Vicki Essex - In Her Corner

Bella leaned forward suddenly, her eyes softening. “Look, I know things have been tense between us. I know you don’t like Ryan, but he believes in me. I really need that.” She glanced down. “I need someone to believe...” She trailed off.

His eyes widened. Suddenly, he got it. She’d signed with Ryan because he supported her in ways Kyle hadn’t. Ways her family hadn’t. Why else was she here and not at a Fiore gym? Marco Fiore had mentioned something to him about a falling-out. Kyle understood that feeling of desolation when no one had faith in you. The ache spread as he realized his cold attitude hadn’t helped. He’d practically pushed her toward Ryan.

“I believe in you,” he blurted. Too little...but maybe not too late. Wry cynicism lurked in her eyes, but there was a spark of hope there, too. He swallowed thickly and leaned closer, trying desperately to infuse his words with sincerity. “I’m here for you, Bella.”

“I really need to believe that, Kyle. You’re the one I came here for. I want to bring something new to the cage. Betty Heimer has some major takedown skills, and I don’t want to be unprepared. Will you help me? Please?”

He bit down on the inside of his cheek. As wildly infuriating as Bella could be, right now, she was vulnerable and she needed him.

He couldn’t say no.

* * *

AFTER BELLA HAD finished with one of the fitness classes she taught, a young guy named Joe who’d been training at Payette’s for over a year joined them on the mats at Kyle’s request. At eighteen, he was a gangly kid who weighed a few pounds more than Bella did. As before, Kyle started from the beginning with basic wrestling stances. It never hurt to check a fighter’s habits. It seemed Bella had taken his advice and adjusted her staggered stance. Joe was more sloppy, but he was still new to MMA.

They went through the basic takedowns, and Kyle found Bella’s techniques a bit rough. Brazilian jujitsu and wrestling were separate disciplines with different rules and goals, but in MMA, the two were more fluid. He stopped the pair as she pinned Joe to the mats.

“Bella, you’re still not cutting the corner fast enough,” he said. “Betty’s going to be fighting you off, so you’ll have to do this in a snap. Don’t give her time to readjust.”

She shot him a look as if to say duh.

He raised an eyebrow and subbed in for Joe, getting into position.

Bella’s lips curved. “Do you want me to fight you off?” she asked wryly.

“You can try.”

Joe took another step back. Kyle said, “Go,” and lunged forward. He snagged her wrist and hooked one hand behind her head, controlling her so she couldn’t strike him.

But Bella was strong, and she’d had years of training with the first family of BJJ. She reversed their positions, dropping to her knees with one arm hooked under his thigh.

“That’s good,” Kyle said, grappling with her, keeping her close. “Using your height difference as an advantage definitely throws off a bigger opponent. But—” He shot his legs back and dropped his hips. He landed on her, then went for the full mount, straddling her chest. “I’m still bigger and stronger. From here I can get you into a lot of different submission holds.”

“If you can hold on,” she gritted. She lifted her hips and rolled and twisted beneath him. He lost his grip and slammed a hand down to stabilize himself. His nose ended up buried in the crook of her neck. The smell of hot-cross buns assailed him.

Before he could regain himself, she’d wrapped her muscular legs around his waist, ankles hooked into the small of his back. She pulled him down on top of her, gaining control despite still being pinned beneath him.

Her face was flushed, and strands of dark, curly hair stuck to her sweaty face. The combination of her piercing green eyes and the way she squeezed him between her thighs sent electricity across his skin. Blood pounded through his temples and made its way south.

“Nice guard,” Joe said.

Kyle startled. He’d practically forgotten about Joe. He tapped out hastily, discreetly adjusting himself as he got up. “In wrestling, your opponent will be fighting against you all the way. The name of the game is domination.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing the name of this game is MMA.” Bella rolled into a sitting position. “That would’ve been a perfectly legal move.”

He couldn’t fault her for that. And he had to admit he was impressed. “Let’s refocus on your takedown. Do the double-leg again. Joe, stand in for me.”

The hour slipped by quickly as they ran through the exercise several times. He realized too late, though, that having the amateur spar with Bella had been a bad decision. The kid’s technique was sloppy, and didn’t provide a real challenge for Bella. Kyle itched to replace Joe, but getting that close to her again was a bad idea. He was still shaking off the tingles running figure eights through his groin. He’d felt her, and whatever went through him made him wholly aware that she was an attractive woman.

Apparently, he wasn’t the consummate professional he thought he was.

CHAPTER SIX

“SO WHAT’D I do wrong?”

Kyle glanced up from his paperwork and frowned. After yesterday’s session with Joe, it was clear to Bella she’d messed up somehow. The moment she’d established her guard, Kyle’s eyes had clouded as something like anger flashed through them. After the lesson, he’d become distant and hidden in his office the rest of the day. And he’d hardly said hello to her today. “Does anyone around here remember how to knock?” he grumbled.

“I was thinking over the drills yesterday. I did something wrong, didn’t I?” She stepped farther into his office and gripped the back of the visitor’s chair.

His gaze remained fixed on her, but she detected a slight twitch in his jaw. “You did fine. You just need practice.”

“But—”

“You did fine.” He sent her a half smile that did crazy things to her insides. “I know you’re eager to do more, and I think that’s great. Just keep conditioning. Joe’ll be in later. We’ll train then.”

Bella left unsatisfied. She was used to getting a lot more feedback, but she reminded herself yet again that this was Payette’s, not her family studio.

As the days went on, Kyle concentrated mainly on her takedowns and getting her opponent on the ground. There was a definite pattern to his coaching style, and it only got more intense as she drilled. His shouted instructions rang in her ears as she lay in bed, his demands that she move faster, watch her form and keep her guard up made her muscles twitch just as she thought she was drifting off to sleep. He was bent on perfection. And while she appreciated his tenacity, it made training tedious.

She kept her mouth shut, though. She wasn’t about to jeopardize their tentative truce. This was what she’d come to New Orleans for, after all. Every day they worked together, she got another “fine.” Maybe it was all he was willing to give.

At least her time as a trainer at Payette’s was proving successful. She’d made the classes she was teaching more challenging, and the students appreciated being pushed harder. Her reputation as fair, fun but hard-assed circulated, and a few of the bodybuilders who regularly pumped iron at Payette’s joined the classes. Kyle had been impressed and had rewarded her with a recruitment bonus.

On Wednesday evenings, the students from the Touchstone youth center came for their weekly lesson. Shawnese had slowly warmed to Bella. She no longer glared as if everyone was out to get her and even worked with her fellow classmates without hesitation. Reta was ecstatic about how much she’d opened up since she’d started the self-defense class.