Knock Out Curves (Plus Size Loving) BBW Romance

Adriana Hunter
http://www.AdrianaHunter.com

Copyright © 2012: Adriana Hunter

Sweet Dreams
Publishing

Smashwords
Edition

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Shelby sighed happily as she stretched,
still comfortably between the sheets of her bed. The clock on the
table next to her told her it was ten o’clock in the morning, and
she was happy as a clam because she had absolutely nowhere to be
and nothing to do. It was the Monday of Memorial Day Weekend and
she was off the hook for work. She could stay in bed and read, or
perhaps go out and do some light shopping.

Throwing off the covers, she whistled her
way into the shower, and kept whistling right on until her phone
rang halfway through breakfast. Glancing at the little screen, she
saw it was her sister, Lisa, and answered.

“Shelby. Thank God,” Lisa said, sounding
thoroughly harried. “I just got a call from corporate telling me
that I need to fly to Los Angeles to head up a training
seminar.”

“Oh, no. Do you need me to watch
Dawson?”

“Could you?” Lisa paused. “I’m really sorry,
Shelby. I know you probably had plans for the weekend but I really
don’t trust anyone else with him.”

“I don’t mind at all, Lisa. Really, it’s no
trouble. I love spending time with Dawson. Besides, he hasn’t seen
his auntie in awhile so it will be good for both of us.”

“Thanks, sis. You’re the best.”

****

The two walked in over an hour later, Lisa
hauling a pile of bags, Dawson skipping happily with a gap-toothed
grin on his face.

“Auntie Shel!” he launched himself at her
and nearly knocked the wind out of her as he wrapped his arms
around her hips.

“Hey sport.” Shelby laughed and ruffled his
hair. “How’ve you been?”

“Great!” He jumped back and looked up at
her. “Mommy says I get to spend the WHOLE weekend with you.”

“You sure do.” Lisa set the bags down next
to the kitchen counter and pulled her son in for a quick hug. “I
have a daily checklist of places he needs to be and things he needs
to get done every day for while I’m gone.”

“Places he needs to be?” Shelby frowned. “I
thought we would just hang out, maybe go to the Science Center or
the beach.”

Lisa waved her hand. “It’s just school and
his daily karate class. 4 P.M. every afternoon.”

Oh Jesus.
“Alright. I’ll take care of
it.” H

They got Dawson settled, and then Lisa
rushed out the door to the airport. The two of them stood in the
kitchen for a long moment, simply looking at each other.

“So, what do you want to do this
afternoon?”

They ended up going to Putt Putt, a
miniature golfing center, and Shelby decided there were worse ways
to spend an afternoon. They played two rounds, then enjoyed hot
dogs and ice cream in the small food court inside the building
before going for a round in the arcade.

By the time they were done, Dawson had a
handful of glow in the dark worms, a large Sponge Bob plushie, and
candy-sticky lips.

“Do we really have to go?” he whined as she
dragged him out the door and to the car.

“You have karate in less than an hour,
remember?” she said.

“Oh yeah.” His face instantly turned solemn
as she buckled him in. “Sensei is very strict about being on time.
He’d make me do extra push-ups if I was late.”

Shelby raised her eyebrows. This sensei of
his sounded like a hard ass. She instantly pictured an image of an
old, Asian man with a pencil thin mustache and beard and a stern
look on his face.

They got home, dressed Dawson in his
uniform—or
gi
, as he called it—tugged on his orange belt,
and headed to the dojo. It was a surprisingly small building in the
middle of a strip mall, with tall glass windows that allowed you to
see straight inside. There was a bell on the door that jingled as
they stepped inside into what was actually one big, open room with
low walls separating different areas. Right in the center was a
series of wooden benches set up like bleachers, where parents could
sit and watch. Over the low pony wall was the dojo itself, a
rectangular, carpeted area where quite a few students of varying
belt levels stood, practicing different techniques. Shelby smiled
at the two punching bags, then arched her brows at the variety of
weapons she saw mounted on the walls.

“Don’t worry,” a male voice said from behind
her, sounding amused. “They aren’t sharpened. And nobody’s died in
this dojo yet.”

Startled, she turned to see a tall man
standing off to the side, wearing the same uniform as the students
but with an orange and white block-patterned belt instead of any of
the other colors. He had reddish blonde hair and warm brown eyes
that twinkled at her out of a classically handsome face. The cut of
his clothes revealed a strong, powerful body that didn’t look to
have an ounce of fat anywhere.

Dawson instantly snapped his feet together
and bowed from the waist. “Sensei Wilson.”

The man bowed back, and Shelby had to
struggle not to gape. He was the furthest thing from the Asian
martial arts guru she had pictured in her mind. Rather than old and
wise, he looked young and strong and very virile. A flush crept up
her cheeks as she realized she was openly staring, and quickly
looked away.

“Hello, Mr. Carson,” he responded, and
Shelby blinked. Did they all refer to each other by last name? “And
how are you today?”

“I’m doing great!” Dawson flashed his
customary grin, then tugged on Shelby’s arm. “I get to spend the
entire week with my favorite Aunt Shelby.”

“I see.” The man turned to her with a smile
and held out a strong, powerful-looking hand. “My name is Jace
Wilson, and I’m the owner of this dojo. It’s very nice to meet
you.”

“I’m Shelby Janson. It’s great to meet you
too.” Shelby shook his hand, mentally bracing herself because it
looked like he was the kind of man who crushed fingers, but was
surprised when he simply gave her a firm, but respectful handshake
that didn’t cause her knuckle bones to grind against one another.
The calluses on his palms did scrape her skin, but not in an
unpleasant way. “I’d heard that Dawson had been taking up martial
arts for a while, but I’ve never actually been to his school.

She looked around. “Do I leave him here, or
do I need to stay with him until he’s done?”

“You can leave him here if you want, but I
encourage you to stay and observe one of our classes. They’re
pretty fun.”

Why not? It wasn’t as though she had
anything better to do. “I think I will.” Plus, if Dawson got hurt,
she wanted to be there in case she needed to rush him off
somewhere.

Jace seemed to read her mind, because he
laughed. “Don’t worry. The last major injury we had in here was
over five years ago. But as I said, you’re welcome to stay and
watch.”

The two of them walked over to the wooden
Japanese gate, bowed, then entered the floor. Jace called for
everyone to line up and they all scrambled to the middle of the
room, organized by rank. He shouted something in Japanese and they
stood to attention, turned to bow to the flag hanging on the far
wall, then turned back and bowed to him. It was all very formal,
and Shelby thought she understood what Dawson had meant when he’d
said his sensei was strict. Jace might not’ve looked like the
typical sterotype of a martial arts guru, but he obviously was a
traditionalist.

She watched as they formed lines of three,
facing the flag, and Jace led them through a series of what looked
to be punches, kicks and blocks. They then put mats out on the
floor and proceeded to practice various sets of complicated moves
that involved grabbing, twisting and throwing each other. Shelby
winced as she watched Dawson go skidding across the mat, then
smiled as he laughed, bounced straight back up, and proceeded to do
the same to his much larger opponent.

She admitted that while it was fun to watch
cute little Dawson, her eyes kept straying back to Jace. He
demonstrated each move before they practiced it, moving with a
fluidity and speed that seemed at odds with his tall, muscular
build. In fact, it was hard to watch much of anything else.

You’re totally checking him out,
a
snide little voice in her head whispered, and she jerked her gaze
away from him. There was absolutely no point in it. She already
knew from the last string of failed dates she’d been on that men
didn’t appreciate hourglass figures, and seeing how built Jace was,
she was sure he was no different. The only men she needed in her
life were the ones in her family, including little Dawson who
looked like he was having the time of his life out on the training
floor.

When the lesson ended they all lined up and
bowed, then bowed out by rank, which meant Dawson was one of the
last ones. He came skipping over to her, his blond hair tousled and
his green eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Did you see me throw Matt earlier?” he
asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “He went flying so far,
didn’t he!”

Laughing, she pulled him in for a hug. “You
were awesome, sport. You looked like you had a lot of fun.”

“So what did you think?” Jace asked, and she
jumped, not having noticed his approach.

“It wasn’t like any other sport I’ve ever
watched before,” she admitted. “You run a tight ship, Mr. Wilson,
and you look to be a very good teacher too.” Not to mention very
athletic. She’d seen how many times he’d gone through all those
moves himself, and yet he’d barely broken a sweat.

“Thanks.” He grinned at her, and the
expression lit up his face and made him look even more handsome
than before. “Believe it or not karate has one of the lowest injury
rates out there despite it being a contact sport.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” She smiled. “I’d
hate to hear my nephew was putting himself in mortal danger.”

“Mr. Carson here’s a real trooper.” He
clapped a hand on Dawson’s shoulder. His eyes twinkled again, but
this time there was something a little more in them as he looked
her up and down. “You should try it out. We’re always looking for
new white belts in here.”

“Me? Karate?” she blushed. “Oh no. I could
never do all that.”

He laughed, a warm, rich sound that made her
feel warm inside. “We don’t start off by throwing people around,
you know. It’s very basic. And I always do a week or two of private
lessons to get you on your feet before I stick you out there with
the others.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She glanced out at the
floor again, where two blue belts were free sparring. “I’ve got an
awfully busy schedule.” The truth, of course, was that she couldn’t
imagine letting herself flounder about and get all sweaty and messy
while she was alone with a man like him. It would be
embarrassing.

He gave her a knowing smile that made her
think he saw right through her excuses. “Well if you change your
mind, let me know.” He turned to Dawson. “I will see you
tomorrow.”

She drove herself and Dawson home, and
listened with only half an ear as he chattered away about anything
and everything that came into his mind, as kids often did. Her own
mind was in several places at once, thinking about work, carting
Dawson to and from school and who knew where else.