left the changing room and set her internal timer. She had learned to be very good at monitoring time over the years. She jogged around the perimeter of the gym, keeping her breathing steady and letting her mind drift.
For once her thoughts didn’t go to Everest and Alexi. Instead, she pictured Hemi. His face as it was tonight. The smooth confidence of a man who had trained and achieved as much as he had, but also the passion in his eyes. He loved his job. That had been clear.
But she wasn’t analyzing him as a trainee right now. She saw, instead, the birthmark under his eye. Thought about the meaning and how Maori folklore suggested he’d been touched by the gods.
She stopped running after fifteen minutes and started going through the different tae kwon do forms that she had learned as a child on her parents’ boat, kicking and punching her way through routines that had Korean names like taegeuk sam jang and taegeuk il jang.
“So this is where you got to.”
She finished her forward slicing kick and dropped back into ready position before turning to look at the shadowy doorway. Hemi.
“I can only do parties for so long,” she said.
“Me, too.” He stepped into the light.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I have to attend a lot of them because of my job but I haven’t shut one down in years. You practice tae kwon do?”
She nodded.
“Mind if I join you for a little sparring?” he asked.
Sparring...
“Sure. I’m a third-degree black belt.”
“Fourth,” he said with a cocky grin. He toed off his dress shoes and tugged at his tie as he walked toward the locker room.
She put her head down, focusing on getting back to her center. Hemi rattled her. She’d come here...who the hell knew why she was in the gym tonight. What she’d thought she wanted to find had eluded her until he’d walked in.
She knew part of her was still grieving. Losing Alexi had been like losing a chunk of her soul. Her parents had said to give herself time. But how much? A part of her would always feel the emptiness of a world without him. But that was her old self. The woman who had found exhilaration in the next new adventure. Her father suspected she’d lost her courage, but her mother feared she’d lost her heart and soul.
Why, then, was she getting that old tingle from being around Hemi? He wasn’t doing anything overt...well, he had tracked her down and now he wanted to spar with her.
Was it sex?
Wouldn’t it be convenient if this feeling was just lust? Maybe she could have a fling with him. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t against the rules, though a part of her did feel like her judgment would be compromised slightly if they slept together. But it might be too late—he was already different from just any student in her mind. He had those big muscly arms and that laugh. She couldn’t forget that laugh.
She heard him reenter and he gave her a salute as he started jogging around the gym, loosening up the same way she had.
The last time she’d been alone with a man like this, she’d been with Alexi. The realization hit her hard. He was gone. She wanted to leave.
She turned and was halfway to the door when Hemi caught her wrist and drew her to a stop.
“I didn’t peg you as someone who would run,” he said.
She wasn’t. She never had been. There wasn’t a challenge Mother Nature could throw at her that would make her flinch, but this...being one-on-one with a man—a man like Hemi—it was too much tonight.
She was here to rebuild, not to start something...anything...physical with a man—a trainee.
“I’m not running,” she said at last, lifting her head to look into those dark brown eyes of his. They were fathomless. He revealed nothing in his gaze. His hold on her was light.
“Is it me?” he asked.
“A little,” she admitted. “You are coming on strong, but it’s more me. I’m just not sure that this is a good idea.”
“Are you sure it’s a bad idea?” he asked.
There was something light about Hemi. Something that drew her tired soul, and she knew that she wanted him to convince her to stay. So why the hell was she trying to leave?
“One match,” she said. “Then I go.”
“I think we should make a wager,” he said.
“Do you think you can beat me?” She was known for her skills and for her sheer ability to best any challenge put in front of her.
“Yup. So if I win...you give me that kiss you ran from earlier,” he said.
“What kiss? We were dancing,” she protested, but she was already assessing him. His strength and size would be her biggest obstacle. Not insurmountable, but still a challenge.
“The one I was planning to steal when the song ended,” he said. “What do you want if you win?”
“When I win... I’ll leave and you’ll stop pursuing me. Deal?”
“Deal,” he said, dropping her hand and then moving a few feet away and bowing to her.
“Ready?”
* * *
DODGING KICKS AND blocking punches was exactly what he needed. He’d been feeling edgy as he looked around the ballroom earlier. He knew he was one of the top contenders to be named to the inaugural Cronus crew in the next phase, but he also saw the talent there and knew that it wasn’t guaranteed. He was going to have to work hard and concentrate.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the ride. His parents had never been much on instant gratification. When someone wanted something, they worked hard, earned it and the family celebrated. It was a lesson that had stood Hemi well all his life.
He didn’t pull his punches because he could tell that Jessie wasn’t. And it was exactly what he needed. She didn’t have strength on her side; physically he had to be at least twice her size, and he worked out constantly to ensure his body was in peak condition. But she was quick and smart.
She had the best reflexes he’d encountered in a sparring partner in a long time.
She clipped him in the jaw with a front snap kick and dropped to ready position as soon as she’d made contact.
“Sorry.” She grinned, knowing she’d bested him. “I thought you’d see that one coming.”
He rubbed his jaw and shook his head ruefully. “I was distracted.”
“By what?”
Her. But that was just hormones...or was it? “I was thinking that I could see why you’re so good
