Evie yawned for the third time in one minute, sinking deeper into her couch. She was too exhausted to move, grateful she got the night off from training with Alexei to get an earlier sleep. It was killing her, bouncing between school, the diner, and the gym. But at the same time, she couldn’t imagine giving one up. Her sessions with Alexei were already making her feel stronger, and less paranoid. She rarely got the feeling someone followed her, these days, which she attributed to her growing belief in herself.

She had Alexei to thank for that. She’d have to find a way to repay him, she thought sleepily, her eyes drifting closed. But not in a way that would give him the wrong idea. She didn’t want to encourage him, not really. Not when there were moments when he looked like he barely kept control of himself. It wasn’t fair if she led him on.

But maybe she wasn’t, maybe she’d be ready soon. She’d been alone with Alexei a lot lately, let him touch her, and she hadn’t freaked out. Yes, sex was an extra step, an added level of vulnerability for her, and a bigger commitment than she felt ready for. Her sexual experiences with Jimmy had been mostly unpleasant, and often frightening and painful. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t eventually be ready to try again.

Heavy, thumping footsteps sounded outside, startling Evie from her daze. She sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Was it Jimmy? Had he come for her again?

Heart pounding in fear, Evie slid off the couch and made her way over to the door. She hesitated a moment, her eye a few inches from the peephole that would tell her who was there. Did she want to know?

Yes, she decided. She needed to be prepared.

As she leaned forward, her hand snaked into her pocket to clasp her phone. She’d call the police this time, send Jimmy to prison where he belonged.

She swallowed.

It occurred to her that Jimmy likely wouldn’t be walking so heavily. What did he have to gain by scaring her? It would be more his style to sneak up on her unawares. On the heels of that thought, Alexei stumbled into view.

He walked far more heavily than his usual controlled grace as he made his way up the last few steps. He was only visible from the back, hunched over, clutching his side.

Evie gasped. What had happened? His fight had been tonight. Was he injured?

She unclicked her deadbolt and tore open the door. Alexei glanced up at her at the noise, then grimaced.

“Sorry,” he muttered, then fell against the wall. Evie hurried forward, closing the door to her apartment as she did so. She could barely see him in the dark, the bulb in the hallway long since blown and the landlord in no hurry to fix it.

“What happened? Are you alright?” she demanded.

He nodded, twisting to try to dig his hand into his jacket pocket. He inhaled sharply at the movement. Evie’s chest squeezed in empathy. He must be in a lot of pain.

Her heart ached for him. She knew the pain that fists could cause, even to a man as big and strong as him. Evie stepped forward, hesitating, then gently pushed his hands aside and dug her own fingers into his pocket. Once she’d extract his keys, she opened his door, feeling his eyes on her the whole time.

Her skin tingled from his gaze as if he’d touched her, making her more aware of him, his size, his presence in the dim light.

She pushed the door open and stepped into his apartment in a weak attempt to escape his scrutiny. But she’d only served to put herself in a more precarious position, which she only realised as he straightened from against the wall and stalked towards her, his eyes still burning on her. She swallowed again, this time not from fear, but from the dry-mouthed heat that speared through her at the desire in his gaze.

She was here, now, in his domain. At his mercy.

And she didn’t want to leave.

She stood frozen to the spot as he came towards her, feeling like prey caught in the gaze of a predator. She’d never seen Alexei like this. Never seen this hot lust pouring off him, the look of wanting, of claiming, in his eyes.

He wasn’t holding back. Something had shifted at his fight tonight. Maybe it was his injury, or something else. But he no longer kept himself in check. The restraint she’d so relied on the last few weeks had disappeared, replaced by a man determined to get what he wanted.

Her.

Her lower belly clenched. Fear, maybe, yes. Of what he might do, what it might mean. But also with an answering desire. A need.

He’d awakened her slumbering body with little more than a look, and it overwhelmed her. She wasn’t sure she could handle this. Not now, not yet.

She tore her gaze from his and stared at the peeling paint on the blank wall beside her. She exhaled deeply, wishing for some ice to cool her heated cheeks. Slowly, so slowly, she brought herself back under control.

When she was ready, she slanted a quick glance at Alexei and was relieved to see his face was once again the carefully blank mask that was becoming so familiar to her. The one that meant he was under control. But for the first time, she could see cracks in his armour. The fire wasn’t quite banked beneath the mask.

Bravely, she stepped aside so he could pass her. “Let me take a look at that wound.”

Alexei hesitated a moment, then slid past her and collapsed on the couch with a weary groan.

Evie came forward and knelt on the floor in front of him. Though the position made her mind leap to dirty thoughts, the knowledge that he must be in a lot of pain kept her face cool and undisturbed.

She pushed his hand away from the wound, then slowly peeled up his shirt. His abs were exposed first. She wasn’t surprised he was ripped, like a wall of muscles. Her hands itched to touch them, to explore, surprising herself. She’d never much been one for muscles, and she’d thought after her experiences she’d want a nice, harmless boy.

But Alexei’s chest was really working for her. It scared her, how much she wanted him, just like it had a few moments before. She reminded herself sternly that now wasn’t the time for either of them. She wasn’t ready, and he was injured.

She returned her attention to the wound. There was no blood, for which she was grateful. But a dark bruise already bloomed on his skin in a patch bigger than her hand. He’d had it bandaged already, but the bruise was much bigger than the cloth, spilling out from beneath the edges.

“Who treated you?”

“Doc,” he said, as if that explained anything. “McCready pays him to look after the fighters. He said they’re just bruised, not broken.”

“What happened?” she asked again, pressing against the wound with a touch as light as a feather. He still winced.

“Brass knuckles.”

Evie’s eyes widened.

“What? I thought when you said you fought it would be like…like a boxing match. Why would they use brass knuckles?”

“We need to find a new place to train.”

Evie blinked at what seemed like an abrupt change of topic. But then it dawned on her.

“They did this to you on purpose? Because we were training at the gym?”

He nodded, eyes reluctant.

Evie clenched her jaw. “That’s awful! And unfair. If anyone…” she hesitated, then plowed on. “It should be me.”

He shook his head. “My fault.”

“Don’t be silly. I insisted on you training me. I never knew you might get in trouble.”

“Exactly,” he said firmly. “You didn’t know.”

“So, why didn’t they just tell you off? Why this?”

He shrugged. “It’s their way. They want me to know they’re serious.”

She huffed and folded her arms. “That’s ridiculous.”

He gave a hard smile. “They did it in the ring, so the crowd could watch. McCready might have made a lot of money off me tonight.”

Evie was appalled, even more so because of his cavalier attitude to what had just happened to him.

“I’m sorry. Even if you don’t care, I’m still sorry.”

Alexei eyed her for a moment, then sighed. “I’ll be okay.”

She nodded, sensing he wanted to move on from this conversation.

“So where will we train now?” she asked. She settled next to him on the couch, and he turned his head to keep her in his sights. She straightened a little, realising how close she’d sat. Her folded up knee was less than an inch from his thigh. She couldn’t move now, not without being rude. But she found she didn’t want to be too far, either. Awareness flooded through her, of him as a man. It sent her nerve endings tingling. And she liked it.

Alexei was silent for a long moment. “We should stop.”

Evie frowned. “What? Why? I’m just getting good.”

“Because there are no more gyms to train in. Not free.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “So we won’t use a gym,” she countered. Before he could say anything else, she continued on. “What’s this really about?”

Alexei pressed his lips together, staying silent. Evie waited him out. “It’s dangerous.”

“So is not knowing how to protect myself.”

“I think, maybe I shouldn’t be your teacher anymore.”

Evie’s heart sank, and disappointment washed over her at his words. Her chest felt curiously hollow. She leaned forward to better see his face in the low light.

“Why?”

The mask fell away from his face, revealing the heat in his eyes. All at once she became aware of how close they were, their breaths mingling as her own quickened. His eyes darkened. Evie swallowed.

Her heart fluttered almost painfully in her chest. He was so big, almost overwhelmingly so.

Alexei shifted towards her, and Evie stood abruptly.

“I can’t do this.” She faced away from him, breathing hard. “I’m sorry, I just…can’t.”

“You see now why training is a bad idea.” His voice was low and rough from behind her.

Evie whirled to him. “But I can’t lose it. It’s the only thing keeping me sane. I no longer feel like I’m being stalked, like Jimmy is around every corner, watching me. And if he is? I’m starting to think I can take him. I won’t just freeze in panic and let him do what he wants to me.”

She paused, drew in a breath, but Alexei said nothing.

“Please,” she said. “I need this. I…” She clamped down on whatever words might have come out next. She knew what she was asking of him. It wasn’t fair, not really. Not when she wasn’t willing to take whatever was between them to the next level. But she trusted him in a way she hadn’t trusted a man in a very long time. God knows how long it would take to build that up with someone else all over again. Even if she found a female teacher, she probably couldn’t afford her, and there was no guarantee she’d be as good as Alexei, anyway.

Fear choked at her. She wanted to beg, plead, but she held firm, letting Alexei make the decision. She didn’t want to guilt him into this—not more than she already had. But she depended on this to build her strength and confidence. Nothing else she’d tried worked like the training she did with Alexei.

He squeezed his eyes shut. “Okay,” he said eventually.

“Thank you,” she breathed. She reached out, almost hugging him, but then thought better of it. “Thank you,” she said again, instead.

Alexei muttered something in Russian that sounded annoyed, but he smiled.

“So where should we train?” she asked, returning to the original problem.

Alexei glanced around his apartment, at the empty space that hadn’t been filled with furniture or other person items.

“Here,” he told her. “We’ll do it here.”