Read Online Wounded Angel (The Earth Angels) by Stacy Gail - Free Book Online

like you.”
    “If it’ll warm up my creaking muscles, I don’t mind if you
don’t.”
    “The class is made up of mostly women,” Phoebe interjected, and
her disapproving tone made Ella glance at her. “Why don’t you warm up on an
elliptical or treadmill instead?”
    “He’ll be fine in my class, Phoebe, and having him there could
actually be a benefit for my students.” Jaw knotted and determined to prove that
nothing—not even the testosterone-laden likes of Nate da Luca—could get to her,
Ella stiffened her spine. “I hope you’re ready for this, Nate. I can’t wait to
show you my specialty.”

Chapter Five
    “The only rule you must remember is this— survive . When it comes to survival, it’s not about playing fair, or being civil. A lifetime of polite, well-mannered conditioning has got to go out the window, but that’s okay. You have permission to act like a savage. That permission was given to you by the very person who’s decided to ignore society’s rules himself—your attacker.”
    Ella looked around the packed room. Thirty women of various ages and walks of life stared back at her, unsmiling and on edge. Their disquiet at being pushed out of their comfort zone was palpable. Nate and the only other man in the class were also listening intently, with the other man looking downright delicate by comparison.
    Nate. In a room dominated by the gentler sex, the sheer force of his masculinity knocked Ella sideways. She had to give him props; when confronted with a class where he was as out of place as a gorilla at a tea party, he didn’t so much as hesitate. If anything, he seemed happy to be there.
    Not for the world would she admit she was happy he was there as well.
    “Last week we discussed making as much noise as possible by screaming out the word fire at the top of your voice, as people will respond more readily to a common threat than a cry for help. We also focused on how to attack the body’s points of vulnerability—the eyes, nose, throat, groin, instep and the knee. If properly done, hitting even one of these targets will incapacitate your attacker long enough for you to get away. But this still leaves one area unexplored—an assault that comes from behind. Would you know what to do then?”
    An uncertain rumble buzzed around the room.
    “If I could have everyone pick a partner, and Nate, if you’d come up to the front with me, please. We’re going to do a walk-through on the step-by-step process of how to get out alive.” Careful not to meet Nate’s eyes as she put him on display, Ella had her assistant pair up with a person who didn’t have a partner. But no matter how hard she tried to focus on her job, some strange internal Nate-radar kept her attuned to him as he joined her on the blue mat at the front of the room. God, he was huge. Huge like a Visigoth defeating the Romans. A cautious woman would keep her distance in case he decided to conquer her as well.
    Her pulse fluttered, but since she could feel it in the secret place between her thighs she knew her response had nothing to do with fear. The sensation was undeniable, and at last she could admit to herself it was why she’d fought so hard to keep Nate as a client. It was pure, raw attraction; a stop-the-presses, whoa-Nelly kind of attraction that still dumbfounded her as much as it swamped her with inexpressible relief. For two years she hadn’t felt even an inkling of feminine interest in the male of the species. In the back of her mind she’d begun to fear that what she’d suffered had killed the part of her that made it possible to feel anything other than battle-ready wariness around others. But obviously there was no need to worry. She just hadn’t run across Nate, a man who could no doubt make women from eighteen to eighty eat out of the palm of his hand.
    Not that she was interested in eating out of his hand. But damn, it was getting harder to ignore the growing desire to lick him like an ice cream