Sweet Revenge by Christy Reece Read Free Book Online Page A

simple, pretty flats and sighed. He was right. She also needed to get over this useless resentment she had toward this man. So what if he treated her like a cross between an irritation and an amusement? She was here to learn how to defend herself, and he was going to teach her. Being her best friend wasn’t a requirement.
    “I have better shoes in my luggage.”
    “Let’s get your luggage.” He looked up at the sky. “Winter storm’s rolling in … it’s about to get cold.”
    Since it was barely in the teens, she really didn’t want to know what “cold” meant to him. She watched as he lifted a large duffel bag and a suitcase from the backseat and turned to the house.
    “I have another one in the trunk.”
    Without turning, he grunted and said, “Be careful bringing it in.”
    Figuring she was lucky he was helping at all, Jamie opened the trunk and pulled one more bag out. She slammed the trunk and turned, letting out another shriek when Dylan was there once again.
    “How the hell do you move so fast?”
    He took the bag and said, “Better get ready to learn how to move just as fast.”
    “Not sure that’s possible.”
    “Too bad. Moving slow will get you killed.” And with that, he turned his back on her and headed into the house.
    Dylan dumped the last of Jamie’s luggage in her room. He hadn’t said anything about the amount she’d brought with her. Apparently, she believed that she was going to be here for months, and that a large wardrobe would be required, too. He didn’t plan for her to be here for more than a couple of months, if that, and sweats and running shoes were the only clothes she’d need.
    He had told her nothing about her training sessions or how to prepare. Shitty of him, he knew, but it was all part of his shitty plan.
    “This place is beautiful.” She tilted her head back. “I love all these exposed beams. Is this your cabin?”
    Dylan shook his head. “It’s McCall’s. We train a lot of our new recruits here.”
    She took a deep, audible breath and said, “Okay. So where do we start? What should I do?”
    “Eat.”
    “Pardon?”
    “You’ve lost weight since I saw you last, and you were bone skinny then. You’re going to have to keep up your strength.”
    Her full lips trembled, and he knew she was struggling to keep from replying with a smart comment. Having her hold back on her temper was important. Exploding with anger could be dangerous. However, if she had something to say to him, he wanted to hear it.
    “What?” Dylan arched a brow, knowing that’d piss her off. “You got something to say, say it.”
    “I had a stomach virus a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t eat.”
    Okay, so what if he now felt lower than a slug. By the time he was finished, he figured he’d feel a hundred times worse. He turned to go out the door. “Lunch will be ready in about twenty minutes.”
    “Dylan.”
    He glanced back at her. “Yeah?”
    “Why are you doing this?”
    “And this would be what?”
    “Why did you agree to train me when you clearly don’t want the job?”
    “Who said I don’t want the job?”
    She straightened her shoulders and took another deep breath, determination glinting in her eyes. “Your attitude.”
    This was the Jamie he wanted to see. Not the polite Jamie, or the treading-carefully-to-keep-from-offending-him Jamie. He wanted to see the spirited woman who would stand up for herself. The woman who’d jumped on his back when he came to rescue her and threatened to kill him if he touched her.
    He might not want to see her put herself in danger, but one thing he could do for her was make sure she was never a victim again. That included not putting up with any crap, from him or anyone else.
    “There’s a big difference between wanting to teach you to kick ass to protect yourself and training you to put yourself in danger again.”
    “But you’re going to do both. Right?”
    “I’m going to teach you how to fight.” He turned and walked from