More Than a Hotline Fling

-22-

Damian's POV

Fuck, that was hot.

Because I was a sick fuck, the sight of my smaller girlfriend smashing Marquis' nose and sending his man-giant ass tumbling to the floor stiffed me right up. Pride puffed up in my chest at my girlfriend defending herself against a larger opponent. Even though she was in a structured setting, I fought the urge that I pumped my fist in the air.

June joked that I picked the least romantic dates but, frankly, I struggled with how turned on I was during her self-defense class. She did me no favors, dressing in a skin-tight, black leggings and tank top outfit that clung to the curves I wanted my hands running over.

The smell of sweat soaking the gym's air and hardened look from June's instructor Regina slunk me into a corner. We went back to Academy together, when she pinned my cocky ass down during recruit training.

Pretending I dealt with some work-related shit on my phone, my eyes tracked June's progress. Her eyes darting and body movements timid, she was beyond uncomfortable.

I shouldn't be surprised. The woman apologizes to the snake's mice and they're already dead.

Proving my point, June burst into tears while Marquis pinched his nose. From the crooked angle his nose bridge now took, it was broken but I didn't want June discovering that. My feet flew me across the gym, ignoring Regina's heated glare at my shoes stomping on the mats.

"Hey." I wrapped my arms around June's shaking shoulders. "It's alright."

"No, it's not!" Her shrill wail vibrated my ears as she curled into my chest. "I hurt him! I'm so sorry, Marquis!"

"That's the idea." I chuckled and pointed at Marquis, who cursed loudly. "See? He's fine."

"I'm so sorry," her voice husked into my shoulder, where damp spots dotted my shirt.

"He's fine," I spoke over the low howls Marquis released, then shot a glare at Regina.

"So much for your up-and-coming fitness modeling career," she teased Marquis, who glared from behind his pinched fingers.

"Come on." One of the girls in June's class patted his boulder-sized shoulder. "I'm a nurse. Let's get you cleaned up."

With a glance at the blood spots on her floor mats, Regina rubbed her forehead. "We might need to call it a night. Good work, ladies."

"Except me," June whispered.

"No." My hand rubbed her shoulder because the last thing I wanted was she regressed into fear of injuring anyone who approached her with ill intentions.

I didn't need June to know how to attack people, only how to defend herself. Her limb's movements were slow and clumsy through every defensive setup. Sweaty and frustrated, her eyes averted mine as we left.

She still has more work before it's less thinking, more reacting.

For those reasons, I planned to work with June for the next six days straight, before her next class. Our condo building had a gym within the basement and I cleared a space in the stretching area.

Housed in the basement near the garage entrance, the building's gym was decent. It had five of the standard treadmill, elliptical, rowing, and climbers aimed at wall-mounted televisions. A large, open area separated the machines from a large free weights area with large muscle machines.

Also smells ten times better than the version at work.

What I also appreciated about the building's gym was everyone who worked out here minded their own fucking business. I used to exercise in the 34th's gym on my lunch breaks, until one Chatty Kathy after another pounced on me.