The very thought of Grace having to defend herself, fight for her life once more, maybe even have to take a life—something he knew would take a terrible toll on her just as the lives of the women she’d been forced to kill weighed on her—made him feel ill. But someone couldn’t be by her side twenty-four hours a day, and he knew it wasn’t what she wanted anyway.
There was pride there as well though, mingled with the sick ball of fear. Grace wasn’t giving up, she wasn’t backing down, she was determined to rebuild her life, and he was definitely more than a little in awe of her strength.
Strength, beauty, and a big heart, he’d hit the trifecta with this woman.
“I thought it would be easier,” Grace said. “It looks easy when you do it.”
“You’ll get better with practice.”
“Can we do another round?”
“One more,” he agreed. Matthew knew that if he let her, she’d stay here all night, practicing over and over again until she mastered the skill. His girl had a stubborn streak a mile wide and given that it had kept her alive for so many years as Emmanuel’s prisoner, he guessed he couldn’t really be unhappy about it.
He set up another paper target while Grace reloaded her weapon just as he’d taught her. He’d done the safety run through with her. Never put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot, never point it at a person unless you plan on shooting them. They’d tried out a couple of guns and she seemed most comfortable with a 9mm, and once she had it ready they both put on their ear protection.
“Feet apart, shoulders relaxed, elbows locked,” he coached.
Grace adjusted her position, her face the picture of concentration, the tip of her tongue poking out between her plump, pink lips, definitely the most kissable pair of lips he’d ever seen.
Then she emptied the clip into the paper target.
Given that Grace had been forced to shoot and kill before he’d worried that she’d have flashbacks, even though she’d said this was something that she wanted to do. She had been remarkably calm though, the only give away that she was thinking about what she’d been made to do was the shaking in her hands when they’d first begun the lesson. As much as he was proud of her for working so hard to get her life back, he couldn’t help but feel like her holding in her emotions, trying to shove them away where they couldn’t hurt her, wasn’t going to end well for her.
There was only so long you could run from your emotions before they caught up with you.
He knew, he’d tried to run from his after he’d killed his stepfather and it hadn't worked.
It wouldn’t work for Grace either.
“Let’s see how you did,” he said as he brought the paper target back in. “Wow,” he said when it reached them. “Grace, you hit center mass every time but once.”
Her blue eyes sparkled. “I did,” she squealed.
“You did great, tonight,” he told her.
“Really?”
“More than really. You’re a natural. A few more lessons and you might even be able to outshoot me.”
She giggled like he hoped she would. “When can we come back?”
“How about we do a lesson a week until you're comfortable, and then we’ll get all your paperwork filled out and you can buy your very own gun,” he suggested.
“Are you going to be my instructor for every lesson?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good.” The smile she gave him was shy and he knew that this whole dating thing was as weird for her as it was for him. Matthew didn't date, he’d had no plans on opening up his heart to anyone after knowing the pain of betrayal. His mother and sister cutting him out of their lives after he killed his stepfather had completely decimated his ability to trust. He’d been content to keep his friends at a distance and his interactions with women as purely a way to deal with his physical needs.
Then along came Grace with her big blue eyes, blonde curls, and intoxicating mix of vulnerability and strength, and he was a goner.
When Jem Bennett had called and asked if he’d take Grace for a shooting lesson, he’d taken advantage of the opportunity to find out a bit more of what Grace was like before her abduction. Jem had warned him that her big heart had gotten her hurt a few times when she’d seen the best in people who ended up using her. He’d learned her high school boyfriend had dumped her when they went to different colleges, and her college boyfriend had ended up cheating on her. Even if her experience with men had been amazing, after everything that had happened to her it was bound to be weird and scary putting her trust in a man.
Which was why he was determined not to do anything to make her regret the trust she was so graciously handing him.
They packed up, returned the weapons, and headed out to the parking lot. Matthew snagged her hand and was pleased when her fingers curled so naturally around his. He could get used to this, holding hands, it seemed so simple, but it was something he’d never done with a woman. All his past relationships hadn't lasted past a month, usually by then a woman started expecting a level of intimacy he hadn't been willing to give.
With Grace he wanted to give it all, everything he had.