Bradley shook his head at the stubborn woman, then set a hand on her cheek, rubbing his thumb against her soft skin. “You’re tougher than you give yourself credit for. The girl I fell in love with would put up one hell of a fight before letting anyone get anything over on her.”
“Fell in love with? Past tense?”
His cheek ached when he smiled, a reminder that he hadn’t had anything to smile about without her in his life. “Nah, not past tense. You’re not the sort of girl who’s easy to forget, no matter how many times I wished you were over the years.”
She opened her mouth, no doubt to say something else snarky, but Bradley didn’t want to hear it. He quieted her with a consuming kiss, one he ended by biting softly at her full, tempting bottom lip.
And didn’t those wide eyes of hers just look lovely? It wasn’t always easy to surprise Kat, to get one over on her, but when Bradley managed it, it made it all the sweeter.
“I should get the painting inside,” she said, clearly flustered.
Which made Bradley chuckle before pulling into his lap. “It’s still drying, remember? Guess I’ll get to enjoy you for a while, at least until it’s all dry.”
“Acrylics dry fast,” Kat whispered against his lips. “So I guess you’re not planning on lasting too long? That sounds about right.”
Those words, which might have annoyed a lesser man, which might have made him feel insecure, only drew an honest-to-god laugh from Bradley as he was forced to realize just how empty his life had been since he’d shut himself away on that ranch.
“Let’s just see who lasts longer.”
The wariness in her eyes melted him, made him realize just how damned much he still loved this girl. That hadn’t ever changed, had it? He’d been in love with her since the start, and the years he’d spent telling himself that wasn’t true didn’t matter.
He loved her and he wasn’t ever going to make the mistake of letting her go again.
* * * *
Kat winced as she stretched in her room, trying to go through the yoga poses she knew to loosen the aching muscles that covered her.
As it turned out, self-defense was hell on the body. She’d exercised plenty of times in her life, when she’d been sure she’d turn into some buff badass femme fatale. Instead, she’d done a few weeks before realizing—that shit was hard.
Yet, she couldn’t deny how she felt stronger, how she had more confidence as she’d walked around the ranch the more she practiced. It was a strength she’d never experienced before.
Kat hadn’t been afraid of the world before Jerry, had thought most people were good at their cores. She’d known that she wasn’t strong, that if anyone did attack her she didn’t have much of a hope, but she’d accepted it.
This was different. She’d come face-to-face with the reality of the world, with the darkness in it, with the evil of some people, but that fear had started to loosen with each lesson. It was like learning the world was big, but learning to read a map so she could get home even if she got lost.
Olin and Dean traded off on training her, and a mix of the two styles had really helped. Olin’s discipline was amazing, the way he taught her to anticipate and counter. Dean’s viciousness took it to another level, however, teaching her the things to survive that Olin shied away from.
All of that, however, led to her shoulder feeling tight and miserable. A long bath had helped, but all too quickly, it ached again.
A knock on her door had her calling for the person to enter.
Olin walked in, a bottle of oil in his hand and a towel over his shoulder.
“Little forward, isn’t it? You shouldn’t just let yourself into a girl’s room with lube. Flowers before anal.”
Olin snorted, the response melting Kat. He never took what she said too seriously, never seemed shocked by her words. He held the bottle up. “Massage oil. You’ve been favoring your left arm all night. I’m going to guess it’s hurting?”
The fact he’d noticed made her pause. Kat usually did everything for herself, was used to taking care of herself. The fact that Olin had seen her pain and wanted to help made her feel all sorts of ways she wasn’t ready to deal with yet. “It’s fine,” she said instead, not sure what else to say.
He spread the towel over the bed. “No, it’s not. You’re working hard, and you’re going to be sore. There’s no good reason for you to suffer needlessly. Come on, shirt off, face down.”
Kat pressed her lips together.
At her failure to obey, he lifted his eyebrow. “You’re a strange girl. I didn’t walk in here and tell you to strip for sex—just for a massage.”
“It’d be easier if you told me to strip for sex. Isn’t that an option?”
He set the oil on the nightstand, then patted the towel again. “If you’re a good girl, maybe afterward. You know how this works, though. I give you what you need, not always what you want.”