I came at her, intending to sweep her leg out from underneath her. Except she wasn't there. She'd spun around so that now she was at my back. She caught my arm and pulled it up behind me like she'd done to Reggie.
“I probably should've mentioned that I spent some time yesterday studying your old fights.”
Well, damn.
I was impressed, but not so much so that I couldn't think to hook my foot behind me and around hers. She released my wrist as she fell, twisting so that she somehow managed to be on her feet before I'd turned around. Back and forth we went, blocking punches, trading kicks. It was like a dance, each of us testing, leading, reacting. I'd never felt so in sync with anyone before.
When I finally managed to get her pinned, I suddenly realized that I wanted to kiss her. Our bodies were pressed together, breathing fast, pulses racing. With all the chemicals rushing through my veins, it was no wonder I wanted her. Even knowing the physical reason for this immediate attraction didn't make me want her any less.
So I pushed myself up and off, then held out a hand to help her to her feet.
“Excellent,” I said. “I think this is going to work out great.”
“Good.” She gave me a tight smile and walked off.
Right, I thought as I watched her – as I watched the other men watching her. This was going to work out just fine.
Chapter Five
Sara
My pulse was still racing faster than normal when I reached the locker room, but I chalked that up to the work-out I'd just gotten. I'd stayed in shape when I'd moved to the East Coast, but there was a huge difference between running and lifting some weights, and doing the sort of sparring that Dorian and I had just done. He was a former FFC champ who'd retired a few years back. I'd assumed that meant he'd been injured or had something medically wrong that prevented him from continuing to fight, but all the articles I'd found made it sound like he'd quit to take over running his family's company.
After the match we'd just had, I was glad I'd done my digging because I'd at least been semi-prepared for how good he was. What I hadn't been prepared for was how much I'd enjoyed the session. Part of me had relished the physical and mental activity that came with sparring rather than a workout, but I couldn't deny that I'd enjoyed it more than I ever had with Uncle Takeshi.
I wasn't a doctor or a nurse, but my area of study had focused on exercise and physical therapy, so I knew that vigorous physical activity produced vast amounts of chemical reactions and arousal wasn't an uncommon response. That tended to go up tenfold when the physical activity resulted in close contact with an attractive person.
Not that I was attracted to Dorian Forbes. But, I also couldn't deny that he was good looking. I wasn't blind.
“Sara!”
I turned when someone called my name. It wasn't Dorian, but someone I readily admitted was also attractive. I'd never been into UFC or MMA fighting, but once I'd figured out who Dorian was, I'd looked into the FFC. It hadn't taken me long to see that Tyrell was their newest poster boy.
“Aren't you supposed to be training?” I asked, sending a pointed look toward his annoyed-looking trainer.
He shrugged, his jade eyes sparkling. “Everyone needs a water break.”
I raised an eyebrow, overly conscious of the eyes I could feel on me. I refused to give them the satisfaction of acknowledgment. I'd been around guys like this before. Pretty much every jock I'd ever met had looked at me the same way that the guys here were doing. It usually ended up being an odd mixture of condescension, annoyance and lust. None of which I appreciated.
Tyrell, at least, wasn't acting like I didn't belong here.
“I know you're not a fighter, at least not around here,” he said. “But you know what you're doing.”
“How do you know I'm not a fighter?” I asked, curious to hear his reasoning.
“Because I would've heard of someone as good as you,” he said with an easy smile. “But you were using moves I've never seen before. Where'd you learn to do all that?”
“My uncle.”
He took a step toward me, just enough that I could feel his body heat, but not so much that I felt like he was invading my personal space.
“Maybe you could teach me some of those moves sometimes.”
My stomach clenched at the low tone in his voice, but I still played coy. “You'll at least have to buy me dinner first.”
“I think I could manage that,” he said, a dimple showing with his grin. “How about Friday evening? I'll finish up training around five, so I can pick you up at your place at six, or we can meet here at five-thirty, if that works better for you.”
I had to give him some serious credit for giving me a choice. Not many guys would've taken into consideration that a woman might not want a virtual stranger knowing where she lived.