Stone Cold Knockout (House of Pain Book 1) (6 page)

“
Do not fuck with me,” he said, pulling himself flush against her, trapping her body between his and the wall. He bucked his hips, bumping the head of his cock against her ass. She writhed against him, arching her back, but she turned her face so that he couldn't kiss her. “You need me,” he whispered in her ear. She moaned again, but she shook her head, effectively shutting him out.

“
I need you to train me,” she said, anger crowding the lust out of her eyes. “If you think that means I owe you pussy, you're crazy.”

“
You owe me nothing,” he said,  “You want me. I want you. Do not pretend otherwise.” She pressed her fists into his chest, pushing him away.

“
No,” she said simply, and he got the message loud and clear. He shoved off of the wall and she let her legs drop from his hips. He swam around her and hiked himself up out of the pool. He grabbed his towel off the chair and dried off quickly. She didn't move from where he'd left her and for a long moment, Elvis' crooning voice and the lapping of the water against the sides of the pool were the only sounds between them.

Mikhail found a stick of gum in his bag and chewed slowly, tamping his anger down. A string of colorful obscenities crossed his mind, all aimed at himself. He'd offended her. He'd pushed too hard. He was a piece of shit.

“Hey,” she said, catching his attention. She draped her arms over the side of the pool and narrowed her eyes at him. “How do you say 'asshole' in Russian?”

“
Zhopa
,” he said, popping his gum absentmindedly.

“
Good to know,” she said. He stared at her for a long moment and she stared right back. Then he grabbed her coffee off the floor and crouched down beside her. He held out the cup. She took it, raising an eyebrow.

“
One sip. Then back to laps,” he said.

Chapter 6

T
he next night at 7:00 sharp, Gennifer stepped into House of Pain and her heart dropped. Mikhail was already at a speed bag, looking sexy as ever in a sleeveless black T-shirt. He slowed his punches and caught her eye. With a groan, she ducked her head and hurried to the locker room. She was turning tail and running like a coward, but she was scared. She was scared that he was going to tell her that he couldn't keep training her. After laps, he had barely spoken a handful of words to her throughout the rest of their workout.

She screwed up. Royally.

In the locker room, she tossed her bag in her locker and slammed the door shut. She pressed her forehead to the cool metal and closed her eyes. Instantly, she could feel Mikhail's hands on her, his lips on hers. She could hear his possessive words in her ears and a shiver ran up her spine. She loved it when he said he wanted to fuck her. She loved the wild look in his eyes when he said it, too. She saw how much he wanted her. It was intense. Too intense.

So she'd pushed him away. She'd told him no when her body was screaming yes. She made him think that she didn't want him, because she was afraid. She barely knew the man, but he scared her. Fucking him would be a mistake. No matter how much she wanted to, or how much he tempted her, it would be a mistake. If she fucked him, it would only end badly.

She just had to keep telling herself that and she would be okay.

“
Gennifer?” A voice cut through her reverie and she jumped, her eyes flying open. Hector's redhead was standing next to her, in fancy yoga pants and a tight white T-shirt. She looked at Gennifer expectantly. “This empty locker room is kind of creepy, huh?” Erica said, looking around the big room.

“
I never thought about it.” Gennifer shrugged, her heart still drumming in her chest. “I used to have it all to myself.”

“
It's crazy that there are no other women here,” Erica said, slamming her locker door shut as well. “Is that usual?”

“
Well, it's an old school kind of place,” Gennifer said, running her hand through her hair. “We don't get a lot of new people.”

“
Can you show me around?” Erica asked, lifting a delicate eyebrow.

“
Do I look like the welcome committee?” Gennifer asked. “Isn't Hector around?”

“
Don't tell Hector.” Erica leaned in like they were sharing a secret. “But it's a little intimidating out there.”

“
A little?” Gennifer laughed. The girl was seriously out of her element.

“
You know all these guys. You know what to do. Just show me,” Erica said. “And then afterwards, I'll owe you a drink.” Gennifer blew out a breath. Did she want to babysit a newbie? No. But would babysitting a newbie keep her occupied so she wouldn't have to talk to Mikhail? Yes. Turning, she nodded in agreement.

“
Margaritas,” she tossed over her shoulder, making her way onto the floor. “Real. None of that frozen shit. And I want a whole pitcher.”

“
Deal,” Erica said with a smile, following her. Avoiding looking at Mikhail, Gennifer headed straight for the free weights along the mirrored wall.

“
Don't be too friendly,” Gennifer said, motioning at the men around the room. “They're usually okay, but you never know. If they know you're with Hector, they'll probably cut you some slack.” She dropped her gloves on a nearby bench and took her position in front of the mirror.

“
Oh. I mean, we're friends. Hector and I,” Erica said, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

“
Just friends?” Gennifer grabbed a twenty-five pound weight. She pointed at a smaller weight for Erica. “Try a ten pound.” Erica followed Gennifer's lead and did bicep curls. “How did you and Hector meet?” Gennifer couldn't resist asking.

“
Oh, it's a funny story, kind of.” Erica winced as she raised the weight. “It was raining— like monsoon rain—and I had forgotten my umbrella at work, so I stopped outside. Right there.” She pointed to the plate glass window at the front of the gym. “Under the awning. I had on these new blue suede heels and they were getting ruined.” Gennifer nodded, her eyes straying to Mikhail's reflection in the mirror. His back was to her but she could sense he knew she was looking. “Anyway, Hector came outside with an umbrella and we started talking. Then the rain stopped and I had to run and I forgot to get his number.”

“
That is funny,” Gennifer said vaguely.

“
I mean, he comes out with those muscles flexing and that big smile flashing, and I just kind of lost all sense,” Erica sighed. “He's got dimples, too.”

“
I noticed.” Gennifer's eyes flicked to Mikhail's back again.

“
Like my mother would say, that is one good lookin' man,” Erica said with a laugh and Gennifer caught the hint of a southern accent in her voice. “Are you and Hector related? I mean, if you don't mind me asking.”

“
Hector's Puerto Rican. I'm Dominican.” Gennifer couldn't help herself.

“
Oh.” Erica blushed bright red and Gennifer took pity on her.

“
He's my foster brother. We grew up together.”

“
Oh.
” Her eyes widened and Gennifer could see a million questions stacking up in her mind. Questions that she had no interest in answering.

“
Curl like this,” Gennifer demonstrated the proper way to lift the weight. Erica followed suit.

“
How long have you been coming here?” Erica asked after a moment.

“
To House of Pain?” Gennifer did quick math in her head. “Twenty years, almost.”

“
Twenty years?”

“
Yeah. Used to be a towel girl in the glory days. Big J put us kids to work early on.” Gennifer snorted out a laugh and glanced up again. The laughter died in her throat when she realized Mikhail was gone. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and told herself to focus. She still had to prepare for Bout It, with or without Mikhail. “Do three reps of fifteen, then we'll move to the speed bag.”

“
Solnyshka
, come keep me company,” a familiar voice called out and Gennifer felt a flutter of excitement go through her. She turned around and Mikhail was in the ring, leaning on the ropes, his wild grey eyes aimed right on her. She bit her lip to suppress a smile.

“
I'm busy. Can't you see?” Gennifer held up the weight in her hand.

“
I have the ring all to myself. You want to train or not?” He cocked his head.

“
I don't know,” she forced herself to sound nonchalant. “Are you going to go easy on me?”

“
Never,” he murmured. The word sent a chill through her, but she reminded herself that she was
not
going to sleep with him. No matter how he looked at her, no matter what he said. No fucking. Period.

“
Who's that?” Erica asked, eyeing Mikhail in the mirror.

“
My trainer,” Gennifer said, dropping her weight on the rack. A brilliant idea popped in her head. “Why don't you come ringside? I'll show you some moves.”

“
Okay,” Erica said, her eyes brightening. The girl would be the perfect distraction, Gennifer decided as she grabbed her gloves from the bench. Mikhail stared down at them impassively as she followed Gennifer to the ring.

“
Mikhail, this is Erica. Erica, Mikhail.” Gennifer made the quick introductions, pasting a smile on her face. “She's going to watch us train.” Mikhail shrugged, holding out his hand to help her up. After a second, she took it. He hauled her up and she slid under the ropes and into the ring. He pulled her close, his warm hand enclosing around her wrist.

“
I do not mind an audience,” he murmured in her ear. “But she can not save you from me.” Then he released her and stepped away. Gennifer turned back to Erica, ignoring the way his words cut through her like a hot knife.

“
Watch me wrap my hands,” she said, crouching down to give Erica a good look. Gennifer moved quickly, wrapping the cotton band around her left wrist with her right hand. Then she moved on to her thumb and fingers, looping the cotton around the digits until they felt secure. “You wrap to protect your hands and your wrists. Not too tight, not too loose.” Erica nodded, paying attention.  When Gennifer secured the wrap with Velcro, she flexed her wrist, checking if it felt right. Satisfied, she nodded. “You get used to how it feels,” she explained to Erica. Then she moved onto her left hand. “It'll be hard to do your non-dominant hand at first, but you'll get the hang of it,” she murmured, concentrating on the wrap.

“
Or you have someone do it for you,” Mikhail said, crouching beside her. He pinched her elbow and she gave him a sharp look.

“
I can do it,” she said.

“
Let me.” He ran his hand up her forearm and Gennifer rolled her eyes at his insistence. But she didn't fight him as he took her hand and continued on with what she started. She spread her fingers for him as he looped the fabric around them. He moved expertly, and again, Gennifer found herself in awe of his technique. He made everything look easy.

“
Too tight?” he asked as he secured the band at her wrist. Gennifer flexed her hand and was surprised that he'd gotten it right on the first try.

“
No,” she said, fisting her fingers. “It's good.”

“
Good,” he murmured, then lifted her hand to his mouth. He pressed a quick kiss to her wrapped knuckles, so quick she didn't have time to process what he was doing. Her mouth dropped open to respond, but he was already leaning over to grab her gloves off the mat.

“
Now gloves,” he said, handing them to her. She slipped them on and didn't bother arguing as he quickly tightened the Velcro and secured them. Gennifer dragged her eyes off of him and onto Erica.

“
Ask Hector for some sparring gloves when you get a chance. There's some up in the office,” she said, happy for the distraction. Mikhail dropped her hands and then grabbed the padded mitts off the canvas floor of the ring. Erica nodded, her eyes darting between Gennifer and Mikhail. Reluctantly, Gennifer turned back to the man that was driving her to distraction, and he was ready for her.

“
Jab,” he said impatiently, holding up his hands. Gennifer took a breath and got in the proper stance, leading with her left. She lifted her right glove to her face and focused on relaxing her muscles. It was hard to do when she could feel everyone's eyes on her. The gym was still relatively full. Little Sid and his grandfather were already watching her. “Focus.”

She threw a low jab, clenching her fist and tensing her muscles at the last minute like Big J had taught her. Mikhail blocked her but he smiled.

“You fight low. I like that.” He held up his hands again. “Again. Remember to breathe.” Gennifer nodded and jabbed low again. This time he jabbed high, almost getting her in the head, but she ducked just in time.

“
Shit!” Gennifer grunted.

“
Use a low to counter a high,” he said. “Again.” She eyed him, adrenaline pumping her veins. She could see he was having fun. She was having fun too, she realized. She threw the punch, and he swung high again. She dodged his blow, countering with a fast straight to his face. He bowed his back to avoid her glove and let out a low whistle. “Keep that elbow down.”

“
Like this?” she asked, demonstrating her fast straight again.

“
Good twist at the end,” he said, nodding. Warmth flooded her chest and she couldn't resist a smile. She wanted to learn more, and she could tell Mikhail liked teaching her. The other people in the gym faded away. Gennifer couldn't worry about them. She focused on him, trying to soak up everything he offered. She was in heaven and she wasn't in any hurry for it to end.

***

It was dark outside when Gennifer finally looked up and realized they were almost alone in the gym. Only Erica remained, sitting on the floor beside the ring.

“
Can we spar now?” Gennifer asked, swiping sweat out of her eyes with the hem of her T-shirt.

“
You want to get me in trouble?” he asked with a smile, but he was already pulling off the mitts like he was raring to go. Gennifer glanced up into the office. Hector was at the computer, his back to them. He didn't have any idea what was going on, she was certain. Her eyes back on Mikhail, she lifted her chin and worked her shirt over her head. He worked his jaw, watching her as she tossed it out of the ring. Mikhail followed suit, accepting her challenge. Gennifer felt a giddy shiver run through her as he pulled on his gloves. “You are not tired?”

“
Nope,” Gennifer said, hopping from foot to foot to get the blood flowing. Eyes glittering dangerously, he stretched out his shoulders as she rolled her neck to release tension.

“
No headbutts allowed,” he pointed at her accusingly.