Oliver (Project Arma Book 7)

Tori had barely stepped inside Marble Protection before she knew something was different. Where Monday, there had been the mild chatter of women, the sounds of movement, and the hustle and bustle of business, today, there was silence.

Tori shot a look over at the mat area. The room was empty.

Was the class canceled? Or maybe she’d gotten the time wrong. She could have sworn it started at ten, and it was five past…

She’d expected to walk into a class already started. She’d waited inside her motel room, listening for her neighbors to go back into their room. That had cost her time. Time she’d had to make up for by speed-walking here.

Now it didn’t look like it mattered.

Tori shot a glance toward the door, then back to the counter. Should she just leave? Come back on Monday? And why the heck was there never anyone at the desk? Surely having someone attend the front of a business was a prerequisite for running said business?

Tori peered into the hallway, tempted to just head down there and look for someone.

That’s when a door in the hall opened and Oliver stepped out.

Her mouth went dry at the sight of him in a sleeveless shirt. His impressive biceps were on display. His huge chest peeking out of the sides of the tank top.

Holy Moses, the man was ripped.

A smile stretched across his lips and she could have sworn her body heated ten degrees. He’d barely smiled on Monday. Not smiling, he was good-looking. Smiling, he was breathtaking.

“Hey there, beautiful.”

Beautiful?

“Hey.” She swallowed, trying to wet her dry throat. “Ah, where is everyone?”

He came to a stop in front of her, crossing those big arms over his chest. “Unfortunately, we had to cancel the class. We need two guys to run it and the others had something else pop up.”

“Oh.” That was disappointing. Seeing as he wouldn’t be able to leave then, she was guessing that meant no coffee date. Which meant no vetting him and no amnesia confessions. It was quite the ripple effect. She attempted to cover the disappointment with a smile. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“We didn’t have any way to contact you, and I don’t want you to have come all this way for nothing,” Oliver continued. “So I’ve freed up the next hour to offer you a self-defense class. Hopefully, some of the guys will be back after and we can grab that coffee.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Just you and me?”

His smile grew. “Just you and me, honey.”

A one-on-one self-defense class with this tall, sexy, dangerous stranger? That would involve touching. Possibly lots of touching. And lots of alone time.

Oliver stepped closer, doing that thing where he invaded her personal space. “Is that okay with you?”

Was it okay? She wasn’t sure. She was somewhere between running and jumping the guy. “Of course. I mean, I appreciate you setting the time aside for me. Is it okay with you? I don’t want to interrupt if you’re busy…”

“Not busy at all.”

Oliver gestured toward the mat area. When Tori walked past him, he placed a hand on the small of her back. She felt it like she would if he were touching bare skin. It was electric.

How the heck had she forgotten a guy that had such a strong effect on her?

Tori hadn’t brought anything with her, bar her motel key and a small amount of cash, both of which were zipped into her leggings pocket. She turned to face Oliver, attempting to push down the nerves.

“Okay, let’s warm up.” Oliver began by taking her through a series of warm-up activities. First was shoulder rotations. Then he systematically went through the major muscles of the body. By the end, she was warm but not tired.

She must do something to keep fit. Maybe that was why no one missed her. Did she spend all her time working out?

She almost laughed at the absurdity of that thought.

Oliver gave her a look. “What are you thinking?”

Oh, just wondering who the heck I am. “I’m wondering what you have in store for me today.”

He shook his head. It was too obvious that he saw right through her. “Have you got any self-defense experience?”

“None.” That she was aware of.

“I’m glad you came then. It’s important that everyone has at least a basic knowledge of how to protect themselves.”

Tori couldn’t agree more. “I’m sure it would make walking down dark alleys a bit easier.”

She was joking, of course. If she’d expected a laugh or smile from Oliver though, she didn’t get either. In fact, his eyes narrowed at the comment. “Avoiding danger is always the best plan. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings.”

“I know. I was joking. I won’t be walking down any dark alleys if I can avoid it.” Sheesh, the man took his safety seriously.

“Good. I thought we’d work on escaping a hold. Specifically, when someone grabs you from behind.”

Her stomach did a somersault. That meant Oliver would be putting his arms around her, didn’t it? “Okay.”

Her tone was much too high, and by Oliver’s knowing smile, he’d heard.

“Most of the time, attackers grab people from behind because that way, the victim won’t see them coming. It’s also easier to drag a person backward.”

“Who knew kidnappers were so strategic.”

Again. Not even a hint of a chuckle.

Oliver stepped closer. Tori’s heart sped up.

“What would you do if you were grabbed from behind?” he asked, his voice suddenly deepening.

“Offset their balance or cause them pain.”

Tori’s own eyes widened at her immediate response. Oliver’s brows rose. Where the heck had that response come from?

“That’s right.” He studied her face. “How did you know?”

“I’m not sure.”

He continued to study her for another beat before continuing. “How do you offset a person’s balance?”

Step back into them. Tori bit her lip to keep from voicing the whisper in her head. “I don’t know, you’ll need to tell me.”

She didn’t know why she’d fibbed. Maybe because she’d told him she didn’t have any self-defense experience, so she didn’t want to come across a liar. Or maybe because the voice in her head freaked her out a little.

Now Oliver frowned.

Did the guy realize she’d lied?

“There are a couple things you can do, but we’re going to practice stepping back into the attacker and throwing them off balance. Ready to practice?”

She was careful not to react when he confirmed her thoughts. “Sure.”

He took two big steps away from her. “Turn around.”

“There won’t be any heavy knocks, will there? Like head knocks?”

Confusion marred his features. “No. You won’t get hurt, Tori. You’re safe with me.”

Her heart did a little flip. Wasn’t that what today was about? Figuring out whether she was safe with him? When he said those words, gently but firmly, she couldn’t help but want to trust him.

Slowly, she turned her back to him. Her heartbeat kicked up another notch in anticipation of him grabbing her.

For a moment, the room was silent. Everything still. The seconds ticked by at a snail’s pace.

She didn’t hear a single step before a gigantic arm wrapped around her middle and a hand covered her mouth.

From this position, she could just about feel his heart beating in his chest through her back. Oliver surrounded her. He was all she could feel.

He smelled woodsy and masculine. He smelled good.

Tori didn’t move. She was too shocked by the way her body reacted to him. The way her blood turned molten.

“Tori…”

His voice snapped her out of her shocked state. Right. She was supposed to step back.

Oliver released her and she listened to his retreating footsteps without turning. She immediately missed his touch. Which was crazy, wasn’t it?

“We’ll try again.”

Okay. Focus, Tori.

She waited for the attack, an odd calm settling over her body. A second passed before those same arms came around her again.

This time, she didn’t freeze.

Tori stepped straight back into his body—but she didn’t stop there. Almost instinctively, she spun sideways in an attempt to throw him further off balance, jabbing him in the ribs and stamping on his foot.

Offset balance, then cause pain.

The moves were strategic and familiar.

Oliver kept his balance and didn’t make a sound at her attempt to hurt him. When he pulled away, his gaze returned to hers. There were questions in his eyes…lots of them.

Nervous tension steeled her spine.

“You’ve had self-defense training.”

It would appear so. “I guess I’ve had a little. I, uh…forgot.”

His lips thinned. Her response was weak, and they both knew it.

She expected questions to follow. Hell, she expected the man to hound her. Refuse to continue until she came clean about what she was hiding.

So she was surprised when, instead of asking anything, he returned to the corner of the room. “Again.”

Tori turned around and waited for him to grab her. When he did, she repeated the move. This time faster.

Again, she was shocked by her body’s ability to jump into action and know what to do.

Tori’s brain may not remember anything, but her body certainly did.

Over the next hour, Oliver showed her a few more sequences to get out of similar holds. Tori reacted to each hold with the same precision and skill.

“Okay, final hold for the day. Attacker grabs you and gets you to the ground.” He moved to the same corner again. “Ready?”

Oliver intentionally gave Tori no directions. He wanted to see what she’d do. He’d done it a couple of times already and she’d barely noticed. But she’d exposed herself. Demonstrated self-defense moves that would only be taught by a professional.

Something was going on here. The woman had said she had no experience, and she hadn’t been lying. But she did have experience.

Was she a professional liar? Or was he just losing his touch?

He watched as she turned her back on him. This was the hard part…touching her while suppressing his body’s reaction. She was like his damn kryptonite. He needed to snap out of it.

Oliver moved forward and wrapped his arms around her body. Then he sent them both to the floor, hitting the ground with his arm first before turning to gently hold her beneath him. He caged her soft body to the floor. Breathing her in. Waiting for her to react, while also forcing his own body to calm the hell down.

Instead of jumping into action like she had previously, other than the first time he’d attacked, she lay there. He felt a shiver course down her body. Heard the light pitter-patter of her heart take off.

“Tori…”

She didn’t move. “Oliver.”

Oliver leaned some of his weight to the side and turned her onto her back. The look on her face had his blood rushing south.

Desire. It clouded her eyes, taunting him. Daring him to make a move. Everything in him made him want to plant his lips to hers. To run his hands down her heated skin.

He had to pull away. Stand up. Before he did something stupid.

But Tori raised her hand and grazed his cheek with a finger. “So familiar…yet not.”

What the hell did that mean?

Before he could ask, her hand lowered to his chin, grazing the area just below his lips. The touch felt right. And damn, but did it affect every inch of his body.

Without thinking, Oliver lowered his head and touched her lips with his own.

A soft hum vibrated through her chest, sending his blood soaring through his ears.

For a second, his mind screamed at him to pull away. To ask the questions that he needed answered.

But then her tongue touched the seam of his lips, coaxing its way in.

Oliver couldn’t stop himself. He surrendered to the woman below him, leaning into her. Touching his chest to hers. Opening his mouth. Tasting her.

The sweetest moan rose from her throat. The fire inside him burned hotter.

This is how it had been the last time their lips met. All fire and passion. The woman had a way of affecting him on such a deep level. It was dangerous.

When their lips separated, her heavy breaths filled the air. “I remember this…” Her eyes remained closed, hands in his hair. “Your lips on mine.”

Had she expected to forget?

His hand went to her face, cupping her cheek. “What’s going on, Tori?”

He just wanted a straight answer. How had she forgotten his name? Why was she in Marble Falls?

“I don’t know.”

She spoke the truth. She really didn’t know.

Oliver opened his mouth to ask how that was possible when the front doors of Marble Protection opened.

Cursing under his breath, Oliver jumped to his feet, pulling Tori up with him.

Luca threw him an apologetic look. “Sorry, the next class was waiting outside. We waited as long as we could.”

Asher trailed in after him.

The next class? Oliver shot a look at his watch, cursing under his breath. The hour allocated for the lesson had passed; he’d gone an extra thirty minutes.

Worse, he hadn’t found out a damn thing about her. Not a name or anything else of importance. He needed to have a conversation with Tori, but the more time he spent with her, the more he suspected whatever was going on went deeper than he’d originally thought.

They needed privacy for their chat. Somewhere he could talk to her and get all the answers he required. No disruptions. No time limits. A cafe would no longer do.

“Have dinner with me,” he said, turning back to Tori. “Tonight. At my place.”

They could chat all night if they had to.

Tori nibbled on her bottom lip. Fuck. Even that small action had his blood pumping.

“You don’t want to go for a coffee?”

“The guys might need my help,” he lied. “But I do want to spend more time with you today.” That part wasn’t a lie.

“Okay.”

Okay? He didn’t know why, but he’d thought she might need convincing. “Great. Seven o’clock work?”

“Seven sounds good. Can you write your address on a piece of paper for me?”

She’d been to his place, but he supposed that was easy enough to forget. “Do you have a phone yet? I can put it in.” He remembered she’d mentioned losing hers.

She hesitated. “I haven’t replaced it yet.”

“It’s your lucky day then. We happen to have an old company cell we were about to get rid of. You can borrow it. I’ll grab it for you.”

She opened her mouth, presumably to refuse, but he was already heading toward the office.

The phone wasn’t actually an old one they were about to chuck. It was a backup phone. And, just like all the others, it had a tracker.

Oliver didn’t think Tori would leave town without telling him, but the phone would be a safety net in case he was wrong. He couldn’t let her leave without knowing what was going on.

When he returned with the phone, Tori was shaking her head. “I can’t take your phone.”

He quickly typed his address into the notes before pressing it into her hand. “We don’t need it, you do. And having a phone is a safety precaution. I feel better knowing you have a way to contact people.”

She remained still for a beat before nodding. “Okay.”

“Good. If you need to contact me, my number is under Ax. I can pick you up if it’s easier?”

“Oh, no. It’s fine. I’ll come to you,” she answered quickly. A bit too quickly. “Thank you for the lesson, Oliver. I’ll see you tonight.”

Then she left. Leaving him with more questions than ever.