“They don’t have to know. I shan’t go around announcing it at tea parties like you do.”
This time the smile that cracked his expression lasted for more than a brief second. Austin looked at her as if he couldn’t determine if she was joking or not, though his own eyes glittered with mirth.
“Very well then. Stand up.”
Lavender lifted her brows in surprise. “Why?”
Austin stood and held out his hand to her. The gesture surprised her so much that Lavender simply froze. “I will teach you how to defend yourself,” he told her.
She licked her lips, her throat suddenly dry. She didn’t know why it took so much strength to take the hand he offered to her. And when she caught the shadow of a smile on his lips, her stomach started twisting in a manner that wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. Lavender couldn’t understand what this feeling was when she met his eyes. All she knew was that, at this moment, she didn’t care about anything else.
***
“Hold your hands up, like this.”
Lavender did as Austin told her to. He felt a tremor of amusement as she curled her hands into tiny fists and tried giving him the fiercest look she conjured. Which was akin to a kitten glaring up at a lion. Austin couldn’t hold back the grin that took over his face.
“You look…” he began.
“Fearsome?” she replied. A smile tugged at her lips, even as she growled at him. “Terrifying? Am I making your knees tremble at the sight of me?”
Yes, but in a completely different manner.
Austin didn’t dare say those words aloud. He didn’t even know where that came from.
“You look as if you’re in pain,” he said instead and nearly laughed at the way her face fell. Even though something told him that it was bad idea, Austin stepped closer to her. The usual smell of lavender wrapped around him like a sweet embrace. He felt a jolt through his body as soon as he put his hand over hers to tighten her fist.
“Thumbs out,” he ordered. “Keep them up. One arm closer to your side.”
His demands were gruff and sharp but they didn’t seem to bother her. In fact, Lavender appeared to be concentrating, clearly taking this far more seriously than he’d first thought.
“How do I look?” she asked once he took a step back.
Beautiful.
The word rushed to the tip of his tongue with such force that it took all his strength not to say anything. She caught his eye and he looked away, feeling heat crawling up his neck.
Austin cleared his throat. “Good enough,” he answered. Then he went to stand before her. “Brace yourself.”
Lavender’s eyes widened. “Are you going to hit me?”
“No, you’re going to hit me. And you will hurt your back if you do not open your legs a bit wider.”
“Ah. I see.” She did just that, then looked up at him expectantly.
The sight was like a punch to his gut. Something shifted in between them, an unnamed force so strong that Austin could do nothing but stare. He knew she was waiting for him to act but how could he come close to her now, when it felt as if his entire being was being pulled into her orbit and he would drown if he was not careful?
“Hit me,” he managed to push out, his voice low and breathless. At her surprised look, he motioned to his midsection. “Right here. As hard as you can.”
“But what if I hurt you?” she asked worriedly.
Austin would have laughed at that if it didn’t feel as if his entire world was being tilted on its axis. “You won’t,” he assured instead.
He watched as she braced herself, as if gathering all the strength in her body to her fists. And then she struck. Austin could tell that she threw everything she could into the force of the blow and yet her fist glanced off his midsection like the brush of a feather.
“Oh, Dear God!” Lavender exclaimed, clutching her fist.
Austin was by her side in a second. “What is it? Are you hurt?”
