Cocking her head, Hope frowned. “Your boy?”
“Miles, took him in when he was a teen and never regretted it. The gym’s getting ready to close and you missed class, so you may as well join me in a soda until he finishes up. Come with me.” Just like Miles, Ed didn’t give her a choice as he took her elbow and steered her into the gym then over to a small room that held a compact kitchenette and shut the door behind them. “What would you like? I never stocked sodas until the boy insisted, so we have everything, including juice if you want to keep it healthy.”
The way Ed referred to Miles as ‘boy’ tickled her and she wondered how he felt about it. It was obvious how much the older man cared for Miles, and how little she knew about the man she’d agreed to submit her body to. “Orange juice will be fine.” Taking a seat at the round table, she accepted the bottled juice with a smile and caved to the curiosity tugging at her. “Thank you. Why’d you have to take him in? Didn’t he have family?”
Ed took a seat across from her, a look of sadness replacing the twinkle in his hazel eyes. “No, he was alone and angry with the world, with good reason.” He pointed to the wall behind her and Hope swiveled to see an array of awards bearing Miles’ name. “Proved to be a master at the martial arts and no one has matched his success since. He came around, and I couldn’t be prouder even if he carried my DNA.”
Hope rose to take a closer look at the plaques, her chest tightening when she imagined Miles as an orphaned teen. Her parents were aloof and concerned more with appearances than her welfare, but she’d lived in a beautiful home, attended a prestigious school and worn designer clothes. As a teenager, she’d had it made and never complained, until the night no one stood by her when she’d needed them the most. She could’ve used someone like Ed back then.
“What did you mean when you said he was looking out for me?” she asked without turning around from scanning the honors Miles had earned in competitions all around the world.
“Just that Miles has a protective streak, especially towards the people he cares for.”
“Oh.” Turning her head, she tried to disabuse him of that notion. “We’re just…” Crap. How did she explain their relationship to the man who was a father figure to Miles?
Ed’s grin split his craggy face. “Friends with benefits?”
“Something like that,” she muttered, her face warming under his amused regard. Turning back to the awards display, she marveled at the proof of Miles’ talent. “Wow, he’s really good, isn’t he? Is this how he got that scar on his face?” She pivoted, bringing the bottle to her mouth, then halted halfway when she saw Miles in the doorway, a scowl darkening his face.
“No, it’s not,” Miles answered in a short, clipped tone before swinging his eyes to Ed. “Gossiping, old man?”
“Nope, bragging. You’d think you would be used to it by now.” Ed rose and tossed his empty bottle in a recycle bin before saying, “If everything is closed up, I’ll be heading out.” Slapping Miles’ rigid shoulder as he walked by, he tossed back, “Don’t wait up.”
“Where are you off to?”
“You’re not the only one with friends with benefits.”
Hope couldn’t suppress a giggle at the look of surprise on Miles’ face. The laugh died in her throat when he glared at her and her body went hot and soft in response. The urge to reach up and rub her nipples to ease their sudden tightness forced her to clench her hands around the bottle of juice.
“You missed class. Again.”
“I know, I’m sorry, but something came up at the shelter that I had to see to.”
“More important than your safety?” His folded arms emphasized the bulge of his thick muscles and she wondered if he’d give her the chance to touch him tonight. Her mouth watered at the prospect.
“The people I try to help are more important, yes. I don’t want to argue with you tonight, Miles.” She changed the subject before he could complain further. “I like Ed.”
“So do I.”
Closing the distance between them, he plucked the empty bottle from her hand and lobbed it into the bin. Hope wanted to reach up and caress his scarred face and for the first time since meeting him, she wanted to ask him what happened, but his dark look forbade such an intimate touch and didn’t invite any personal inquiries. Which is how you wanted it, she reminded herself when an unexpected pang of longing cramped her abdomen.
“We’re not going to argue; you’re going to make up the class. Since you haven’t bothered to change, you can go through the drills naked. Follow me.”
Stunned and excited by his dictate, she skipped behind him into the gym, replying with surprised breathlessness, “You want me to grapple with you naked?”
More than my next breath. Of course, Miles kept that thought to himself. The last thing he needed was another reason to admire Hope and her work, but how could he fault her for putting the homeless in dire straits before his class? Damn it.
“It’ll be a good lesson in distraction.” He waved his hand at her shorts and top when they reached the large mat in front of the row of mirrors; another distraction. “Strip.” He almost smiled when her eyes darted around the now empty room, as if someone might be lurking in a darkened corner. “We’re closed, Hope, and everyone has left, even Ed.” His departure had taken Miles by surprise. He’d never known Ed to date, although in his younger years, he had gone out a lot more and Miles had assumed he was meeting a lady friend. He wouldn’t put it past Ed to have left just to give Miles the place to himself and Hope.
He watched Hope shimmy out of her shorts, conjuring up her face when he’d found her talking with Ed. Both pride and concern were reflected in her blue eyes when she’d turned from viewing his awards, and the instant warmth that look filled him with was too damn close to what he used to feel when his mother gazed at him with that same expression. It hadn’t helped his irritation when he’d overheard the label, ‘friends with benefits’ and instant denial rose to the surface. It was time he showed her exactly what he expected from a friend with benefits or, more aptly, a woman who had agreed to submit to him.
A pink tinge of embarrassment colored Hope’s pale face when her head emerged from her top. Dropping it on top of the shorts, she looked at him with indecision even though her turgid nipples were clearly visible through her silky bra.
“Problem?”
She huffed out an exasperated breath and shifted her feet, which made him want to smile again. “This is awkward.”
“I tell you what. You can leave on the underwear for now. After I demonstrate a few moves, you’ll get a chance to practice, then, if I take you down after that, you ditch the bra. The same with the panties. Now, pay attention.”
Hope threw up her hand, palm up, deflecting Miles’ punch aimed at her face by a split second. He pulled back before connecting with her hand, his fist just tapping her palm. They’d been bouncing around on the mat for thirty minutes, and she was naked, hot and sweaty, her ponytail clinging damply to her neck. Her blood pumped in a warm rush through her veins, her breathing came in pants, her nipples turgid pinpoints and her pussy a swollen channel of need. God, she felt good, exhilarated in a way she’d never experienced before, and all from watching those dark eyes glow with approval or listening to that hard voice snap with frustration. The grin that showed a hint of straight white teeth made her toes curl into the mat and wish she could see that look of approval more often.
“Good job.” He ruined his praise when he kicked out and sent her toppling to the mat, again. The rumble of his deep-throated chuckle next to her ear when he landed on top of her vibrated straight down to her aching core. “But you blew it by letting your guard down again. Didn’t that easy maneuver cost you your bra?”
“You cheated.” That was her defense and she was sticking to it as she resisted the urge to spread her legs and cradle his pelvis between them.
“You think an attacker will come at you nicely? Have you learned nothing from the thugs who accosted you two months a
go and that asshole who cornered you just two weeks ago?” Miles lifted his head and her eyes were drawn to his mouth. The temptation to pull him down to her and taste those lips had been building all evening, every time he spoke, and his gaze would wander down her body. The repeated close contact with that hard as nails body as they came at each other had driven her need up so fast Hope prayed he was about ready to switch lesson plans on her.