"Harder. Bring the force through your body." She ran her hand up his torso and down the length of his arm to demonstrate.

Narrowing his eyes, he tried again. She blocked the right hand blow with her forearm, twisting it around to lock his hand by her side. He was totally exposed. He tried to pull away, but she held him fast.

"Now I have a few options here." Her eyes sparked with amus.e.m.e.nt. "I could either pull you towards me and head b.u.t.t you, which is effective, but a little brutal. And if you get it wrong it hurts like h.e.l.l."

He grinned.

"I could also punch you in the face or throat. Or I could grab your shoulder and pull you forward to knee you in the groin. But most likely, I'd go for your gut, it's soft, my hand stays unharmed and you get winded." She demonstrated the move in slow motion. Their breath mingled as they turned to look at each other and she jerked back, releasing him.

Clearing her throat, she took a step away and swung her long braid over her shoulder to cover her collarbone. "It's your best option with Jordan, because of his height and build. Once he's bent over holding his gut, you can bring your knee up to his face. That'll daze him enough for you to get away."

"And if his buddies are with him?"

Her eyes went wide. "Don't you dare try this if his buddies are with him! You run like you did this morning. I'm not teaching you this stuff so you can be a hero. The best option is to run. These basics will just give you a chance to do that."

"Okay, okay." He raised his hands and smiled.

The theater was pretty dark, but he was sure he spotted a faint blush as she bent her head.

"So, I don't suppose you mind running through that again, do you?"

She looked up at the screen, nibbled on her lip as if fighting a smile then gave a small shrug.

"Arms up, soldier."

He did as commanded. They practiced and laughed their way through the pa.s.sionate love scene, the tearful argument and the screaming separation of the characters on screen.

Gemma corrected Harrison's technique with each hit, forcing the best from him. He could sense she was holding back. By the ease in which she taught him and the fluid movement of her body it was clear she was an expert fighter. He wondered how long she had been doing this kind of thing.

The image of a pint sized Gemma dressed in karate gear at the age of five made him smile and nearly scored him a fist in the face.

"Sorry!" Gemma pulled back. "c.r.a.p, Harrison, you need to concentrate or I'm going to damage you."

His smile was coy as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"I think it's safe to a.s.sume that even if I was concentrating, you could damage me."

He didn't want to admit how much of a turn on that was.

They both blushed.

"You're fast."

He smiled. She frowned.

"Your Dad must be a really good teacher."

Her chuckle twittered with nerves. "He loves this stuff."

A loud scream from the screen made Gemma look up. The heroine was running across a field towards a bleeding body. Dropping to her knees, she lifted his head into her lap and stroked his graying skin.

"You really know how to pick 'em, don't you, Hart? Talk about your feel gooder."

A giggle exploded from her lips. The smile spread over her face, turning it to sunshine. "That's just what Dom would say." She shook her head.

"Your brother. He a movie fan?"

"Oh yeah. Last night he made me sit through a four hour Jackie Chan fest."

"I love Jackie Chan!" Harrison jumped up on his toes and started dancing around like a martial arts idiot.

Gemma laughed. "You're ridiculous."

He aimed a high kick at her waist. She caught his ankle and tugged. He thumped to the floor with a groan.

"You are cruel."

Her laughter was nervous, her expression a little guilty as she held out her hand to help him up.

He grabbed it, but didn't let go when he was hauled to his feet. She looked up with surprise and tried to jerk away. He held fast until she relented, then rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, sending warm licks of flame up his arm.

She gazed down at their connection then up at his face.

"Want to go somewhere?" He spoke softly.

Her eyes flickered with uncertainty and she tried to pull her hand away.

"I know a great spot on the beach. There's this huge pine tree. When you climb to the top, it's like you can see heaven. Up there with nothing but the ocean for a soundtrack, you can believe you're the only person on the planet."

"I..."

"It's also slightly more soothing than screaming German."

She smiled then caught her lip beneath her teeth. Her eyes traveled down to their hands then over the carpet and up to the screen before settling back on his face. Her pained expression gradually morphed to a nervous smile. Her nod was almost imperceptible and then everything changed.

Whipping her hand free, she stepped away from him. Her eyebrows were bunched together, her expression tormented.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to go."

"What?"

Running up the stairs, she collected her bag and threw it over her shoulder.

"Wait a second. What did I do?"

"Nothing. It's not you."

She fumbled her water bottle and banged into one of the seats as she stumbled out to the aisle. He strode up the stairs and grabbed her arm as she tried to sail past him. With lightning moves she threw him back into the seats.

Her eyes were so anguished he felt his breath catch.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before dashing down the stairs.

"So am I." He knew she didn't hear him, she was long gone. Rubbing his hands together, he tried to extinguish the fire. It no longer felt warm and inviting.

Stomping down the stairs, he collected his jacket and headed for the exit. He pushed open the door to the strains of final music and turned to glimpse the heroine, dressed in black, sobbing over a gravestone.

Harrison wandered back to the main foyer, his brain a mix of confused disappointment and anger. He was more annoyed with himself than anything. Hadn't he specifically said no girlfriends? Wasn't he the one that had gone on about keeping everything casual?

You're such an idiot.

He never should have asked her to the beach. Pulling on his jacket with a sneer, he shoved his hands in his pockets and made for the escalators.

"Harrison!"

He spun at the sound of his name. Hiding his disappointment when he saw Dana and her posse running towards him was hard work. Darren trailed along behind them, obviously surprised.

"Where were you man? I texted like three times."

"Sorry, I got the time wrong. I thought we were going to the late session." The lie came easy, which wasn't something he was proud of. "Was the movie good?"

"The ending sucked, but the effects were pretty cool."

"Wish I hadn't missed it." Another easy lie. He crossed his arms and forced a smile.

"We'll just have to go again sometime." Dana squeezed his forearm.

Harrison pushed out a halfhearted laugh and uncrossed his arms. Stepping out of reach, he looked over at Darren. "Well, you guys want to do something now?"

"We're going to Dairy Queen. It's blizzard time." Darren's eyebrows wiggled.

"I'm in." Harrison turned towards the exit once more, ignoring the thought that the beach and Gemma would have been a thousand times better.

Dana skipped over to him and threaded her arms through his. "Can I ride with you?" Her smile was sultry. "I just love your car."

"Sure." He coughed and forced another grin. He really wanted to drop his arm and step out of Dana's clutches, but he knew that would be rude. He didn't want to make his evening worse by p.i.s.sing her off. He people watched to distract himself from the feel of Dana's little fingers fiddling with his jacket sleeve.

Gemma came into view and he nearly stopped in his tracks. A stern frown crossed his face, but it fled. She looked tired. She rubbed her forehead and smoothed back her ponytail, which was no longer braided. Her clothes looked as though they'd been hastily pulled on, but that was probably his imagination. She just looked out of sorts.

Maybe she felt guilty about ditching him. He hoped so, then instantly regretted the feeling. Stepping onto the escalator, he stood five stairs above her. Dana was prattling on about something, but her words were fuzz. All he could think about was how much he wanted to chase the mysterious Hart girl down, ask her if she was okay and wrap her in a hug.

He shook his head. Was he insane?

Just drive Dana for ice cream, smile, joke, nod, be happy. Take her home and leave before Jordan sees you. You might also want to mention, yet again, that you just want to be friends. At least you have a valid reason now.

Not that he'd tell her that. Harrison winced. In less than 24 hours his heart had been captured. He had a feeling the siege would be a long one.

Granger, you're pathetic.

He stepped off the escalator with a black frown. There was no denying it. A night that was supposed to be fun had taken a turn for the best then a severe downward slide for the worst.

Chapter Five.

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida - 2011 AD The training room felt hot and stuffy. Gemma wiped her brow and brought her fists up to protect her face. Staying on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet, she circled Dom, watching his muscles twitch and jerk, trying to predict his next move.

They had been at this since seven-thirty that morning and Gemma was over it before they'd even begun. She usually didn't mind family training sessions, but not today. Not when images of Harrison's disappointed expression kept popping into her head.

Dom's fist shot towards her, she blocked the blow and moved to strike, but he was in the zone and countered her attack. She spun behind him, giving herself s.p.a.ce and time to focus.

This sucked! She cringed to think what Harrison must be saying about her to his friends. He and Darren were probably together right now, playing XBox and laughing about what a freak she was.

A bright pain tore up her jawbone. She grunted and fell to the ground, grabbing her chin.

"Oh my g... Sorry. Gem, are you okay?"

Her brother was on his knees beside her, rolling her to face him.

"Dominic! This is only training!"

Alistair Hart shoved his son out of the way and moved Gemma's hand in order to examine the damage.

"I'm fine, Dad." Gemma sat up, wiped her chin and saw there was no blood. At least the bruising would be gone before school tomorrow.

"I was expecting her to block that." Dom pointed at his sister. "Didn't you see it coming?"

She rubbed her forehead.

"Gemma, you're not concentrating." Her father's reprimands always stung.

"I'm sorry."

Smoothing her hair back, she looked up and was surrounded. Dom looked guilty, Ruby looked amused. Her father's eyes were narrowed and her mother was hovering with that annoying "you better have an explanation for this behavior" look.

"I'm tired. I didn't sleep well last night."

"Why? Are you sick? You're taking your vitamins, aren't you?"

She nodded at her mother's barrage of questions, but the woman wouldn't let up.