Chapter Eleven
Kat let out a sigh when Olin tapped her cheek, a sign that he’d landed a hit.
“You need to focus,” he chided her.
“I am focusing. Believe it or not, just focusing isn’t enough to become good at this. People don’t focus and suddenly become world class fighters.”
He snorted softly, then crossed his arms. It reminded Kat that he was dressed down, wearing jeans and a long-sleeve white shirt, and that he lookedreallygood like that. It was likely the only reason she’d agreed to this.
Thisbeing self-defense training in an open space on the ranch. He’d said he wasn’t good at sitting still, and Kat couldn’t deny that the thought of being able to protect herself felt especially good with everything going on.
At least, that was what she thought before she actually had to do it. What she’d seen in movies looked so much easier than this.
“It just takes practice,” he assured her. “I didn’t get this good on day one.”
“Well, I have a feeling I won’t get that good, even on day eight-hundred-and-twenty-six.”
Olin laughed before grabbing two water bottles from the grouping he’d set in the dirt. He threw one to Kat. “You’re too hard on yourself, you know that?” After he spoke, he unscrewed the lid to his own water and tipped his head back to gulp. The way his throat bobbed made Kat’s heart race.
A sheen covered his skin from the sweat he’d worked up, and it made her mouth even dryer. How was it possible to want someonethisbadly…?
When he met her gaze, she realized he’d caught her staring. She quickly focused on her own water to disarm the tension of the moment—not that it worked.
After she took a drink, she set her water down on the ground beside the others. “Do you really think this will make a difference?”
“Of course. Basic self-defense is something everyone should know. There’s no downside.”
“Seems like a few fancy moves wouldn’t be much use against people who actually know what they’re doing.”
“That’s because you don’t get it. Most of those people you’re talking about rely on their size and nothing else.”
She thought back to when Jerry’s henchman had dragged her from Ell’s place, to how little her fight had meant to him. She hid the shiver she felt at the memory. “Size is a big factor. I don’t care how tough a kitten is—they can’t do much against a tiger.”
“You clearly have never owned cats, then. I was up in the mountains one time and saw a cat chase abearoff.”
Kat drew her eyebrows toward each other, trying to picture that. “You’re lying.”
“I don’t lie, Kat. I’m not saying that the cat would have won in an actual fight, but sometimes the confidence is all it really takes.”
“I did everything I could when that man grabbed me, and I’m telling you, confidence wouldn’t have made a difference.”
Olin sighed but kept his distance. “I’m not trying to push you here, I’m sure you don’t really want to think about what happened, but I know you’re wrong. That man, he was a lackey. I’ve seen them all my life, put away more than my share, and they’re cowards. They’re used to looking scary and being big and they rest on that. They’re used to people giving in, but the second someone who knows a damn bit of self-defense stands up to them, they get bowled over. I’ve watched it happen again and again. If a girl like you, someone your size and build, tried what I’m showing you? Trust me, you’d hold your own.”
She pushed down her nerves at that, her immediate desire to tell him he was entirely wrong. Doing that would mean admitting to the helplessness she’d felt in that moment, to the way she’d fought despite the terror but hadn’t gained any ground at all.
“Show me,” she said.
“What?”
“Show me. You’re telling me I could have done something, soshowme what you mean.”
He hesitated for a long moment, then sighed. “Maybe that’s not a good idea. I don’t want to bring up bad memories for you.”
“You’re bringing up nothing. They’re there no matter what—trust me. If you’re so sure that you’re right, though, show me.”
His expression held so muchfuck thatbut, in the end, he nodded. “Fine. You tell me if you want to stop, though. We clear?”
That made her smile despite her nerves. He sounded like they were negotiating a scene rather than working on self-defense, and it again reminded her that he’d have made for a great Dom at one time.