Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 83: Private Lesson

Bailing on my friends was especially tough after I shared the news King had texted me. Tomorrow morning, King would deliver Drake to the church. One more day, and Jake would be reunited with both of his boys.

It was a time for celebration. I should be there, but my head was with Alec, and I’d made a promise. I should keep it.

I held my breath as I opened The Red Dragon door. I could very well have read too much into Alec’s innocent flirtation. He might not even be there, but I had hope. Worst case, I’d look like a fool. I’d been foolish before.

I took a strengthening breath and walked in. The dojang appeared empty with one exception. Alec sat in the middle of the mat. His legs were spread-eagle. He stretched to touch his toes to one side and then the other, pausing when he saw me.

Alec’s face lit up with a smile. "Hi! Glad you could make it. I usually work out alone."

"Hi. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt."

"You’re not. I’m happy for the company. Why don’t you change? We can train together."

"I’m not very good. I’ve only had two lessons."

"Everyone starts out as a beginner."

"Alright. If you’re sure."

"I’m sure. It’s Teela, right? Your name?"

"Yes, and you’re Alec?"

"I am. I don’t mean to rush you, but I’ve got a meeting in an hour. I can’t miss it."

"Oh, sure." I jogged to the locker room and changed into a dobok.

Alec was running through a routine that was way more complicated than anything Angie had shown us. Even more daring than what Jake and Min had attempted.

His ability to leap in the air, twist, and come down in an attack stance was more akin to what movie superheroes did with the assistance of wires and special effects.

"Wow. How long did it take you to learn to do that?"

Alec gifted me with another smile. "Thirty-two years, give or take a month."

Angie joined us. "Twenty-nine years. The first three years, he sat with Mom and watched from the sidelines."

"Only because Mom wouldn’t let me take classes until I was three," Alec said.

"You’re siblings?"

Alec said, "Half-siblings. Same mom. Different dads."

"I didn’t know, but it makes sense."

Angie asked, "What do you mean?"

"I don’t know. Something Alec said when I met him. It wasn’t so much the words as the attitude, I guess. Like he owned the place."

"Oh, Alec acts that way everywhere he goes. This place is mine, free and clear," Angie said. "Alec has his own headaches downtown."

Alec said, "This is my free time. I don’t want to talk about work?"

"Alright then, I can take a hint," Angie said. "I’m off to help Mom. Lock up when you’re done. My next class isn’t until four."

"Tell Mom I’ll see her Wednesday for our family dinner."

Angie waved her response as she left Alec and me staring at each other. I felt like the big winner. I really wanted to explore the tattoos, to trace the lines with my fingers.

"I suppose we should start. You’ve got that meeting in a while."

"I wish I didn’t," Alec said.

"Me too, but there’s always a next time if you want it."

"I do, but we should make the best of this time first."

I smiled. "That makes sense."

Alec held my feet while I did sit-ups, then we did a stretching exercise where we sat across from one another with our legs spread and our feet touching. We held hands and stretched in opposition.

Alec was a lot more flexible than me. When he stretched forward, he could lay flat on the floor. Me? I couldn’t even touch my nose to my knee.

Maybe I should book daily private lessons when things calm down. When life was easier, and King was a memory.

Damn. Even now, with this beautiful man before me, I couldn’t forget about King.

I wondered if he was thinking about me, too.

"Okay, now let’s work on blocks and strikes. Show me what Angie has taught you so far."

I felt like a clumsy oaf, but I did it.

"Again," Alec said as he analyzed my movements.

After the second run-through, he helped me make corrections to the angles of my arms and the tension in my legs.

"Work on strengthening your core. Sit-ups and planks every morning. Pushups and crunches every night. Now, hit me."

I shook my head and backed up. "I can’t hit you."

"Teela, the whole point of martial arts is to learn how to fight and defend, so hit me. Use the skills Angie taught you. Trust me, Angie would gladly hit me."

Alec took up a defensive stance.

"I don’t want to hurt you."

Alec smiled, only this wasn’t one of his addictive open, honest smiles. This was a honey-you’re-funny grin. "You are about five years away from hurting me. In fact, I’m willing to bet you go home with more bruises than me.

"Now, hit me."

I threw a half-hearted punch. Alec blocked it.

"Is that all you’ve got? Hit me."

I tried again, putting more oomph behind it.

Again and again, I tried, and each time, Alec blocked my attempts. He was right. Each time Alec blocked my blow, my forearms took a beating.

"As you build muscle, it won’t hurt so bad. Also, you’ll grow accustomed to the sensation. And if you ever need to use your skills in real life, adrenaline will kick in and dull all sensations."

"Good to know."

"Come on. Time to change it up." Alec stepped back. "I’ve got about ten minutes left. Time to cool down, then off to the showers."

I was ready to fall down from exhaustion after a morning of roller skating and an hour of intense one-on-one training with someone totally out of my league. However, I didn’t want to look weak in front of Alec. So, I held it together long enough to get through the cooldown before I collapsed onto a bench in the ladies’ locker room, determined never to move again.

Only one small problem, though. Alec had somewhere to be. I was on a clock. I forced myself out of my clothes and into a warm shower. Raising my arms to actually wash was beyond me, so a thorough rinse was as good as it got.

I was still in a towel when Alec knocked at the door.

"All done in there?"

"Two minutes."

The way I felt, it would take me two minutes to walk across the floor to the locker. I mumbled a string of curses and forced a foot in front of the other. It would be so embarrassing if Alec had to carry me out of here. It was one thing for Jake to see me naked. It was something totally different for Alec to see me.

Two minutes stretched into five before I had clothes on. I was so grateful I’d left the boots at home and opted for easy-to-slip-on ballet slippers.

Alec was leaning against the wall when I came out.

"I’m sorry I took so long."

"No problem. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"We may have overdone it today, especially after yesterday. You must be sore."

"Yesterday?"

"Angie said you beat yourself up pretty good yesterday. She called and asked me to check on you. Your friend got to you first."

What the hell?

"It was a rough day." I wasn’t ready to pull Alec into my world.

"I get it. Hey, let’s get out of here."

Alec put an arm around me to support me as he walked me out of the building.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Alec asked.

"I’d like to, but I think I’ll be tied up for the rest of the week."

"What about Saturday?"

Until I saw what King was bringing me, I wasn’t sure what my week would look like, but I wanted to see Alec again.

If Alec was important to me, I had to make time for him.

"I’d like that."

Alec said, "Maybe we could meet here, say at six? Spend some time on the mat, then go to dinner together. It would be nice to talk and get to know each other better."

The man was reading my mind. I enjoyed spending time with him today, but I’d like to see him away from The Red Dragon and the supervision of his big sister.

After locking up, Alec walked me to my car.

"Nice car."

I didn’t mention the SUV parked a few spaces down and loaded with men was also mine. Alec didn’t need to know we had an audience, and I wasn’t ready to let go of the extra security until I put all the Heavenly mess in the rearview mirror. Daniel hadn’t even gone to trial yet.

"Thanks."

"Is it new?"

"Yeah. What do you drive?"

Alec pointed to a Jeep. "That’s mine."

"It looks new, too."

"Six months old, so newish."

"You’ve got to go."

Alec nodded. "I’m having a hard time walking away."

"Me, too. You have to go though, right?"

"I made a commitment."

I held out my phone to him. "Can I have your number?"

"Oh, sure. I should have thought of that."

We exchanged numbers. I couldn’t think of another reason to delay Alec’s departure, so I opened the car door.

Alec stopped me from getting in. "Hey, no pressure, but can I give you a hug?"

No one had ever asked permission before. I wouldn’t deny him. It wasn’t like we hadn’t been touching for the last hour, but this was different. And Alec had asked.

"We don’t have to," Alec said as I stepped into him, raising up on tiptoes to do little more than touch my lips to his.