood that they wouldn’t seriously injure each other in these exercises, everyone expected to walk away sore and bruised, including Alessa. The bruises would remind them of their weak spots so they could protect them better next time. Luke should have taken at least one punch.

Most people thought fighting was about power and speed. And it was. But it was also about messing with the opponent’s head. Faking left and going right was the simplistic version of that.

She inched closer to him. “You’ll regret pulling that punch,” she said, then jabbed at him with her fists. She was at a significant disadvantage. Her arms were shorter than his, and just as she expected, he blocked her with ease. But counting on the fact that he wouldn’t make an aggressive move, she turned and slammed her body against his, pushing him hard into the wall.

She heard his moan a millisecond after the thud of his body against the solid Plexiglas.

“Alessa, I don’t want to do this.” The way he said her name, the apology in his tone, sent warmth through her heart. It was her downfall, the momentary distraction. She was already at a disadvantage trying to hold down his large body with her smaller one. Before she knew it, Luke had spun her around and pinned her arms to her back. He held her close, his grip firm. Focusing on the rise and fall of his chest, she calculated her next move. She wasn’t going to let him get inside her head again.

In a normal fight, he could put a knee to her back and push her to the mat, but instead he leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

“You underestimate me. Maybe I was just making you comfortable to get the better of you.” If the words were meant to be menacing, they were badly delivered. His breath was ragged in her ear, his voice thick and throaty. Is he also having trouble concentrating? She shook off the thought. He was trying to distract her.

She kicked behind her, catching Luke in the knee. Hard enough that he grunted and loosened his grip just a fraction, which was all she needed to free herself from his grasp. She whipped around to face him in their now-familiar standoff.

His eyes smoldered. Her entire body burned. I could end this now, say I’m not feeling well. Fighting Luke was a kind of torture she didn’t need. It didn’t matter what he did or did not feel for her. There was at least a flirtation between them and the entire team was watching. Try as she might, she couldn’t focus on the fight and the guys would know it. She needed to be above reproach to counteract everything that had happened in Kuwait. The guys had all been in the pit with her; they knew she didn’t fight this sloppily.

Time to focus. Whenever she was in over her head in a fight, she thought about her father. It was a good tactic to bring in a rush of anger that helped her overcome any pain or doubt. The trick had never failed her. But now, all she could think about was the way he was looking at her. No man had ever looked at her that way. More importantly, no man had ever made her feel the way Luke was right now. Like she mattered. Like he cared. Shake it off Alessa, it’s not real. But she couldn’t.

A bang on the Plexiglas made them both flinch. Rodgers held up his hands in a gesture of confusion. They’d been standing there without doing anything for several minutes. Alessa took a breath. She had to get through this; if the guys thought there was anything other than a professional relationship between her and Luke, her career was over.

I need to end this. Rodgers was still miming, and while Luke’s attention was on the other man, she charged at him with everything she had. She crashed into him as she intended, but he twisted away. Before she could deliver her final blow, he pivoted and crouched at the same time. He knocked her off her feet. She landed on the padded floor but not before she managed to sweep her leg under his. She turned immediately, intending to get up before he regained his balance but he was too quick. He rolled over top of her to keep her down.