Bonded Read Free

students
gathered in the gymnasium before giving her a nod and a distracted
smile. “Thank you kindly for your assistance, Miss Jones.”
    “It’s Johansson.”
She murmured brushing her hair from her face and wondering how he’d
been able to turn off his feelings so quickly. She was still
feeling decidedly off balance. Searching his face for some sign
that he really had been affected by the encounter—that it
wasn’t just her imagination—she found none. Already he was turning
away, her presence seemingly forgotten. He began to talk to the
class and she knew she’d just been dismissed.
    For a moment she
stared at his back, her gaze tracing his strong muscular shoulders
that tapered to a trim waist and lean hips. Her palms itched to
touch him and she clenched her fists, digging her nails into her
own flesh in an attempt to eradicate the insane desire to cup his
firm buttocks and squeeze. It was utterly ridiculous. She couldn’t
go around groping a man who was basically a complete stranger, no
matter how hot his body was! Besides, he’d just brushed her off. He
deserved her scorn not her lust!
    Whipping herself
up into a temper over her ill-treatment at his hands helped quell
some of the desire within her. Resisting the urge to stick her
tongue out at him—it really was too juvenile an action for someone
who would be graduating in a little over a week—she satisfied
herself with rolling her eyes instead. Walking over to the bench at
the side of the room, Brandi forced herself not to limp. She
grabbed her things and made her way to the door near the back of
the gym, refusing to look to see if anyone was watching her
progress. Damn, this had been an asinine idea.
    When her roommate,
Tabitha, had heard Reno complaining in the hall outside the
gymnasium that his volunteer for the self-defence seminar hadn’t
shown up, she’d presented Brandi as a candidate.
    “Mr. Smith, my
friend here would love to help you.” Tabi had pushed her at the
man. “She’s taken the basic self-defence course and would be
perfect.”
    Brandi had been
shocked. They’d been on their way to class when Tabitha had
overheard his grumblings. And before she could formulate a protest,
the man had looked her up and down and declared that ‘she’d
do.’
    “Name?” Without
checking to see if she was following, he barked the question at
her.
    “Johansson. Brandi
Johansson. But I don’t think—”
    “Don’t worry,
Jones. It’s just a basic demo.”
    She’d hesitated
and looked helplessly at Tabitha, yet her roommate had merely urged
her to follow him. “This is your chance, Brandi. Now go.” Tabi
whispered the words in her ear before giving her a push to hurry
her along.
    Shaking her head,
Brandi had followed, just knowing it was a bad idea. In a matter of
minutes, she’d found herself in front of a room full of first year
cadets, listening to Reno Smith explain to the class that she was
there to help demonstrate self-defence techniques.
    “I’ll go easy on
you,” he’d assured her. “Just do your best to take me out.”
    At first she’d
hesitated. Attacking someone who was just standing there didn’t
seem right, but when he’d swept her feet out from under her and
she’d landed hard on her rump, accompanied by the snickers of the
students, the proverbial gloves had come off. Using every trick
she’d ever been taught Brandi had done her best to gain the upper
hand.
    Now, barely half
an hour later, she was sweaty and sore while her erstwhile opponent
continued on with his class as if nothing had happened. She bit
back the desire to snarl and pushed open the changing room door
instead.
    “So, how’d it go?”
Tabitha was waiting inside, fairly bouncing up and down with
excitement.
    Brandi looked at
her, stunned that the woman could even ask. “What do you mean, how
did it go? You set me up to be attacked by Reno Smith, one of the
toughest Enforcers Lycan Link has ever produced. How do you think
it went?” She huffed and