I stiffened. “We can’t. Someone might see us and take a picture.” Panic flared to life within me.
Liam pulled me to him. “Let me worry about that. No one will take our picture.”
I closed my eyes, letting out a long breath.Trust him. Liam wouldn’t put me at risk. “Okay.”
Liam kissed each of my closed eyelids and then my temple. “Thank you.”
My eyes opened. “Anything else you have in mind besides a shooting range?”
Liam grinned. “How about a little self-defense training?”
“You know how to teach me self-defense?” A healthy dose of skepticism filled my tone.
He shrugged. “You know one of my best friends is an MMA fighter and owns a gym in LA, right? I helped out there some. Took a lot of classes. Learned from Austin himself. I can teach you the basics.”
I’d wanted to take a self-defense class for years, but I had always been too scared that I’d freak out the second someone got me in one of those holds. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
Liam’s expression softened, and he brushed the hair away from my face. “We can go as slow as you want. You set the rules. You’re in control.”
My teeth tugged on my bottom lip. I could do this. “I want to learn.”
Liam gave me a squeeze. “Good. Give me a few minutes to make some calls, and then we’ll eat and go.”
“Okay.” I stared after him as he began dialing.
* * *
I rolledmy shoulders back as Liam set a bag of sandwiches in my lap that he’d grabbed from a deli down the street from the shooting range. A shooting range that he’d somehow convinced the owner to close for two hours so that we could have the place to ourselves.
Liam turned the keys in the ignition. “How do you feel about everything?”
“Better.” I hated to admit it, but I felt a hell of a lot more confident about my ability to handle the guns I owned. Before, I had hoped that just having them would be enough, that the threat of metal that could end a life would keep Garrett away from me. Now, I had the foundation to wield those weapons. Liam had worked with me on my stance, a slower pull of the trigger, and where to focus my gaze for the most accurate shot.
“I talked to the owner, and he said we could come back after hours whenever we want.” Liam reached over and tugged my hand into his lap.
Warmth spread up my arm. I loved Liam’s casual touches. A simple brush of his hand against my skin calmed my frazzled nerves. It brought comfort. Peace. “Thank you, for everything.”
Liam shot me a grin. “The day’s not over yet. We have a workout next.”
My stomach dipped. My body was already simmering from Liam’s lip touches and gentle caresses. I wasn’t sure how I would handle full-body contact for an entire afternoon. “Where are we doing that?”
“We’ll head back to my place. I set up a gym in the garage of the guest cabin. We can eat and then get to work.”
So, we’d be all alone. It was crazy how much had shifted in a matter of weeks. I was no longer scared to be alone with Liam because of past fears, I was scared to be alone with him because I might be falling. And falling meant running would be that much harder if the time came when it was needed.
26
Liam
Tessa was thinking so hard, I could practically hear the gears turning in her head. I squeezed the hand I was holding. “We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”
Tessa shook her head. “No. I want to.”
I pulled to a stop outside the guest cabin, throwing the SUV in park. “Let’s eat first.” The last thing I wanted to do was push her too far, too soon. But I wanted her to be safe. I’d almost lost it when I found that gun in her kitchen drawer. If you were going to own a gun, you needed to know how to use it.
The shooting range had been about Tessa’s safety, but self-defense was about her reclaiming her power. I’d seen so many women come through Austin’s classes. Many of them had been mugged or worse. The transformation as weeks went by was always miraculous. Yes, they had new skills that would enable them to defend themselves, but it was about so much more than that. It gave them back their lives.
I wanted to give Tessa the same thing. I hit the clicker to the garage, exposing the space I’d transformed into a gym. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it would do the trick. I glanced at Tessa as she surveyed the area with interest. “Want to eat down here? We can spread out on the mats and talk about the basics while we have lunch.”
