In a pair of black yoga pants and a gray T-shirt, her hair confined in a ponytail at the back of her head, she was ready to get her workout done quickly. She slugged down the last of her coffee that she’d made in the room and dropped the cup into a trashcan outside the gym. It was early morning, and she expected the gym to be deserted like it had been yesterday morning.
She was wrong.
The door was propped open, and Lara peeked into the large gym, surprised to see a young couple on the large, padded mat in the middle of the room. The brownish-haired man was tall and slender, sporting a white judo gi with a black belt cinched around his waist. The female, dressed similarly to Lara, she recognized as Chloe Colter.
Lara moved closer to the door as she heard the sound of distress in Chloe’s voice. “James, you’re hurting me.”
The man had a hold on the smaller woman’s wrist as he said arrogantly, “You said you wanted to share some of my interests, Chloe. Martial arts require some pain and discipline.”
Lara rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth as she watched him deliberately twist the woman’s wrist in the guise of showing her some moves. The bastard apparently enjoyed his sadistic twist to teaching—something that was obviously apparent to Lara that he wasn’t even qualified to do. He tossed Chloe to the ground with more force than necessary without giving her a reason, or actually teaching her anything.
The bastard just enjoys hurting her. He’s not teaching Chloe a damn thing except pain. The asshole must have a mail-order black belt.
Chloe yelped. “We have to stop. I hurt my back. I don’t understand how to do this.”
Understandable, considering the asshole teaching her wasn’t really instructing. He was punishing.
“Get up, Chloe. You’ll hurt more than once before you understand,” the man said impatiently. He practically yanked Chloe’s arm out of the socket as he forced her to stand. “You said you wanted to lose some of that fat off your body before we get married.”
Lara flinched. Oh, God. This was Chloe Colter’s fiancé? Unbelievable! He was a major jerk.
“I do want to lose some weight,” Chloe answered dejectedly, a hand to her sore back.
Lara watched in horror as the tall man tossed Chloe again, harder this time.
“Ouch!” Chloe’s outcry was one of real pain. “James, I can’t do this.”
As Chloe’s fiancé reached for the smaller woman’s arm again, Lara exploded into action. The guy was a damn sadist. Chloe Colter wasn’t fat, and her fiancé was a pain-loving bully. What the hell was she doing with a jackass like him? Not only was Chloe pretty, but she was also rich and educated.
Lara hastened to the mat and gently helped Chloe up. “You can watch,” she whispered to the dark-haired woman as she steered her away from the mat and off to the side. “Teaching shouldn’t be painful,” she said in a louder voice. “And you should learn something every time you’re bested. A good instructor will start with the basics, and it shouldn’t be horribly uncomfortable.” She wanted James to hear her last statements, and she let her disdain for the teaching techniques of the man on the mat leak into her voice.#p#分页标题#e#
“Who in the hell are you?” His voice was angry and arrogant.
“I’m a guest who doesn’t like your teaching strategies,” Lara retorted fiercely as she turned to face him.
“James, she’s a guest. We should go. I didn’t think anyone would be down this early. We don’t belong here when there are guests present,” Chloe said adamantly from the sidelines.
“You’re just afraid of being thrown again,” James mocked Chloe.
Hell yeah, she is afraid. You’re making her that way…asshole.
“She’s hurting. It’s not appropriate for you to continue,” Lara told him sharply. She could also tell him he was a lousy damn teacher and a cruel jerk, but she kept her tongue. Instead, she suggested, “Why don’t you show her how it’s done? Examples might help.” Lara gave him a saccharine sweet smile.
“I’d happily show her with you,” James answered with a vicious smirk.
It was exactly what she was hoping for, and Lara took up her stance. “Show me.” She wiggled her fingers for him to come and get her.
He came at her roughly and grasped her arm so tightly that she winced. But she used her center of gravity and her own strong grip on his arm to flip his body end over end, leaving him stunned and gasping for breath on his back on the mat.
“You bitch,” he growled menacingly. He rose to his feet, his face red with fury.