Full Body Contact (7 page)

His eyebrow shot up even higher. She guessed many people didn’t challenge Dekker like that. She wasn’t even sure why she had, but she had to commit to it now.

“Afraid of the damage I could do?” she taunted.

Dekker spread his arms wide. “Do your worst.”

Panting out three quick breaths, Alexis spun on the ball of her foot, gaining momentum until she lashed out with a spinning back kick. Unfortunately, her aim was off a bit. Clearly, Dekker didn’t think she could miss by that wide a margin, either, because he couldn’t duck in time as her blow clipped him in the teeth, splitting his lip.

Blood spurted across the bright blue mats.

“I’m so sorry!” Alexis cried as Dekker tapped the wound with his finger, which came back red. She knelt down and picked up Dekker’s discarded towel and tried to put pressure on the wound. “Let me.”

This close, Alexis could see every scar on his face. They seemed to want to tell her a story. A story filled with pain and violence.

Dekker put his hand over hers. Heat flared up her arm and settled in her groin.

“But I must admit,” he whispered, “I’ve never had one caused by such an attractive opponent.”

His head tipped a fraction of an inch closer to hers. She didn’t stop him. Why wasn’t she stopping him? Their eyes met and he held her gaze as he leaned in further. Undercover work required cops to put themselves in all kinds of messy situations—intimate situations. Seduction was not an uncommon tool. However, Alexis didn’t exactly feel in control as their breaths mingled. Then blood dripped from his lip onto her hand.

Dekker strode to the water fountain and took a big gulp of water. He swished a mouthful, and then spit it back out, red staining the basin. Swiping his hand across his mouth, he leaned his back against the wall, and looked past Alexis’ shoulder.

“I’ve taken a lot of hits over the years. One of them ...” Dekker paused.

Alexis wasn’t sure that he would finish. His eyes were unfocused, seeing through her to a different time. Pain etched his features again. How many horrible memories could one person hold onto before they themselves became horrible?

“I’ve got a blind spot on my right side.” Dekker pushed off the wall, acting as if nothing had happened.

This time, though, when she approached with the towel, he didn’t push her away. She gently blotted his face, cleaning the stream of blood off of his cheek. He sucked in his breath when she pressed the towel to the cut on his lip.

Dekker pulled Alexis’ hand away from the cut and pressed their bodies together. “I liked seeing the fire in your eyes. It felt good, didn’t it? To feel that connection of your fist and my face?”

When she didn’t answer, he brought his lips up to her ear and whispered, “Didn’t it?”

It did feel exhilarating. Was that what attracted fighters to the ring? The power, the thrill, the domination over another? All of that came with being a cop, but this was different. This seemed … forbidden. She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest. Or was that because Dekker’s ripped body leaned against her in all the right places? An equally forbidden feeling.

A shy smile spread across her face. “A little, yeah.”

Dekker opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes snapped to the door as it opened. A couple of students, gym bags slung over their shoulders, stepped into the studio.

“Let’s get out of here,” Dekker said. Linking his fingers with hers, he walked toward the door.

“Where are we going?” she asked, trying to keep up. Alexis should have released his hand. But it felt natural to hold it. To let Dekker take control.

He glanced over with a mischievous smile as they stepped out onto the street. “We’re going to get you whipped into shape for the next stage.”

Alexis looked up at Dekker, shading her eyes from the sun. She asked warily, “Next stage?” She pulled them to a stop. “And what’s wrong with my shape?”

Dekker looked her up and down appreciatively. “It needs a slight whipping, but I’ll go easy on you.”

* * *

Dekker led Lexie to the park around the corner from the studio. A couple lounged on a blanket, eating a late lunch. An elderly woman sat on a wooden bench, reading. Kids laughed in the distance, chasing each other around the playground.

He glanced at Lexie out of the corner of his eye. Her hair was pulled back in a messy knot. He figured that if she let it down, it would tumble down just below her shoulders. Her cheeks were rosy. Not from makeup, but from the heat of battle. Such power in such a timid package.

The jogging trail was just ahead. Dekker lifted an eyebrow to Lexie, before running up the dirt trail. She quickly matched his pace and fell into step next to him. They ran for a while, matching strides and falling into complete synchrony. The anger he had felt back at the gym faded. He’d never been angry with Lexie. Hell, he goaded her into nailing him. He’d been mad at himself. It was so easy to forget he’d grown older. Soft. Lax. That a lightweight like this had made him taste blood was a serious wake-up call.

Frowning, Lexie put her fists in front of her face. She tried to stalk Dekker. Tried to get a bead on him. He threw an uppercut, and she threw her arm down—blocking it. Lexie feigned a right jab, and then followed with a left hook. Dekker easily dodged it. He would not make the same mistake that he made in the gym. She was untrained, but had some natural talent.

Lexie threw another punch at Dekker’s head. As he ducked, he swept his right leg into Lexie’s, throwing her off-balance. Before she could fall, Dekker caught her. Pressing his body over hers, he pinned her to the soft ground.

Her face flushed in anger, Lexie tried to push Dekker off. He held her hands in a tight grip over her head. As he leaned closer, Lexie’s body stilled, her chest rising and falling with each breath. His lips just inches from hers. He could feel the pulse in her wrists quicken as she licked her lips. Her tongue almost touching his.

He tilted his head, as if he were going to kiss her. Only he gave her a valuable lesson instead. “Tip of the day. Never let your guard down. Got it?”

Lexie gave a grunt. She ripped her hands out of Dekker’s grasp and shoved him to the side. Standing, she brushed leaves and dirt from her pants.

“Loud and clear,” she replied.

Hmm. Could it be that stiff little Lexie actually wanted a kiss from Dekker, the big, bad wolf? She turned her back to him, though, not allowing him to get a read on her. Which made him all the more intent on getting one on her.

But duty called. His students would begin to wonder if he’d skipped town. “Come on, I have to get back to the studio.”

Dekker went to put his hand on Lexie’s back to escort her down the trail, but she quickened her pace, striking out ahead of him.

* * *

Alexis entered the gym with Dekker right behind her. When she looked back at him, it was hard to imagine that he was the same man who’d admitted his weakness just a few minutes before. But as soon as he entered the studio, his relaxed posture became rigid. His face hardened like a stone slab.

He didn’t even give Alexis a backward glance as he approached his students.

“Wait! When’s my next lesson?”

Dekker’s eyes swept over her face. She tried to remain calm, cool, and not at all flustered by his gaze. “You ready for the next stage?”

“You know I am.”

“Yesterday, you said that you wanted to see some of my more …” Dekker lowered his voice. “
Dangerous moves
. Still game?”

Alexis had already seen some of his more
dangerous moves
. Those usually landed people at the least in the hospital, at the worst in the morgue. The sound of men sparring filled the gym, making it all feel too real. Their grunts and groans had probably kicked up a notch when Dekker had entered the studio. But if Alexis was going to find out what happened to those other men and Ratface, she had to go along.

“Bring it.”

“Good,” Dekker replied, placing his hand on the small of her back as he led her to the door. “There’s a match tonight. Thought you might want to see those techniques in action.”

“I didn’t hear about any competition going on.” Any major event would be cleared through the department. Cops needed to patrol the event.

Shit. Beck was wrong. In some ways, she did think like a cop. Damn it, how could she walk that back? Out of ideas, she channeled Callie, her roommate.

If Beck found out she had given Dekker her address? There would be a call to her father for sure. Then an invite over to her parents’ house for dinner. Then an hourlong lecture on keeping her work and personal life separate. She knew all of this, yet what other options did she have?

If she didn’t go tonight, she could never convince Dekker she was serious. And if she didn’t give him her address, she wasn’t going.

Her feet moved her in the direction of the receptionist’s desk before she even made the conscious decision to go through with it. A matronly woman sat behind the desk, typing on her computer. The gold nameplate on her desk said Agnes. She looked up as Alexis approached.

“Hi. I’m supposed to leave you directions to my house.”

When Agnes smiled, her eyes crinkled at the corners. “Certainly, my dear. You’re Lexie? Dekker’s private lesson?” Agnes passed a clipboard to Alexis. “We also need you to fill out this form for our files. Would you mind doing it now?”

The form asked for all of the standard personal information. Name, address, and credit card info. Good thing she planned to pay in cash and give false information.

CHAPTER 7

Alexis turned her back on Callie. Of course, that only made her friend clap. “He did, he did, he did!” She rubbed her hands together. “Which now begs the question—‘Did you want him to?’ ”

Alexis was so glad that Callie couldn’t see her blush right now. She would never hear the end of it.

“You do realize that the less you tell me,” Callie said playfully, “the more I will imagine on my own? Fill in the blanks. You know what I mean.”

Making sure her features showed only annoyance, Alexis turned back to her friend. “There really isn’t that much to tell, and I am in kind of a hurry.”